Michigan’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program

In light of Michigan’s relatively new Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, Medicaid recipients and their families should contact experienced legal counsel to help them plan ahead by implementing the tools that are currently available to avoid, or limit, Estate Recovery if possible. Further, if you are the representative or heir of a deceased Medicaid recipient and you receive a Notice of Intent to File Claim Against Estate, you should contact experienced legal counsel for assistance: before completing a Michigan Estate Recovery Questionnaire, with the timing of submission of any Application for Hardship Waiver, and with determining whether all or any portion of the state’s claim for recovery should be disallowed.

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Deadline This Month for Calendar Year Plans to Submit Medicare Part D Notice to CMS

As you know, group health plans offering prescription drug coverage are required to disclose to all Part D-eligible individuals who are enrolled in or were seeking to enroll in the group health plan coverage whether such coverage was “actuarially equivalent,” ie, creditable.

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Kirby Albright Wins in Charlotte Airport Case

In an Eminent Domain case  initiated by the City of Charlotte  regarding a piece of land owned by William and Marilyn Crittenden, Fraser Trebilcock attorney Kirby Albright successfully represented the landowners and obtained an award of “ just compensation” that was approximately  27 times more than the offer made by the City.

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Legal Industry Adopting Social Media

In a recent article published by InsideCounsel, various examples of how attorneys are using social media more in their work are described through the results of a survey that included more than 300 respondents in the legal industry.

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Car Shuttlers and the Michigan Unemployment Tax

Auto dealers frequently use car shuttlers to deliver vehicles to a customer, auction, or another dealer. Dealers have historically treated the car shuttlers as independent contractors and have not paid Michigan Unemployment Tax on their compensation. The Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC) has instructed its auditors to treat car shuttlers as employees, and compensation to them as wages subject to the Michigan Unemployment Tax.

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Top Ten Things to Consider in Year-End Income Tax Planning

  1. Accelerate or defer income.  If you have deferred compensation, consider which best suits your planning:  to take your earned income now and pay taxes immediately at today’s historically low tax rates or to defer income until later and pay taxes when rates may be higher. Similarly, if you are eligible for qualified plan distributions and option grants, you need to decide whether to accelerate income recognition.

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Do Your Employees Have the Right Stuff?

Using Competency Models in Strategic Human Resource Management
By: Michael P. James, J.D., M.B.A.

Human Resource Management Professionals:

Have you been asked to complete a skill or competency analysis for employees in your organization? Are you in charge of evaluating or designing a talent/knowledge-based compensation system? Would you like to create training and certification programs to ensure that employees possess the skills required for the positions they hold in your company? These responsibilities can be overwhelming, yet they are also critical to the success of your organization. Where should you start?

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Foreclosure by Advertisement, Part II

November 10’s posting, below, predicted that the Michigan Supreme Court would deny leave to appeal from a decision regarding MERS’ right to foreclose by advertisement. As a lifetime Michigan resident, one should have known better to try to predict a Supreme Court’s decision. Doing so is like trying to predict our Great Lakes-influenced weather.

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