Medicaid, Elective Shares, and the Ghosts of Tenures Past
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Authors
Belian, Julia
Issue Date
2005
Volume
38
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|For longer than most lawyers remember to remember, the right of a surviving spouse to a share in the deceased spouse's estate stood, unassailable, doing double-duty as a protection against spousal impoverishment and as a limit on a spouse's ability to deplete the children's share of the decedent's estate. Although it may yet accomplish the latter, its ability to prevent the impoverishment of the widowed withers in the face of present-day Medicaid regulations. These regulations now require a surviving spouse to elect and consume that statutory share, even if it completely disrupts an estate plan established perhaps decades ago. The value of the elective share will be counted as if it were available to the widowed spouse even if the election is never made...
Description
Citation
38 Creighton L. Rev. 1111 (2004-2005)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law