Scenario One

Joanna Spring always insisted that she did not ever want to be kept alive by machines, and even stated that when she was a young teenager. Her parents understood her feelings on the subject. Joanna married Bill Spring and one month later, was involved in an auto accident which left her in a persistent vegetative state. Joanna’s parents (Mr. and Mrs. John Winters) have sued to have Joanna taken off life support. Joanna’s husband refused to allow the hospital to do so. Joanna’s parents thing that it is only because he will not inherit Joanna’s huge estate unless he has been married to her for more than two years. The court sided with Bill Spring, and refused to order the removal of life support. The Winters now want to appeal the decision and let Joanna die in peace before bill becomes Joanna’s heir.

Scenario Two

Shirley Baker is a young woman suffering from breast cancer. She has been on chemotherapy for several months, and has experienced terrible side-effects. She did receive a prescription for the medicinal use of marijuana while living in California, but moved to Oklahoma to be closer to her family. She did take several ounces of marijuana with her when she moved, and was arrested while smoking marijuana on the front porch of her parent’s home, the evening she arrived in Oklahoma. She was convicted of illegal possession of the drug, and wants to appeal her conviction.

Scenario Three

Joe Valle and Fred Hamper have been partners for many years. When same sex unions became legal in California, they moved there just long enough to be “married,” and then returned to their home in New Mexico. Joe applied for health insurance for himself and his “spouse.” The insurance company refused to recognize the “marriage,’ and Joe and Fred sued. The trial court found in favor of Big Time Insurance Company, and Joe and Fred want to appeal.

Scenario Four

Flora Findley loves plants. She had become interested in hydroponics and hybridizing plants. She began growing plants under full-spectrum sunlight lamps in her home. She also has a teenaged son who expressed an interest in growing plants. She was pleased that she and her son could share an interest. One day, a police officer investigating a burglary next door, came to Flora’s home to ask if she had seen anything. He noticed all of the plants growing under the lamps, and quickly began inspecting them. He found a small plant that he thought was marijuana, and promptly arrested Flora. Flora was convicted for possession, but insisted that the search of her home was unwarranted. She wants to appeal the decision.

Scenario Five

Mr. Frank Incense was arrested for theft when he took $500,000 worth of tools from behind a neighbor’s shed which faced an alley. Frank insisted that he thought the tools were being thrown away. He was having financial difficulty and thought he could make some money by selling the tools. While being questioned, Frank asked for an attorney. Finally he was provided with an attorney who specialized in Bankruptcy Law, and who was required to take on criminal cases pro bono. The attorney really did not understand criminal procedure, and as a result, Mr. Insence was not only found guilty, but also received a very stiff sentence. Mr. Insence wants to appeal his case because he believes that he not only had a right to counsel, but a right to counsel who was competent in handling criminal proceedings.

Directions: Complete the following steps in the order provided

Step One: For each of the fact patterns provided, list the legal issues involved, as you identify them prior to undertaking any additional research. Note, some fact patterns may present more than one issue.

Step Two: Form a natural language search queries for each scenario based on the issues identified. Please list your search terms.

Sign on to Westlaw Classic

Step Three: Use the issues/terms provided in Step One above, locate relevant secondary authority from AmJur, CJS, or ALR regarding those issues, thoroughly review the information therein, and provide the following information:

i) The citation to the article or annotation

ii) Did your search return results which pertained to the issues you identified? If not, please modify your search query until your results are more on point; provide your new search terms.

iii) Did the information in the article or annotation cited cause you to change, add or refine your issues? If so, please list the issues involved in each of the fact patterns as you now identify them.

iv) Please briefly summarize they type of information (ie, case law, statutory law, constitutional provisions, other secondary resources, key numbers and other research references)

FYI I have access to westlaw if you need it for the project. My sign in informtion is to below.

user name: [email protected]

password: Lucyn1na

client id: 5779868-CCBSR6

Case law

Teri is a single widow, age 78, living in the hypothetical American state of New Worcester. Teri purchased a a house in New Worcester in 1967 for $28,000. The current fair market value of the house is $385,000. Teri has four children: Alan, Beth, Cathy and Don. All four are adults and all four have children of their own. However, Don has been having marital troubles and is contemplating divorce. Beth is estranged from one of her adult children, Bertha.

Teri is a relatively good health, but suffers from hypertension and mild heart disease. She is on medication and is being treated for both. Mentally, she is sharp and astute.

Aside from the house, Teri has about $200,000 in cash and securities in savings and a 401(k) account with a current balance of $225,000. She is taking annual minimum required distributions from that account. In addition, she receives $1,800 per month in social security benefits.

She is primarily concerned with Medicaid planning as she doesn’t want to lose her assets if forced to go to a nursing home eventually. Your supervising attorney decides to recommend that Teri set up an irrevocable Medicaid planning trust and to transfer some or all of her assets to that trust.

During the course of the meeting and subsequent discussions, the following questions come up:

1) How much of a taxable capital gain would Teri have to report if she sold the house tomorrow for fair market value?

2) If the house is transferred to the Medicaid trust, what should the trust do to ensure the best capital gains tax treatment of the house?

3) What should the trust do to ensure that Bertha and Don’s soon-to-be-ex spouse do not have access to the trust funds?

4) Should the 401(k) assets be transferred to the trust? Explain.

5) What kind of rights or powers can or should the trust safely give to Teri?

6) The state of New Worcester has an income limit of $1,000/month to be eligible for Medicaid. Is there anything that can be done to protect the excess social security payments from being subject to spend down requirements?

Please answer each question in 1-2 paragraphs. There is no need to IRAC each question. Please make sure to explain your answers and please cite applicable authority for all assertions of law that you make.

Case law

Teri is a single widow, age 78, living in the hypothetical American state of New Worcester. Teri purchased a a house in New Worcester in 1967 for $28,000. The current fair market value of the house is $385,000. Teri has four children: Alan, Beth, Cathy and Don. All four are adults and all four have children of their own. However, Don has been having marital troubles and is contemplating divorce. Beth is estranged from one of her adult children, Bertha.

Teri is a relatively good health, but suffers from hypertension and mild heart disease. She is on medication and is being treated for both. Mentally, she is sharp and astute.

Aside from the house, Teri has about $200,000 in cash and securities in savings and a 401(k) account with a current balance of $225,000. She is taking annual minimum required distributions from that account. In addition, she receives $1,800 per month in social security benefits.

She is primarily concerned with Medicaid planning as she doesn’t want to lose her assets if forced to go to a nursing home eventually. Your supervising attorney decides to recommend that Teri set up an irrevocable Medicaid planning trust and to transfer some or all of her assets to that trust.

During the course of the meeting and subsequent discussions, the following questions come up:

1) How much of a taxable capital gain would Teri have to report if she sold the house tomorrow for fair market value?

2) If the house is transferred to the Medicaid trust, what should the trust do to ensure the best capital gains tax treatment of the house?

3) What should the trust do to ensure that Bertha and Don’s soon-to-be-ex spouse do not have access to the trust funds?

4) Should the 401(k) assets be transferred to the trust? Explain.

5) What kind of rights or powers can or should the trust safely give to Teri?

6) The state of New Worcester has an income limit of $1,000/month to be eligible for Medicaid. Is there anything that can be done to protect the excess social security payments from being subject to spend down requirements?

Please answer each question in 1-2 paragraphs. There is no need to IRAC each question. Please make sure to explain your answers and please cite applicable authority for all assertions of law that you make.