The last Sunday in September is already here, which means it’s time for this month’s wrap-up. The September wrap-up includes updates on Senator Feinstein’s trust battle, estate planning for digital assets, and a new proposal for nursing house staff minimums.

What’s going on with Senator Feinstein?

Senator Dianne Feinstein and her late husband’s trust have been in the news for the last several months. Her husband, Richard Blum, died over a year and a half ago and according to Feinstein, he set up a trust for her that should have been funded with $5 million after he died. We’ve covered the topic before, but in case you haven’t been keeping up, three separate lawsuits were filed in the last few months by Senator Feinstein’s daughter acting under a power of attorney, on the Senator’s behalf. The lawsuits generally allege that the trustees are not acting in Feinstein’s interests. In the most recent lawsuit, the trustees are accused of financial elder abuse. The trustee’s attorney denies the accusations.

The update: in mid-September the attorney representing Katherine asked the judge overseeing the case to force the sale of the California property. The judge declined and instead, sent them to a private mediation hoping they could resolve the issues. If the mediation doesn’t solve it, we should expect a jury trial sometime in the next year.

What happens to your data when you die?

We often think of assets as physical things, but have you considered what will happen to your digital assets? This article gives tips on how to plan for your digital assets files saved on your computer and data stored on your phone. Among their tips:

  • Keep an inventory of your online accounts.
  • Give a trusted loved one passcodes to get into your device
  • Don’t store passwords in your will since this document becomes public once you die

Another interesting tidbit from the article- both Apple and Android allow you to add a legacy contact to your phone. A legacy contact allows someone to have immediate access to your data if you die.

Do public fiduciaries have to serve?

Make sure you caught our most recent newsletter about public fiduciaries, what they do, and whether they are required to serve when appointed. This newsletter followed a decision out of the Arizona Court of Appeals in late August. Our main takeaways– an Arizona public fiduciary does not have the authority to refuse to accept appointment by the Superior Court judge.

But that doesn’t mean that the public fiduciary has sufficient resources to really control an incapacitated but uncooperative adult’s behavior. And nothing about the case prevents a given public fiduciary from arguing that they have insufficient resources, lack access to special treatment options, or have no ability to actually improve the quality of a given individual’s life. Courts often think that appointing a guardian will solve problems — sometimes the appointment just creates new problems.

Federal standards for nursing home staffing

September 1st Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule that would prevent nursing home owners from slashing staffing to unsafe levels. The rule would require every facility to have a nurse on site 24/7. It would also require a minimum number of registered nurses and aides. CMS has also revitalized it’s efforts to improve the enforcement of existing staffing standards and opening up a national nursing career pathways campaign. This proposal comes following years — even decades — of reports documenting staffing shortfalls in nursing facilities across the country.

What else is happening?