Ellen Brown - ProgressiveRadioNetwork - February 12, 2012 Tube. Duration : 56.08 Mins.
By Stephen Lendman Host of Progressive News Hour www.progressiveradionetwork.com Brown is a civil litigation attorney, distinguished author, and frequent writer on financial issues. A new edition of her important book, "Web of Debt," is a brilliant analysis of the private banking system, how it usurped money creation power, and how we can get it back. She also heads the Public Banking Institute (PBI), an initiative to return power to the people where it belongs. Her latest writing will be discussed.
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The simplest way to ensure that your funds, asset and personal effects will be distributed after your death according to your wishes is to prepare a will. A will is a legal document designating the change of your asset and assets after you die. Usually, wills can be written by any person over the age of 18 who is mentally capable, generally stated as "being of sound mind and body."
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Who Needs A Will?
often Asked Questions About Wills, Living Wills and Powers of Attorney
Although wills are uncomplicated to create, about half of all Americans die without one (or Intestate). Without a will to indicate your wishes, the court steps in and distributes your asset according to the laws of your state. Wills are not just for the rich; the number of asset you have is irrelevant. A will ensures that what assets you do have will be given to family members or other beneficiaries you designate. If you have no apparent heirs and die without a will, it's even inherent the state may claim your estate.
Having a will is especially foremost if you have young children because it gives you the occasion to prescription a guardian for them in the event of your death. Without a will, the court will appoint a guardian for your children who may be person you do not even know.
What Are The Elements Of A Will?
What you generally need to make a will:
1) Your name and place of residence;
2) Names and addresses of spouse, children and other beneficiaries, such as charities or friends;
3) Alternate beneficiaries, in the event a beneficiary dies before you do;
4) Name and address of an Executor/ Executrix to conduct your estate;
5) Name and address of an alternative Executor/Executrix, in the event your first selection is unable or unwilling to act;
6) Name and address of a guardian for your minor children;
7) Name and address of an alternative guardian, in the event your first selection is unable or unwilling to act;
8) The age you wish your minor children to have control of their inheritance;
9) Any burial requests you may have (cremation, where you want to be buried, etc.);
10) Your signature;
11) Two Witnesses' signatures; and
12) Notarization.
Two of the most foremost items included in your will are naming a guardian for minor children and naming an Executor/ Executrix.
What Is A Guardian?
In most cases, a surviving parent assumes the role of sole guardian. However, it's foremost to name a guardian for minor children in your will in case neither you nor your spouse is able and willing to act. The guardian you choose should be over 18 and willing to assume the responsibility. Talk to the person ahead of time about what you are asking. You can name a consolidate as co-guardians, but that may not be advisable. It's all the time inherent the guardians may choose to go their cut off ways at some later date, and, if so, a custody battle could ensue. If you do not name a guardian to care for your children, a judge will appoint one, and it may not be person you would have chosen.
What Is A Executor/Executrix And What Do They Do?
An Executor/Executrix is the person who oversees the distribution of your assets in accordance with your will. Most habitancy choose their spouse, an adult child, a relative, or a friend to fulfill this duty.
If no Executor/Executrix is named in a will, a Probate Judge will appoint one. Probate refers to the legal policy for the orderly distribution of asset in a person's estate. The Executor/Executrix files the will in probate court, where a Judge decides if the will is valid. If it is found to be valid, assets are distributed according to the will. If the will is found to be invalid, assets are distributed in accordance with state laws.
Responsibilities ordinarily undertaken by an Executor/Executrix include:
--Paying valid creditors;
--Paying taxes;
--Notifying group protection and other agencies and fellowships of your death;
--Canceling prestige cards, magazine subscriptions, etc.; and
--Distributing assets according to the will.
What About Updating My Will?
You'll probably need to update your will any times while the policy of your life. For example, a turn in marital status, the birth of a child or a move to a new state should all prompt a reveal of your will. You can update your will by amending it by way of a Codicil or by drawing up a new one. Generally, habitancy choose to issue a new will that supersedes the old document. Be sure to destroy the old will after you sign a new one.
What About Estate Taxes?
The asset included in your will may be subject to taxation. In planning your will, take into account the following:
---Federal estate taxes will generally be due if the net chargeable estate is worth more than ,000,000. This number is scheduled to gradually growth from ,000,000 in 2002/2003 to ,500,000 in 2009 so that it will finally shield ,500,000 in gift or estate transfers from tax per taxpayer. Estates in excess of the exempt number can be taxed at a rate from 37% to 50% (the top division is scheduled to gradually decrease to 45% in 2009). Also, note that these estate tax changes are scheduled to be repealed in 2010. If not extended, the tax law will revert to the estate and gift tax provisions in affect in 2001. Consult a tax or financial professional to resolve a plan that is right for you and your family.
---State death or legacy taxes
---Federal wage taxes
---State wage taxes
You may be able to minimize your estate tax by establishing a trust or giving gifts while your lifetime. You can also cover the cost of estate taxes by purchasing a life guarnatee policy intended to pay taxes. Talk to your life guarnatee agent to find out more about how this works.
Where Should I Keep My Will?
Once your will is written, store it in a safe place that is accessible to others after your death. I recommend that you keep it in a fire proof box that you can purchase at any office provide store. I do not recommend that you keep your will in a safe deposit box because many states will seal your safe deposit box upon your death. Make sure a close friend or relative knows where to find your will.
What Is A Living Will?
A living will is not a part of your will. It is a cut off document that lets your family members know what type of care you do or don't want to receive should you come to be terminally ill or enduringly unconscious. It becomes effective only when you cannot express your wishes yourself. Discuss your wishes as reflected in your living will with family members, and be sure all your doctors have a signed copy.
What Is A Power Of Attorney For condition Care (Health Care Proxy)?
A power of attorney for condition care (health care proxy) is not a part of your will. It is a cut off document that authorizes person you name to act in accordance with your medical intentions. It becomes effective only when you cannot express your wishes yourself. You should make sure that all your doctors have a signed copy.
What Is A Financial Durable Power Of Attorney?
A financial durable power of attorney is not a part of your will. It is a cut off document that authorizes person you name to act in accordance with your financial intentions. It becomes effective only when you cannot express your wishes yourself. You should make sure that all your financial professionals (stockbrokers, accountants, financial planners) and banks have a signed copy.
Plan Ahead
The end of your life is something you probably don't want to dwell on, but mental about what will happen to your loved ones and your assets and personal possessions is important. Manufacture sure you've done all you can to make their lives easier will give you peace of mind. And once your will is drafted, you won't have to think about it again unless something vital in your life changes.
often Asked Questions About Wills, Living Wills and Powers of AttorneyOpen for Questions: The Home Stretch on Health Reform Tube. Duration : 31.37 Mins.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius takes questions about health insurance reform submitted through Yahoo! News and Ustream. March 17, 2010.
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Have you ever wondered where all these somewhat confusing terms came from? Well the rejoinder is they are all types of Lawyers originated from varied legal systems. Some of the terms are from the English legal system, some are from Scotland and some from the American legal system.
An Attorney is somebody legally empowered to characterize other person, or act on their behalf.
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A Lawyer is somebody who can give legal guidance and has been trained in the law.
What's the inequity Between: A Lawyer, Solicitor, Advocate, Barrister, Counselor, and an Attorney?
Are Attorney and Lawyer are synonyms? Basically yes, but they are not necessarily Interchangeable terms, you cannot for instance say I give you the Power of a Lawyer, but you right on might say I give you the power of Attorney...
Look again at the above definitions, does it now make any sense? Off procedure it does.
An attorney in fact is an agent who conducts company under authority that is controlled and exiguous by a written document called a letter, or power, of attorney granted by the principal. An attorney at law is an officer of a court of law authorized to characterize the person employing him (the client) in legal proceedings.
A Solicitor- One that solicits, especially one that seeks trade or contributions. The chief law officer of a city, town, or government division but does not act as an advocate in court, as opposed to the Attorney who pleads in court. (English Law).
A Barrister(Called Advocate in Scotland) presents the case in court. Most senior and grand barristers are designated King's (Queen's) counsel.
A counselor at law- In the past at least in some U.S states there was a divergence in the middle of the term A counselor at Law who argued the case in court and an attorney who prepared the case but didn't argue it.
Nowadays an attorney at law is authorized to practice all the functions of a practicing lawyer. All of them must, however, like the lowly attorney, be admitted to the bar. The term attorney is also used for county, state, and federal prosecuting officers, as county attorney, district attorney, and attorney general.
Lawyers, also called attorneys, act as both advocates and advisors in our society. As advocates, they characterize one of the parties in criminal and civil trials by presenting evidence and arguing in court to retain their client. As advisors, lawyers counsel their clients about their legal proprietary and obligations and propose single courses of operation in company and personal matters. Although all lawyers are licensed to characterize parties in court, some appear in court more oftentimes than others. Trial lawyers, who specialize in trial work, must be able to think fast and speak with ease and authority. In addition, familiarity with courtroom rules and strategy is particularly leading in trial work. Still, trial lawyers spend the majority of their time face the courtroom, conducting research, interviewing clients and witnesses, and handling other details in preparing for trial.
Lawyers types:
The legal law affects nearly every aspect of our society, from buying a home to crossing the street. Lawyers hold positions of great responsibility and are obligated to cleave to a correct code of ethics.
The more detailed aspects of a lawyer's job depend upon his or her field of specialization and position. Although all lawyers are licensed to characterize parties in court, some appear in court more oftentimes than others.
Lawyers may specialize in a estimate of distinct areas, such as bankruptcy, probate, international, or elder law. Those specializing in environmental law, for example, may characterize public-interest groups, waste disposal companies, or construction firms in their dealings with the U.S. Environmental protection division (Epa) and other Federal and State agencies. These lawyers help clients get ready and file for licenses and applications for approval before inevitable activities may occur. In addition, they characterize clients' interests in executive adjudications.
Some lawyers merge in the growing field of intellectual property, helping to protect clients' claims to copyrights, artwork under contract, product designs, and computer programs. Still other lawyers propose guarnatee companies about the legality of guarnatee transactions, writing guarnatee policies to conform with the law and to protect companies from unwarranted claims.
Most lawyers are found in underground practice, where they merge on criminal or civil law. In criminal law, lawyers characterize individuals who have been expensed with crimes and argue their cases in courts of law. Attorneys dealing with civil law assist clients with litigation, wills, trusts, contracts, mortgages, titles, and leases. Other lawyers deal with only public-interest cases--civil or criminal--which may have an impact extending well beyond the personel client.
These issues might involve patents, government regulations, and contracts with other companies, property interests, or collective-bargaining agreements with unions.
Other lawyers work for legal-aid societies--private, nonprofit organizations established to serve disadvantaged people. These lawyers generally deal with civil, rather than criminal, cases. A relatively small estimate of trained attorneys work in law schools.
The real life situations have created "specialties" according to company profitability. This is how terms like Vioxx Lawyer, Dui Lawyer, Lemon Law Lawyer , Structured Settlements Lawyer and others came about.
What's the inequity Between: A Lawyer, Solicitor, Advocate, Barrister, Counselor, and an Attorney?Insight into Goldman Sachs Tube. Duration : 3.50 Mins.
Goldman Sachs is the nation's most profitable Wall Street investment bank. Before, during and after the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs made billions. How? Jeffrey Sonn, an attorney who represents investors in securities fraud lawsuits against Wall Street banks, explains Goldman Sachs' influence and power.
Domestic violence can happen in any relationship, but often takes the strongest hold in relationships in which one spouse is dependent upon the other. Unequal financial earnings can generate the possible for an abusive association because one spouse may use his or her financial advantage to hold power over the other person. In marriages bright domestic abuse, victimized spouses may feel that there is no flee because they have no way to support themselves. On the contrary, there are resources that can help an abused spouse flee the cycle of violence.
Filing for divorce and Requesting Alimony
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If you are a victim of domestic violence, think talking with an experienced divorce lawyer about how you can safely file for divorce. During your divorce proceedings, you can make a case to have your spouse issue an alimony settlement. Alimony is cost from one spouse to another that can be court-ordered in a divorce. Typically, alimony is issued when a divorce would leave one spouse at a major financial disadvantage.
Domestic Violence and Alimony
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How Alimony Can Help You
While domestic abuse can sometimes seem inescapable, an experienced lawyer can help you recover resources During your divorce to restart your life. Alimony can be used to help an abused spouse flee an unhealthy or hazardous situation, support herself or himself, find a job, or return to school for additional education. These court-ordered payments could be the talk to transitioning away from an abusive, dependent association to a self-sufficient life free from the threat of violence.
For More Information
Abusive relationships are a tragedy, but they do not have to continue. Victims of domestic violence may be able to seek help through the divorce process to transition to a better, healthier life.
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Every habitancy ought to know the Law of the Land. There is no excuse for not knowing the law. It will not help a person defend him or herself in a legal crisis. Ignorance can never be explained away.
Even when you have not acted against the law, you might need to know the law in order to safe yourself from habitancy who might violate the law. To know ones ownership and privileges is not only beneficial, it is categorically essential. You will never know when the data you have at your disposal might come in handy. Having it ready before any crisis strikes will help you take immensely wiser and more informed decisions which you will not regret later. Just as there are discrete disciplines in the field of medicine, there is a wide range of divisions when it comes to law. For instance, everyone knows that you don't visit a normal physician for a severe heart ailment. You want to consult a heart master in this case. Likewise, for every singular type of law, there are definite attorneys who specialize in that singular field. It categorically helps to crusade and recognize the suitable attorney for your singular case, instead of heading to the nearest or most well-known attorney for every case.
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This report briefly lists the types of law:
Types of Law
Admiralty Law
The Admiralty Law is also known as marine Law and governs all U.S. All countries have marine laws and they are responsible for their vessels regardless of which ocean they are pilotage in. Admiralty Law Attorneys describe cases of all matters with regard to cargo disputes, oil pollution, fishing regulations, international trade, cargo and injury that takes place on docks and vessels. Admiralty Law Attorneys also offer guidance on trade laws, legal matters with regard to environmental groups and the protection of endangered species. Admiralty Law also covers freight and passenger liabilities.
Aviation Law
Laws have been instituted by state and federal governments to heighten protection in air traffic. Aviation Laws in the United States govern aircraft operations and the maintenance of aircraft facilities.
Bankruptcy Law
When an individual or a company files for relief of debt, it is termed as Bankruptcy. In the United States, there are definite courts that cope bankruptcy rulings and specialty attorneys who cope these cases. A basal goal of the federal bankruptcy laws enacted by Congress is to give debtors a financial "fresh start" from burdensome debts.
Civil Rights
A Civil ownership Attorney has the accountability of defending the ownership and privileges granted to all United States citizens. These contain freedom from slavery, freedom to vote, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the right to be treated fairly in public places.
Consumer Rights
The Attorney normal of a singular state houses the agency of buyer protection and its team of buyer fraud attorneys. Complaints about misleading advertising or company practices that are unlawful can be filed and that agency investigates and mediates on behalf of the consumer.
Corporate Law
A corporation is a legal entity created straight through the laws of its state of incorporation. individual states have the power to disseminate laws relating to the creation, society and dissolution of corporations. Many states result the Model company Corporation Act.
Criminal Law
A "crime" is any act or omission (of an act) in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it. Though there are some tasteless law crimes, most crimes in the United States are established by local, state, and federal governments. Criminal laws vary significantly from state to state. There is, however, a Model Penal Code which serves as a good beginning place to gain an insight of the basic structure of criminal liability.
Employment Law Employment law is a broad area encompassing all areas of the employer/employee connection except the negotiation process covered by labor law and public bargaining. Employment law consists of thousands of Federal and state statutes, executive regulations, and judicial decisions.
Immigration Law Federal immigration law determines either a person is an alien, and related legal rights, duties, and obligations of aliens in the United States. It also provides means by which inescapable aliens can become naturalized citizens with full ownership of citizenship.
There are still a lot more laws than can be reviewed here.
Types of LawUsing Foreclosure Listings to Save Money Buying Your Home Video Clips. Duration : 1.32 Mins.
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Definition. A conservatorship is used in California where a someone cannot deal with their own financial matters or take care of themselves physically, so another someone is appointed by the Court to deal with these matters.
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Since 1981, in California a guardianship can only be obtained for someone under the age of 18. Other states, though, use the term "guardianship" for what California now calls a conservatorship.
California Conservatorships
Terminology. A conservatorship must be established by a court. The someone needing the help is called the "conservatee" and the someone who receives authority to deal with financial, healing and/or other matters for the someone needing the help is the "conservator".
Types of Conservatorships. There are two basic types of conservatorships, a conservatorship of the someone and a conservatorship of the estate. Often one conservator fills both roles, but it does not have to be that way.
Conservator of the Person. A conservator of the someone makes sure that the conservatee has acceptable food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, social palpate and sources of enjoyment.
Conservator of the Estate. A conservator of the estate handles the conservatee's finances.
A conservator of the estate must use the conservatee's money and other assets to withhold (and educate, if appropriate) the conservatee and any dependents the conservatee has.
If the acceptable court order is obtained, the conservator can deal with not only the conservatee's personal finances but his/her business matters as well.
The Process
Starting the Process. A conservatorship is started by filing papers with the Probate Court and giving copies to the proposed conservatee and his/her close relatives.
Obviously, this can be a painful process for the conservatee, who is being required to give up proprietary to conduct his/her finances, make his/her own healing decisions, etc. Still, sometimes a conservatorship is unavoidable.
Court Investigator. A court interpreter must talk with the proposed conservatee and others who may know something about the situation.
The Hearing. A hearing date is scheduled and at the hearing the judge decides whether a conservator will be appointed and, if so, who that will be.
Unless the proposed conservatee is unable to attend for healing reasons, the proposed conservatee should be gift at the hearing, as the Judge will often want to query them.
Note that it is possible for someone else, ordinarily a family member, to object to the proceeding or advise a separate conservator.
Inventory and Appraisal. Within 90 days of the date the Judge signs the Order Appointing Probate Conservator, the conservator must file a report with the Court listing the assets that the conservatee owns.
More specifically, the conservator prepares an inventory and appraisal form. If there are assets other than cash, the conservator must transmit the inventory and appraisal to the probate referee, who is appointed by the Court. The probate referee will appraise the non-cash items, perfect the inventory and appraisal by inserting the value of those items, and return it to the conservator, who must file it with the Court. The probate referee ordinarily takes four to six weeks to return the form.
The estate is charged a fee for the appraisal, generally 1/10th of 1% of the total value of the conservatee's estate, with a maximum fee of ,000. The probate referee may also be able to recover expenses, such as mileage, in addition.
Court Investigations. Once a conservatorship is in place, the Court conducts periodic investigations to confirm that the conservatorship is still needed and that the conservatee is being treated appropriately.
Bond and Periodic Accounting. If the conservator is handling the conservatee's finances (which is generally the case), the conservator must post a bond and must provide detailed accounts periodically to the Court that list all revenue and expenditures.
Amount of Bond. The number of the bond depends on the assets that the conservatee has and his/her each year income, as well as whether a expert bonding business (versus family members or friends) is providing the bond.
Bonding Companies. Note that most bonding fellowships will not issue a bond unless an attorney is handling the conservatorship proceedings
Status Reports About the Conservatee. Often the conservator must also prepare periodic status reports stating how the conservatee is faring and what the conservator is doing in regard to his/her duties.
Cost. ordinarily the cost of the conservatorship comes out of the conservatee's revenue or other assets.
Fees and Reimbursements for the Conservator.
Expenses. Generally, the conservator is entitled to reimbursement for inexpensive expenses incurred on behalf of the conservatee, together with expenses to create the conservatorship and sometimes money spent supporting the conservatee prior to the conservatorship.
With the exception of Court filing fees and premiums on the bond, the conservator must gather Court approval before receiving reimbursements from the conservatee's estate.
It is crucial for the conservator to keep receipts and records of all expenses (and reimbursements).
The conservator is allowed to hire help as needed - for example, an accountant - as long as the charge is inexpensive in comparison with the size of the conservatee's estate.
Generally the conservator cannot be reimbursed for postage, photocopies, mileage or the cost of trips to court.
Compensation for Time.
It is crucial that a conservator who wishes to receive compensation for his/her time keep a detailed written report of the time spent on the conservatorship, indicating the date, number of time and the work done on an entry-by-entry basis.
Courts ordinarily allow a family member to rescue only for time spent on managing the finances of the estate, and not for any time spent acting as a family member (such as visiting the conservatee) or for acting as a conservator of the person.
Courts may not allow compensation for time if slight time has been spent on financial matters or if the conservator has not followed court procedures, together with filing accountings on time.
Some courts have schedules that set out the compensation that a conservator may receive for his/her time, often a division of the conservatee's estate.
The conservator may only petition the Court for compensation for time after the later of both:
90 days after the Letters of Conservatorship were issued; and when the inventory and appraisal is filed.
Alternatives
Powers of Attorney. Unfortunately, the process of obtaining and maintaining a conservatorship is expensive, which is why we strongly urge citizen to sign powers of attorney that prescription who will deal with their affairs if they become incapacitated. If the proposed conservatee is mentally competent, by far the best advent is to have him/her sign durable powers of attorney. There are two types of powers of attorney.
Durable Power of Attorney for Finances. One type of power of attorney is a durable power of attorney for finances, which designates which citizen can deal with the grantor's financial affairs (such as paying bills) if the grantor becomes incapacitated.
Advance health Care Directive. The other type is durable power of attorney for health care. In California this is now known as an improve healthcare directive. This is designed to allow the grantor's designated agents to make health-care decisions if the grantor is incapacitated.
Agents. Oftentimes the spouse (or partner) is the former agent, and then adult children or friends are the successor agents in case the former (or subsequent) agent is unable (due to incapacity, etc.) or unwilling to act.
Medical Decisions. Often if a someone is incapacitated, healing personnel will allow the family members to make healing decisions if they are all in agreement. It is also possible to gather court authorization for exact healing procedures, but if authority is needed on an ongoing basis a conservatorship may be more effective.
Representative Payees. Most government agencies allow another someone (a "representative payee") to receive checks for the beneficiary and spend that money on the beneficiary's behalf. Each group has its own application procedures and requirements. Many agencies want the representative payee to provide them with periodic accountings.
Community Property. If one spouse becomes incapacitated, the other spouse ordinarily can conduct all of the society property that they have.
This will not help if performance needs to be taken regarding any separate property the incapacitated spouse has.
Also, even with society property, the spouse with capacity may not be able to roll over Treasury bills, sell stock, or sell or gather loans against real property.
Again, it is possible to have the court authorize the spouse to make exact transactions, but it may be easier to gather a conservatorship if ongoing authority is needed.
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The philosophy of LeaderShaping, the off-spring of the "Six Levels of Leadership," depends heavily on "Communications" and "Intelligence" to be successful. When one or both of these elements becomes compromised, the effect is known as the Fog of War. In forces terms, this phenomenon encompasses all of the confusions and miscalculations, which can occur while an actual combat situation. In the case of unsuccessful organizational behavioral influences within the business sphere, it is defined as swaying communal idea over popular culture due to misinformation or ambiguous reporting of the facts. The Fog of War offers a clear definition for the "Devil's Paint Brush:" a report of the actions over any organizational body that causes immanent death over a duration of time.
An assosication dealing with uncertainties within its master plan, internally and externally, can communicate to the Fog of War straight through a base event known as "Murphy's Law" (that anything can go wrong, will): the natural effect of organizations and their leaders rushing headlong into situations of negligible visibility. Further, this is explained as the influences of externally induced obstacles, which disrupt internal goal-oriented/directed behavior and process. The results of this base event could be catastrophic, as leaders in an assosication fail to recognize the intentions of their cohorts, or target competitive positions idea to be clear of the organization's interests. A collapse in process can be attributed to the Fog of War.
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When Napoleon still ruled most of Europe, a Prussian normal named Carl von Clausewitz wrote a book entitled "On War" - one of the all-time, first-rate books on warfare and strategy, still studied in forces academies worldwide. In it, he coined the term "friction" to mean all the things that fail in the chaos of battle conditions. It's good known in business as Murphy's Law: that anything can go wrong, probably will.
The Devil's Paint Brush Within Organizational Leadership
In other part of the same book, "Intelligence in War," he discussed the problems of getting definite data in the middle of a forces engagement (for business purposes, this is known as "Intelligence of Process"): the effects of occupational hassles on negative mood and endeavor exertion.
Communication failures can also occur as a effect of the Fog of War. By not closely examining operations, leaders cannot relay vital and timely procedure corrections or competitive positions to their Centers of Gravity in real time. This performance can place the assosication in harm's way. Such delays and miscommunications are typically blamed on the Fog of War, since competitors and foes (in some cases, these habitancy reside internally) may have to improvise a new strategy or retreat without sufficient time to relay their actions to their own operations. The Fog of War can also be blamed (in some cases) when vital orders from leaders are unsuccessful in reaching the strategic and performance teams in time.
The idea of a Fog of War has come under critical comment over the years. But, in the last eighteen months, it has been pronounced due to economic instability and poor planning by leaders over industry. Political leaders, elected officials and communal and secret leader's response to these allegations often includes an allusion to Fog of War, meaning that some failures were due to real-time confusions, miscalculations and non-effective response to injury - not poor planning.
Some critics payment that the forces depends too heavily on the Fog of War defense to excuse their own actions or missteps. This same defense can also be argued in the business sectors, but either sector being considered, forces or business, the defense "should" not be suitable on a frequent basis - as a defense to failure (excuse) or missteps - for it goes against the very infer that "leadership" was birthed. Here's an example of the Fog of War at work in business.
Fog and Friction: Why Organizations Suffer from the Devil's Paint Brush
In 2008, I had the delight of training a new client on leadership, performance and team building. For the sake of eliminating any instance of embarrassment, I'll convert the client's name to Abc & Company. Their dilemma at the time was two-fold; first, they wanted to come to be a stronger, more cohesive working team. Second, they wanted to learn a good way to execute by enhancing the leadership culture over the organization. while the four months of their training, an moving occurrence continued to show itself - an example for demonstrated "Intelligence of Process."
While outlining the Six Levels of Leadership, the client fast realized that their business (and its future), like warfare, was messy and uncertain. They also learned that what von Clausewitz wrote holds true on both the battlefield and in the boardroom. As soon as habitancy move from the calm of planning meetings to the messiness of action, fog obscures the vision and friction confounds preparation. While actions fail to work as planned (friction), definite data is missed, lost, or mangled (fog). Regardless of how things are anticipated to turn-out, "all best laid plans convert upon first touch with the enemy." Amazingly, and with all of their training, the client fast learned that regardless of any whole of training and learning, behaviors not changed brings calamity to any well run assosication or forces unit.
Fast transmit a year to mid 2009, the client found themselves dealing with the Fog of War in the most profound way. A senior legal responsible for running one of the organization's prosperous behalf centers decided to leave for a new opportunity. In doing so, the senior legal offered a resignation, effective thirty days from the date of submission. In this exact situation, the executive leadership's actions fell fault to Murphy's Law and the Fog of War all in one swoop. Because their culture was one that demonstrated a "hierarchal leadership" approach, one that was easily disconnected from the day-to-day operations of the exact income center, the retirement caused confusion, tension, adrenaline, and anxiety to govern the more foremost pre-events of the transition process.
If you generate "battle" pressures within an assosication - by a lack of leadership and timely communications, competitiveness, low worker moral, fear of dismissal, pressure to win no matter what, and tyrannical supervision - you'll get what real battles bring: chaos, confusion, constant breakdowns, frantic levels of anxiety, and many unnecessary losses. By the last week of the retirement and foremost up to the last day as a member of the organization, the senior legal was faced with worker infighting, a lack of trust from the consumer markets, insubordination, rebellious attitudes, and disobedience. The culture over the assosication along with the stresses, competition, anxieties and pressures increased fog and friction a thousand-fold. This is a clear example of the effects of occupational hassles on negative mood and endeavor exertion. Simply, this is the potential for the beginning of the end - and, if this is not a wakeup call for the hierarchal leadership culture over Abc & Company, it could be the end of the assosication as a whole. Diminutive do they realize, but the Devil's Paint Brush is designing a masterpiece on the very canvas of the client's assosication and culture.
Ten Lessons to Overcome the Devil's Paint Brush
Every business performance has to generate a advantage to the business; if it does not I propose you convert it or stop doing it; hence, the idea of the Fog of War. The implication is that you need to portion the productivity of a whole of activities so that you can portion and improve their behalf contribution. This is why it is foremost to figure a series of lessons to overcome the Devil's Paint Brush. These are your levers of productivity for your business - "a base architecture, a base application and a seamless approach" by all stakeholders to combat Murphy's Law. This segment explains the ideas of performance to increase/overcome barriers to productivity. Naturally setting goals will not accomplish your objectives; managing the performance that produces the effect is what easily counts. As we begin to look at how-to overcome this fog phenomenon, it's foremost to comprehend the words of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker and the founder of analytical science of mind (known as Jungian psychology): "The pendulum of the mind oscillates in the middle of sense and nonsense, not in the middle of right and wrong." - Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1962.
The lessons to overcome the Devil's Paint Brush show you where to start:
1. Empathize with your Enemy. In order to limit opportunities for conflict, yet touch potential for peace, empathy must reside in all situations. Any way tough business and organizational needs might be, communicating with the enemy, empathically, creates an opportunity for prosperous outcomes. Empathy is the remedial performance that overcomes all forms of misrepresentation and misunderstanding. Leaders using this strategy can take off themselves from their current emotional state, look at a situation straight through the lens of the opposing force and understand the thoughts that drive the decisions being made. The key to winning this strategy lie in your ability to know the enemy and how their culture responds to differing circumstances. In a forces context, while the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese Government saw the United States as wanting to replace the French Government to preserve colonial power. The United States saw the Vietnamese as other potential cold war power, similar to the Russian Government. In the end, both countries were wrong. Neither imposed the strategy of "empathy" to learn what the other easily wanted (strategic intent was never understood). In the end, hundreds of thousands died on both sides and life for both cultures changed forever.
In the business context, leaders can only win this strategy by remaining associated to the day-to-day operations. Keeping a finger on the pulse of the business, internally and externally, along with the actions, behaviors and thoughts of all stakeholders, allows leadership to remain ahead of the curve. But, at times of uncertainty as when critical staff moves away from the assosication to pursue greater opportunities, the incident cannot cause for alarm as in the case of calling the fire "out-of-control." This is the time that the leaders are able to spread their wings and demonstrate the true power and foundation of excellence - the true substance of the assosication must prevail beyond the parties being removed. To be successful, leaders must empathize with the situation from all aspects (good and bad), understanding what is needed to use the situation as a increase opportunity, and get their hands dirty to comprehend how-to maximize the talents of the remaining human capital. habitancy are the many asset to any organization, so this means that the leadership must be able to understand the thoughts and feelings of others - their internal and external customer. This cannot be done if the leaders are disconnected from the daily functioning of the assosication or agency being effected.
2. Understand "Rationality" as the No-Safe-Zone. I remember watching a splendid movie titled, "Thirteen Days," staring Bruce Greenwood and Kevin Costner. The film is set while the two-week Cuban missile emergency (Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba) in October of 1962 and it centers on how President John F. Kennedy, Attorney normal Robert Kennedy and others handled the explosive situation.
In October, 1962, U-2 guard photos revealed that the Soviet Union was in the process of placing nuclear weapons in Cuba. These weapons had the ability of wiping out most of the Eastern and Southern United States in minutes if they became operational. President John F. Kennedy and his advisors had to devise a plan of performance against the Soviets. Kennedy was thought about to show that he was strong sufficient to stand up to the threat, and the Pentagon advised U.S. forces strikes against Cuba, which could have led the way to other U.S. Invasion of the island. However, Kennedy was reluctant to effect straight through because a U.S. Invasion would have cause the Soviets to retaliate in Europe. A nuclear showdown appeared confident and the query to ask now, some forty-seven years later is this: "how was it prevented?"
This story offers one of the many part for leaders to truly understand how-to win the strategy here. I encourage you, the reader, to rent the film from your local video rental for a part in leadership, patience, communications, strategy and the Fog of War. Having a true understanding of the actions from both presidents, Kennedy and Khrushchev, while this tense stand-off teaches just how fragile "rationality" easily is in times of uncertainty. It was later found out in a meeting in 1992 that the Soviets had parked 162 nuclear warheads, along with 90 tactical warheads in Cuba while this critical moment in the crisis.
In the business context, leaders must have a proven process by which individuals are superior to be leaders, given they possess the required attributes and style that best fits the organization. Leaders responsible to the choice process must be equipped to make the best decisions to maximize the many payoff distributions. They must go for the abilities after removing the noise inferred ex post from the immediate observed outcomes. The framework create to effect must offer a model, which leaders' judge relative to three distinct outcomes: First, risk must be thought about at all levels of the organization. Behaviors and personalities coming together as ineffective ingredients can have a greater cost to the assosication than any newly appointed incoming/ineffective leader. Second, "overconfidence" must be thought about to ensure the actual needs of the assosication are not being underestimated. This can cause a potential appointment decision to be based on "rationality" rather than "best practices" to meet current and time to come needs. Third, numerous implications for the prognosis of real-world leadership and organizational behavior, new stock development, relation of risk-taking to an organization's situation and culture (past, gift and future) must be discussed (i.e. One who underestimates scheme risk, has a higher probability of being chosen as the leader than an otherwise identical rational manager). Rationality can in fact cause a "No-Safe-Zone."
3. Maximize Efficiency, Decrease Ineffectiveness. Time is critical and has a value that is mostly misunderstood. Efficiency must be a major consideration when faced with serious issues. Maximizing efficiency requires both "incremental convert of process" in the way things are being done today, and "fundamental change" that brings on greater gains in efficiency for the future. other aspect for consideration on this topic is "acceleration." As we investment into the new world after the down sizing of the global business sphere, we'll begin to see the need to do more with less - less cost, less time, less risk and less redundancy. To win this strategy, leaders must learn to increase efficiency over all aspects of their data infrastructure, deploy the most energy-efficient base application platforms for best practices, simplify their processes of compliance with regulations and policies, utilize the benefits of the digital age (automate It supervision platforms and archetypes), get definite and trustable data at every level to execute strategically and flawlessly, and aim to be a strategic partner that enables the success of the habitancy and assosication simultaneously. Experiencing high levels of success in this area not only maximizes efficiencies, but also leverages expertise to help the assosication emerge from areas of uncertainty stronger than ever into the future. All of these actions (and some not listed) decrease ineffectiveness over an assosication and offer, to a leader, the many opportunities to be more effective within their operations.
4. Proportionality is an Absolute Guideline that Fails - within Reason! Some habitancy seem to pursue an intuitive definition of proportionality in warfare: that the civilian casualties in war on either side should not be significantly higher than the civilian casualties on the opposing side. But, the actual definition, from international law, does not define it that way: the incidental or unintended harm caused to civilians or civilian property must be proportional and not excessive in relation to the concrete and direct forces advantage anticipated by an assault on a forces objective. The query now is this: which definition makes more sense, the intuitive one or the legal one? One question with the intuitive definition is that civilian casualties on one side could be used to elaborate deliberate civilian casualties on the other side. But, the legal version is also problematic because it seems to elaborate any whole of civilian casualties if the forces advantage is judged great enough. Neither formulation, Any way you peruse them, offer a quantitative comparison, which means that in any war, habitancy Keeping distinct biases are unlikely to agree on either or not proportionality was easily observed. Naturally stated, "proportionality" in the forces context is all about the possession and wrongs of killing civilians.
Proportionality in the business sense also has parallels to the definitions above, only it is outlined as a strategy to win. How, you might be request yourself. Earlier, we outlined the definition for the Fog of War as the "actions over any organizational body that causes immanent death over a duration of time." One of the actions that leaders fail at is taking care of their organization's many asset - the people. The critical basic asset of an assosication is its people. They are the engines that drive performance and make things run. Without people, nothing can be achieved.
If leaders fail to inspire greatness from their people, they'll fast create a guideline of perception that things such as behalf and process has a greater value. This performance is one that promises to cause immanent death to an organization. The key is to create "Success Traps" that help individuals accomplish Personal Proficiency to increase pro Mastery. Leaders must be able to get habitancy to riposte a few questions:
- How do "I" riposte to problems and challenges?
- How do "I" affect others to my point of view?
- How do "I" riposte to the changing pace of the environment?
- How do "I" riposte to rules and regulations set by others?
And, they too must be able to get their habitancy to riposte the following questions, as it relates to the widespread state - and the time to come state - of the assosication as well:
- Do "I" know where the assosication wants to be in the future?
- Do "I" know what the assosication will apply its resources against to accomplish its time to come Picture?
- How will the assosication apply those resources? And, how might "I" lead in the process?
- When and under what conditions will the assosication exit from its current strategic plan? And, what influences will "I" lead to ensure greater success to its outcomes?
It basically comes down to a singular issue: "does leadership help every person in the assosication lead upwards? And if so, do they communicate the secrets of service performance supervision to everyone?" In the current economy, facing the challenges of a deepening global retreat with Diminutive financial resources; many organizations are charting a new course. As business leaders navigate this evolving terrain, it is foremost that they satisfy the demands of customers, employees, and vendor relationships - and create new strategies that address the economic, social, and environmental impact of their business processes and practices. This is where service performance supervision adds value: Strategies to generate business and societal value to furnish the strategic clarity needed to align performance and service oriented supervision to business and organizational strategy, and hold individuals accountable while managing successfully straight through the downturn.
When leaders take care of their people, "proportionality" becomes a non-issue. But, when they do not value their habitancy as their many asset or forget, immanent death over a duration of time (shorter rather than later) is realized.
5. accomplish the Data - Optimize its Resource. Machines that run at high speed query constant and abundant lubrication to preclude friction in the middle of the moving parts. Slower-speed machines need less. Running a machine, or a business organization, faster than it is designed to accomplish is the perfect recipe for provoking the maximum whole of breakdowns. This is even more true when an assosication is being forced to operate efficiently and effectively on a daily basis. Although its create requires peak performance, without the allowable data to optimize its resources, things will go wrong and the leaders will touch the Fog of War.
Speaking about the need for data ability helps organizations generate the right form of business intelligence and aid leaders with production the right business decisions that becomes the game changer for the habitancy and organization. The key to maximizing the data relies on a simple acronym that is all too familiar: Gigo - "Garbage in, Garbage out." Data integrity is critical to an organization's success and the leader's ability to make great decisions.
6. Belief/Seeing are both often Wrong. "We see only what we want to see, and in most cases, our judgment in the face of chaos, causes us to be wrong - and right - when we only see half the picture." Tom Petruno's Money & Co. Blog back in April, 2008 talked about Wachovia Bank's shareholders wishing that they could have a "do over" of the bank's major foray into California. What he was referring to at the time was Wachovia's 2006 buy of Golden West Financial, the California lender that specialized in so-called choice Arms. As mortgage loan losses soared in 2008, Wachovia was forced to slash its regular dividend cost by 41%, from $.64 a share to $.375. At a time that the business world, more specifically, the financial markets were imploding, Wachovia was stated as saying "California easily is bad and the acquisition of Golden West Financial was riskier than we initially thought" (Source: Goldman Sachs & Co. Report). The Golden West Financial assosication didn't just specialize in choice Arms, it lived, ate, and breathed them. Agreeing to Bloomberg News, "99% of Golden West's mortgage loans were choice Arms." You wonder, then, how it's potential that Wall street didn't recognize how risky these loans were until, um, today (April 2008). Leaders must learn to take heed in the part that others have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The key to winning this strategy lies in a keen ability to "achieve the data and optimize its reserved supply - and, understanding that there's more than what meets the eye!"
7. Put in order to Re-Examine your Reasoning. Robert S. McNamara, the Eighth Secretary of Defense for the United States serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, is quoted as saying: "Were those who issued the approval to use Agent Orange criminals? Were they committing a crime against humanity? Let's look at the law. Now what kind of law do we have that says these chemicals are suitable for use in war and these chemicals are not. We don't have clear definitions of that kind. I never in the world would have authorized an illegal action. I'm not easily sure I authorized Agent Orange. I don't remember it, but it easily occurred, the use of it occurred while I was Secretary." He is also quoted as saying: "What makes us omniscient? Have we a report of omniscience? We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe that we should ever apply economic, political, and forces power unilaterally. If we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there. None of our allies supported us. Not Japan, not Germany, not Britain or France. If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd good reexamine our reasoning."
What an splendid leadership part for us to learn from. These words are profound in a way that stipulates the infer to create Great teams over an assosication - and, hold them accountable for their actions and their leaders for the decisions being made when executing strategy. The many mistake that leaders can make is not reexamining their thinking for moving transmit with a decision. Responsible leaders create a framework, or adopt a proven model that provides their habitancy with a toolkit to think strategically, compare financial implications of their decisions, mobilize convert within the assosication and communicate with other business leaders. These actions help their managers and team leaders to chart the time to come of their departments, as well as manage for bottom-line performance in real-time. When a leader is able to accomplish in this manner, he/she provides moving opportunities for others to specialize in a exact area of occupation interest. Having the reliance to take off yourself from popular culture, the "Art of Detachment," and reexamine your reasoning, eliminates opportunities for mistakes to be repeated - by All parties.
8. Learn to Win Good by moving the Devil. Again, quoting Robert S. McNamara, he stated: "How much evil must we do in order to do good? We have confident ideals, confident responsibilities. recognize that at times you will have to engage in evil, but minimize it." This statement is in relation to the many awful things that took place in Vietnam. But, it still rings true today for the battles that are engaged by leaders in the business battle space. Sometimes, doing the right things means "not" doing what is right. Small business owners are faced with this dilemma day after day. Any way you look at it, it comes down to a decision having to be made. What do you do when you have to make a decision to speak an untruth because the circumstances are not right and the outcomes from the truth will do more harm? Here's a way to deal with this dilemma.
In most cases, the Fog of War in business are the prime causes of loss and wastage in organizational settings - waste of money, time, effort, manpower, and resources of every kind. They turn opportunities into fiascos and cause perfect plans to fail. The world is already a turbulent place; there's not much that you can do to convert that. It makes no sense to add to your problems straight through self-inflicted and unnecessary pressure. So, the best way to avoid the effects of the Fog of War and ineffectiveness within the assosication is this: slow down and operate from a clear Memorandum of understanding that provides a base architecture, a base set of applications and a requirement of teams to perfect the critical tasks to win.
It is foremost that you, as a leader, have the critical time to be proactive in order to limit any risk while moving transmit (the distinction in the middle of production a "compromise" vs. Being "compromised"). When things go wrong, as they often do, do not switch into a panic mode, yet operate as if all is Ok. The only way to pull this off is to learn how to take off yourself emotionally from the scenario you found yourself in, get trustworthy feedback from your peers, ensure the data (data) is definite and uncompromised, make decisions with the time to come photo in mind (don't win the small battles Only to lose the big war), and flawlessly execute to win.
And, if you're wise, you'll have anticipated failures along the way, ready your contingency script and continue with non-missteps and Diminutive surprises. Take time to let the fog clear and the dust settle. Most situations are less pressing and critical than you think. Success in business rarely depends on split-second decisions; but, in some cases, success may want you to come into the devil's living room. When this happens and you are faced with request yourself the query posed earlier in the segment, or a query that is unfavorable, keep the time to come photo and mission within sight. moving the devil may have to occur; when you must, do so with stunning understanding and perspective. The cleanup when it's all over must be as Diminutive with work as potential and its cause cannot be revisited by you.
9. Never say Never - Never say I Can't! Winning this strategy is simple: one of the lessons I learned early on while my service as a United States nautical is this: Never say never - never say I can't! Never, never, never, never... Say never or I can't. And more importantly, never riposte a query that is asked of you. riposte the query that you wish had been asked of you and do it honestly. Quite frankly, it is my idea that if leaders effect these two rules, they'll find themselves in a pretty prosperous position and be able to sleep at night with a clear conscience. These rules offer a simple approach. These rules are very easy to follow.
10. You Can't Beat a Man at his Own Game - Human Nature. Here's one last quote from Robert S. McNamara: "We all make mistakes. We know we make mistakes. I don't know any forces commander, who is honest, who would say he has not made a mistake. There's a splendid phrase: 'the fog of war.' What 'the fog of war' means is: war is so involved it's beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables. Our judgment, our understanding, is not adequate. And we kill habitancy unnecessarily." There's an old adage that says "everything that's gold don't shine and habitancy waiting in a long line do not constitute that they are waiting for something that is good." Any forces commander or business leader who is honest with him/herself, or with those they are speaking, will admit that he/she has made mistakes in the application of forces power or in production sound business decisions. In order for leaders to win this strategy, human nature must be paid attention to at all times.
The Summation
The final part as we close this report is one that explains how leaders don't just come to be prisoners of their perceived success. They also come to be prisoners of their errors. Avoid the Devil's Paint Brush, even when you refuse to see it headed in your direction.
The Devil's Paint Brush Within Organizational LeadershipFull Committee Organizational Meeting Video Clips. Duration : 95.87 Mins.
Full Committee Organizational Meeting - House Oversight Committee - 2011-01-25 - Consideration of the 112th Congress Proposed Committee Rules Package. Video provided by the US House of Representatives.
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realestatemarketingthisweek.com - Real Estate Marketing - World wide recession caused by the mortgage melt-down. Is inflation far behind? - With Michael J Barnes, Brett Fallon and Dan Havey of Real Estate Marketing This Week Part 6 - What their ratings were based on was simply that nobody thought real estate would go down again. They were just going to keep going up forever, doesn't really matter if you call it AAA or BBB. Isnt going to matter if the note never gets called. We certainly saw that for years in the mortgage industry. We would refinances somebody and a couple of years later they would call us up again and say hey my house went up 0000 in value and I bought a car and a boat and my kids need to go to school and give me another hundred grand out of my property, and it just kept going up forever and ever and ever and as long as that was happening everything was just fine. But then as we know everything just stopped. There's only so much leverage that could exist out there and that is why the stop started if you will. Because as that leverage continued to balloon; how much more leverage can a Wall Street firm or a bank take on to buy up more mortgage backed securities? Oh I know well carve out these tranches and well sell them off overseas. So that is where it ballooned, how wide reaching and impactful has it been? Well we see it now it's a global recession. It's not a US recession for that reason. And that is starting to clean itself up, not only by the Fed ...
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In a old article, we presented an summary of two dissimilar types of conservatorships that exist in California. This current article explores inherent alternatives to avoid the need to create a conservatorship.
If an elder is mentally incompetent and unable to cope their own financial affairs, then someone else must be granted the authority to achieve this task. If no power of attorney for financial matters exists then the court, in a conservatorship proceeding, will appoint someone to have this authority. Such a conservatorship over the estate is a long and sometimes costly process.
Financial Power Of Attorney
A power of attorney for financial administration can avoid the need to create a conservatorship over an elder's estate. If the elder has adequate mental capacity to execute such a document, then their appointed agent will have the needed authority without having to ask the court for permission.
Elder Law - Alternatives to Conservatorship
Such powers of attorney have been referred to as a "license to steal" and must only be utilized to protect the elder's financial well-being.
Similarly, a valid power of attorney for condition care decision development (known in California as an enlarge condition Care Directive) can be a viable alternative to having to create a conservatorship over the person. When an elder becomes incapacitated and unable to make sound medical decisions, then this power of attorney grants the agent the legal authority to do so. Again, no court intervention is required.
A revocable trust is also part of the ready alternatives to a conservatorship. The elder's assets that are owned by the trust can be managed by a successor trustee - a someone appointed by the elder to prudently carry on trust assets if the elder becomes mentally or physically incapacitated.
If these documents were properly prepared well in enlarge of the elder's incapacity, then they should serve to avoid the need for court intervention. However, problems arise when loved ones effort to have the elder execute such documents when their mental faculties are in question.
In Riverside and other counties in California, for example, legal mental capacity is thought about through Probate Code Section 811. This statute serves to identify relevant areas of mental functions that can be assessed by a mighty psychologist or psychiatrist. In assessing an elder's mental capacity under this section, a poor carrying out in any one of the identified areas is not adequate to make a measurement that the elder lacked the mental capacity in a given circumstance. The real inquire is whether the elder's poor carrying out rendered him or her unable to understand that the power of attorney was granting his or her agent the authority to make financial or healthcare decisions.
When the elder's mental capacity is in inquire at the time the powers of attorney (or trust) were executed, then the documents' validity will also be questioned.
Again, powers of attorney for financial administration and healthcare decision making, along with revocable trusts, can often serve as valid alternatives to the preparing of a conservatorship of the someone or estate. A mighty elder law attorney can sustain in creating these documents, in case,granted the elder's mental capacity is intact.
Elder Law - Alternatives to ConservatorshipOCCUPY WALL STREET MUSIC "Better Days" by Rob Royalty & Flick Millan #OCCUPYWALLSTREET Video Clips. Duration : 4.35 Mins.
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Hospice fraud in South Carolina and the United States is an addition qoute as the amount of hospice patients has exploded over the past few years. From 2004 to 2008, the amount of patients receiving hospice care in the United States grew roughly 40% to nearly 1.5 million, and of the 2.5 million habitancy who died in 2008, nearly one million were hospice patients. The astonishing majority of habitancy receiving hospice care receive federal benefits from the federal government straight through the Medicare or Medicaid programs. The health care providers who contribute hospice services traditionally enroll in the Medicare and Medicaid programs in order to qualify to receive payments under these government programs for services rendered to Medicare and Medicaid eligible patients.
While most hospice health care organizations contribute suitable and ethical treatment for their hospice patients, because hospice eligibility under Medicare and Medicaid involves clinical judgments which may consequent in the payments of large sums of money from the federal government, there are gargantuan opportunities for fraudulent practices and false billing claims by unscrupulous hospice care providers. As up-to-date federal hospice fraud obligation actions have demonstrated, the amount of health care companies and individuals who are willing to try to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid hospice benefits programs is on the rise.
Financial Power Of Attorney
A up-to-date example of hospice fraud captivating a South Carolina hospice is Southern Care, Inc., a hospice firm that in 2009 paid .7 million to decide an Fca case. The defendant operated hospices in 14 other states, too, including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The alleged frauds were that patients were not eligible for hospice, to wit, were not terminally ill, lack of documentation of concluding illnesses, and that the firm marketed to potential patients with the promise of free medications, supplies, and the provision of home health aides. Southern Care also entered into a 5-year Corporate Integrity business transaction with the Oig as part of the settlement. The qui tam relators received roughly million.
Hospice Fraud - A recap For Employees, Whistleblowers, Attorneys, Lawyers and Law Firms
Understanding the Consequences of Hospice Fraud and Whistleblower Actions
U.S. And South Carolina consumers, including hospice patients and their house members, and health care employees who are employed in the hospice industry, as well as their Sc lawyers and attorneys, should notify themselves with the basics of the hospice care industry, hospice eligibility under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and hospice fraud schemes that have industrialized across the country. Consumers need to safe themselves from unethical hospice providers, and hospice employees need to guard against knowingly or unwittingly participating in health care fraud against the federal government because they may branch themselves to administrative sanctions, including lengthy exclusions from working in an assosication which receives federal funds, gargantuan civil monetary penalties and fines, and criminal sanctions, including incarceration. When a hospice laborer discovers fraudulent guide captivating Medicare or Medicaid billings or claims, the laborer should not share in such behavior, and it is imperative that the unlawful guide be reported to law obligation and/or regulatory authorities. Not only does reporting such fraudulent Medicare or Medicaid practices shield the hospice laborer from exposure to the foregoing administrative, civil and criminal sanctions, but hospice fraud whistleblowers may benefit financially under the reward provisions of the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3732, by bringing false claims suits, also known as qui tam or whistleblower suits, against their employers on behalf of the United States.
Types of Hospice Care Services
Hospice care is a type of health care service for patients who are terminally ill. Hospices also contribute withhold services for the families of terminally ill patients. This care includes corporeal care and counseling. Hospice care is ordinarily provided by a public branch or underground firm approved by Medicare and Medicaid. Hospice care is ready for all age groups, including children, adults, and the elderly who are in the final stages of life. The purpose of hospice is to contribute care for the terminally ill sick person and his or her house and not to cure the concluding illness.
If a sick person qualifies for hospice care, the sick person can receive curative and withhold services, including nursing care, curative public services, physician services, counseling, homemaker services, and other types of services. The hospice sick person will have a team of doctors, nurses, home health aides, public workers, counselors and trained volunteers to help the sick person and his or her house members cope with the symptoms and consequences of the concluding illness. While many hospice patients and their families can receive hospice care in the relax of their home, if the hospice patient's health deteriorates, the sick person can be transferred to a hospice facility, hospital, or nursing home to receive hospice care.
Hospice Care Statistics
The amount of days that a sick person receives hospice care is often referenced as the "length of stay" or "length of service." The distance of service is dependent on a amount of distinct factors, including but not puny to, the type and stage of the disease, the ability of and entrance to health care providers before the hospice referral, and the timing of the hospice referral. In 2008, the average distance of stay for hospice patients was about 21 days, the average distance of stay was about 69 days, roughly 35% of hospice patients died or were discharged within 7 days of the hospice referral, and only about 12% of hospice patients survived longer than 180 days.
Most hospice care patients receive hospice care in underground homes (40%). Other locations where hospice services are provided are nursing homes (22%), residential facilities (6%), hospice sick person facilities (21%), and acute care hospitals (10%). Hospice patients are commonly the elderly, and hospice age group percentages are 34 years or less (1%), 35 - 64 years (16%), 65 - 74 years (16%), 75 - 84 years (29%), and over 85 years (38%). As for the concluding illness resulting in a hospice referral, cancer is the prognosis for roughly 40% of hospice patients, followed by debility unspecified (15%), heart disease (12%), dementia (11%), lung disease (8%), stroke (4%) and kidney disease (3%). Medicare pays the great majority of hospice care expenses (84%), followed by underground insurance (8%), Medicaid (5%), charity care (1%) and self pay (1%).
As of 2008, there were roughly 4,700 locations which were providing hospice care in the United States, which represented about a 50% growth over ten years. There were about 3,700 companies and organizations which were providing hospice services in the United States. About half of the hospice care providers in the United States are for-profit organizations, and about half are non-profit organizations.
General summary of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs
In 1965, Congress established the Medicare schedule to contribute health insurance for the elderly and disabled. Payments from the Medicare schedule arise from the Medicare Trust fund, which is funded by government contributions and straight through payroll deductions from American workers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Cms), previously known as the health Care Financing supervision (Hcfa), is the federal branch within the United States branch of health and Human Services (Hhs) that administers the Medicare schedule and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid.
In 2007, Cms reorganized its ten geography-based field offices to a Consortia buildings based on the agency's key lines of business: Medicare health plans, Medicare financial management, Medicare fee for service operations, Medicaid and children's health, seek & certification and ability improvement. The Cms consortia consist of the following:
• Consortium for Medicare health Plans Operations
• Consortium for Financial supervision and Fee for service Operations
• Consortium for Medicaid and Children's health Operations
• Consortium for ability improvement and seek & Certification Operations
Each consortium is led by a Consortium Administrator (Ca) who serves as the Cms's national focal point in the field for their firm line. Each Ca is responsible for consistent implementation of Cms programs, course and guidance across all ten regions for matters pertaining to their firm line. In addition to accountability for a firm line, each Ca also serves as the Agency's senior supervision valid for two or three Regional Offices (Ros), representing the Cms Administrator in external matters and overseeing administrative operations.
Much of the daily supervision and operation of the Medicare schedule is managed straight through underground insurance companies that covenant with the Government. These underground insurance companies, sometimes called "Medicare Carriers" or "Fiscal Intermediaries," are charged with and responsible for accepting Medicare claims, determining coverage, and development payments from the Medicare Trust Fund. These carriers, including Palmetto Government Benefits Administrators (hereinafter "Pgba"), a branch of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina, control pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1395h and 1395u and rely on the good faith and rigorous representations of health care providers when processing claims.
Over the past forty years, the Medicare schedule has enabled the elderly and disabled to get essential curative services from curative providers throughout the United States. essential to the success of the Medicare schedule is the basic understanding that health care providers accurately and honestly submit claims and bills to the Medicare Trust Fund only for those curative treatments or services that are legitimate, cheap and medically necessary, in full compliancy with all laws, regulations, rules, and conditions of participation, and, further, that curative providers not take benefit of their elderly and disabled patients.
The Medicaid schedule is ready only to obvious low-income individuals and families who must meet eligibility requirements set forth by federal and state law. Each state sets its own guidelines regarding eligibility and services. Although administered by personel states, the Medicaid schedule is funded primarily by the federal government. Medicaid does not pay money to patients; rather, it sends payments directly to the patient's health care providers. Like Medicare, the Medicaid schedule depends on health care providers to accurately and honestly submit claims and bills to schedule administrators only for those curative treatments or services that are legitimate, cheap and medically necessary, in full compliancy with all laws, regulations, rules, and conditions of participation, and, further, that curative providers not take benefit of their indigent patients.
Medicare & Medicaid Hospice Laws Which work on Sc Hospices
Hospice fraud occurs when hospice organizations, by and straight through their employees, agents and owners, knowingly violate the terms and conditions of the applicable Medicare and Medicaid hospice statutes, regulations, rules and conditions of participation. In order to be able to identify hospice fraud, hospices, hospice patients, hospice employees and their attorneys and lawyers must know the Medicare laws and requirements relating to hospice care benefits.
Medicare's two main sources of authorization for hospice benefits are found in the public protection Act and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. The statutory provisions are primarily found at 42 U.S.C. §§ 1395d, 1395e, 1395f(a)(7), 1395x(d)(d), and 1395y, and the regulatory provisions are found at 42 C.F.R. Part 418.
To be eligible for Medicare benefits for hospice care, the sick person must be eligible for Medicare Part A and be terminally ill. 42 C.F.R. § 418.20. concluding illness is established when "the personel has a curative prognosis that his or her life expectancy is 6 months or less if the illness runs its general course." 42 C.F.R. § 418.3; 42 U.S.C. § 1395x(d)(d)(3). The patient's physician and the curative director of the hospice must certify in writing that the sick person is "terminally ill." 42 U.S.C. § 1395f(a)(7); 42 C.F.R. § 418.20. After a patient's first certification, Medicare provides for two ninety-day benefit periods followed by an unlimited amount of sixty-day benefit periods. 42 U.S.C. § 1395d(a)(4). At the end of each ninety- or sixty-day period, the sick person can be re-certified only if at that time he or she has less than six months to live if the illness runs its general course. 42 U.S.C. § 1395f(a)(7)(A). The written certification and re-certifications must be maintained in the patient's curative records. 42 C.F.R. § 418.23. A written plan of care must be established for each sick person setting forth the types of hospice care services the sick person is scheduled to receive, 42 U.S.C. § 1395f(a)(7)(B), and the hospice care has to be provided in accordance with such plan of care. 42 U.S.C. § 1395f(a)(7)(C); 42 C.F.R. § 418.56. Clinical records for each hospice sick person must be maintained by the hospice, including plan of care, assessments, clinical notes, signed notice of election, sick person responses to medication and therapy, physician certifications and re-certifications, outcome data, strengthen directives and physician orders. 42 C.F.R. § 418.104.
The hospice must get a written notice of choosing from the sick person to elect to receive Medicare hospice benefits. 42 C.F.R. § 418.24. Importantly, once a sick person has elected to receive hospice care benefits, the sick person waives Medicare benefits for curative treatment for the concluding disease upon which is the admitting diagnosis. 42 C.F.R. § 418.24(d).
The hospice must prescription an Interdisciplinary Group (Idg) or groups composed of individuals who work together to meet the physical, medical, psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual needs of the hospice patients and families facing concluding illness and bereavement. 42 C.F.R. § 418.56. The Idg members must contribute the care and services offered by the hospice, and the group, in its entirety, must supervise the care and services. A registered nurse that is a member of the Idg must be designated to contribute coordination of care and to ensure continuous estimation of each patient's and family's needs and implementation of the interdisciplinary plan of care. The interdisciplinary group must include, but is not puny to, the following qualified and competent professionals: (i) A physician of treatment or osteopathy (who is an laborer or under covenant with the hospice); (ii) A registered nurse; (iii) A public worker; and, (iv) A pastoral or other counselor. 42 C.F.R. § 418.56.
The Medicare hospice regulations, at 42 C.F.R. § 418.200, summarize the requirements for hospice coverage in pertinent part as follows:
To be covered, hospice services must meet the following requirements. They must be cheap and essential for the palliation and supervision of the concluding illness as well as associated conditions. The personel must elect hospice care in accordance with §418.24. A plan of care must be established and periodically reviewed by the attending physician, the curative director, and the interdisciplinary group of the hospice schedule as set forth in §418.56. That plan of care must be established before hospice care is provided. The services provided must be consistent with the plan of care. A certification that the personel is terminally ill must be completed as set forth in section §418.22.
The public protection Act, at 42 U.S.C. § 1395y(a), limits Medicare hospice benefits, providing in pertinent part as follows: "Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no cost may be made under part A or part B for any expenses incurred for items or services-... (C) in the case of hospice care, which are not cheap and essential for the palliation or supervision of concluding illness...." 42 C.F.R. § 418.50 (hospice care must be "reasonable and essential for the palliation and supervision of concluding illness"). Palliative care is defined in the regulations as "patient and family-centered care that optimizes ability of life by anticipating, preventing, and treating suffering. Palliative care throughout the continuum of illness involves addressing physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and to facilitate sick person autonomy, entrance to information, and choice." 42 C.F.R. § 418.3.
Medicare pays hospice agencies a daily rate for each day a beneficiary is enrolled in the hospice benefit and receives hospice care. The daily payments are made regardless of the amount of services furnished on a given day and are intended to cover costs that the hospice incurs in furnishing services identified in the patient's plan of care. There are four levels of payments which are made based on the amount of care required to meet beneficiary and house needs. 42 C.F.R. § 418.302; Cms Hospice Fact Sheet, November 2009. These four levels, and the corresponding 2010 daily rates, are as follows: routine home care (2.91); continuous home care (4.10); sick person respite care (7.83); and, general sick person care (5.74).
The compound yearly cap per sick person in 2009 was ,014.50. This cap is considered by adjusting the primary hospice sick person cap of ,500, set in 1984, by the consumer Price Index. See Cms Internet-Only by hand 100-04, part 11, section 80.2; 42 U.S.C. § 1395f(i); 42 C.F.R. § 418.309. The Medicare Claims Processing Manual, at part 11 - Processing Hospice Claims, in Section 80.2, entitled "Cap on wide Hospice Reimbursement," provides in pertinent part as follows: "Any payments in excess of the cap must be refunded by the hospice."
Hospice patients are responsible for Medicare co-insurance payments for drugs and respite care, and the hospice may fee the sick person for these co-insurance payments. However, the co-insurance payments for drugs are puny to the lesser of or 5% of the cost of the drugs to the hospice, and the co-insurance payments for respite care are commonly 5% of the cost made by Medicare for such services. 42 C.F.R. § 418.400.
The Medicare and Medicaid programs need institutional health care providers, including hospice organizations, to file an enrollment application in order to qualify to receive the programs' benefits. As part of these enrollment applications, the hospice providers certify that they will comply with Medicare and Medicaid laws, regulations, and schedule instructions, and further certify that they understand that cost of a claim by Medicare and Medicaid is conditioned upon the claim and basic transaction complying with such schedule laws and requirements. The Medicare Enrollment Application which hospice providers must execute, Form Cms-855A, states in part as follows: "I agree to abide by the Medicare laws, regulations and schedule instructions that apply to this provider. The Medicare laws, regulations, and schedule instructions are ready straight through the Medicare contractor. I understand that cost of a claim by Medicare is conditioned upon the claim and the basic transaction complying with such laws, regulations, and schedule instructions (including, but not puny to, the Federal Aks and Stark laws), and on the provider's compliancy with all applicable conditions of participation in Medicare."
Hospices are commonly required to bill Medicare on a monthly basis. See the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, at part 11 - Processing Hospice Claims, in Section 90 - Frequency of Billing. Hospices commonly file their hospice Medicare claims with their Fiscal Intermediary or Medicare Carrier pursuant to the Cms Claims by hand Form Cms 1450 (sometime also called a Form Ub-04 or Form Ub-92), whether in paper or electronic form. These claim forms comprise representations and certifications which state in pertinent part that: (1) misrepresentations or falsifications of essential facts may serve as the basis for civil monetary penalties and criminal convictions; (2) submission of the claim constitutes certification that the billing facts is true, literal, and complete; (3) the submitter did not knowingly or recklessly disregard or misrepresent or conceal material facts; (4) all required physician certifications and re-certifications are on file; (5) all required sick person signatures are on file; and, (6) for Medicaid purposes, the submitter understands that because cost and pleasure of this claim will be from Federal and State funds, any false statements, documents, or concealment of a material fact are branch to prosecution under applicable Federal or State Laws.
Hospices must also file with Cms an yearly cost and data report of Medicare payments received. 42 U.S.C. § 1395f(i)(3); 42 U.S.C. § 1395x(d)(d)(4). The yearly hospice cost and data reports, Form Cms 1984-99, comprise representations and certifications which state in pertinent part that: (1) misrepresentations or falsifications of facts contained in the cost report may be punishable by criminal, civil and administrative actions, including fines and/or imprisonment; (2) if any services identified in the report were the stock of a direct or indirect kickback or were otherwise illegal, then criminal, civil and administrative actions may result, including fines and/or imprisonment; (3) the report is a true, literal, and unblemished statement prepared from the books and records of the supplier in accordance with applicable instructions, except as noted; and, (4) the signing officer is well-known with the laws and regulations regarding the provision of health care services and that the services identified in this cost report were provided in compliancy with such laws and regulations.
Hospice Anti-Fraud obligation Statutes
There are a amount of federal criminal, civil and administrative obligation provisions set forth in the Medicare statutes which are aimed at preventing fraudulent conduct, including hospice fraud, and which help claim schedule integrity and compliance. Some of the more important obligation provisions of the Medicare statutes comprise the following: 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b (Criminal fraud and anti-kickback penalties); 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a and 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-8 (Civil monetary penalties for fraud); 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7 (Administrative exclusions from participation in Medicare/Medicaid programs for fraud); 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-4 (Administrative subpoena power for the Comptroller General).
Other criminal obligation provisions which are used to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud, including hospice fraud, comprise the following: 18 U.S.C. § 1347 (General health care fraud criminal statute); 21 U.S.C. §§ 353, 333 (Prescription Drug Marketing Act); 18 U.S.C. § 669 (Theft or Embezzlement in association with health Care); 18 U.S.C. § 1035 (False statements relating to health Care); 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Aiding and Abetting); 18 U.S.C. § 3 (Accessory after the Fact); 18 U.S.C. § 4 (Misprision of a Felony); 18 U.S.C. § 286 (Conspiracy to defraud the Government with respect to Claims); 18 U.S.C. § 287 (False, Fictitious or Fraudulent Claims); 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Criminal Conspiracy); 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (False Statements); 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (Mail Fraud); 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Wire Fraud); 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (Money Laundering); 18 U.S.C. § 1957 (Money Laundering); and, 18 U.S.C. § 1964 (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ("Rico")).
The False Claims Act (Fca)
Hospice fraud whistleblowers may benefit financially under the reward provisions of the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3732, by bringing false claims suits, also known as qui tam or whistleblower suits, against their employers on behalf of the United States. The plaintiff in a hospice fraud whistleblower suit is also known as a relator. The most common Fca provisions upon which hospice fraud qui tam or whistleblower relators rely are found in 31 U.S.C. § 3729: (A) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for cost or approval; (B) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false report or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim; (C) conspires to commit a violation of subparagraph (A), (B), (D), (E), (F), or (G);..., and, (G) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false report or statement material to an obligation to pay or forward money or property to the Government, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or forward money or property to the Government.... There is no requirement to prove exact intent to defraud. Rather, it is only essential to prove actual knowledge of the false claims, false statements, or false records, or the defendant's deliberate indifference or reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information. 31 U.S.C. § 3729(b).
The Fca anti-retaliation provision protects the hospice whistleblower from retaliation from the hospice when the laborer (or a contractor) "is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment" for taking activity to try to stop the fraudulent activity. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h). A hospice employee's relief includes reinstatement, 2 times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and recompense for any special damages sustained as a consequent of the discrimination or retaliation, including litigation costs and cheap attorneys' fees.
A Sc hospice fraud Fca whistleblower would initially file a disclosure statement, complaint and supporting documents with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Us Attorney General. After the disclosures are filed, a federal court complaint can be filed. The Sc branch where the frauds occurred, the relator's residence, and the defendant residence, will decide which branch the case will be assigned. There are eleven federal court divisions in South Carolina. Once the case has been filed, the government has 60 days to decide whether or not to intervene. During this time, federal government investigators settled in South Carolina will research the claims. If the case complicated Medicaid, Sc Medicaid fraud unit investigators will likely come to be complicated as well. If the government intervenes in the case, the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina is ordinarily the lead attorney. If the government does not intervene, the relator's Sc attorney will prosecute the case. In South Carolina, expect a qui tam case to take one to two years to get to trial.
Tips on Recognizing Hospice Fraud Schemes
The Hhs Office of Inspector general (Oig) has issued special Fraud Alerts for fraudulent and abusive practices of hospices. U.S. And South Carolina hospices, patients, hospice employees and whistleblowers, their attorneys and lawyers, should be well-known with these hospice fraud practices. Tips on recognizing hospice frauds in South Carolina and the U.S. Are:
• A hospice contribution free goods or goods at below store value to induce a nursing home to refer patients to the hospice.
• False representations in a hospice's Medicare/Medicaid enrollment form.
• A hospice paying "room and board" payments to the nursing home in amounts in excess of what the nursing home would have received directly from Medicaid had the sick person not been enrolled in the hospice.
• False statements in a hospice's claim form (Cms Forms 1450, Ub-04 or Ub-92).
• A hospice falsely billing for services that were not cheap or essential for the palliation of the symptoms of a terminally ill patient.
• A hospice paying amounts to the nursing home for "additional" services that Medicaid considered included in its room and board cost to the hospice.
• A hospice paying above fair store value for "additional" non-core services which Medicaid does not reconsider to be included in its room and board payments to the nursing home.
• A hospice referring patients to a nursing home to induce the nursing home to refer its patients to the hospice.
•A hospice providing free (or below fair store value) care to nursing home patients, for whom the nursing home is receiving Medicare cost under the skilled nursing premise benefit, with the prospect that after the sick person exhausts the skilled nursing premise benefit, the sick person will receive hospice services from that hospice.
• A hospice providing staff at its charge to the nursing home to perform duties that otherwise would be performed by the nursing home.
• Incomplete or no written Plan of Care was established or reviewed at exact intervals.
• Plan of Care did not comprise an estimation of needs.
• Fraudulent statements in a hospice's cost report to the government.
• notice of choosing was not obtained or was fraudulently obtained.
• Rn supervisory visits were not made for home health aide services.
• Certification or Re-certification of concluding illness was not obtained or was fraudulently obtained.
• No Plan of care was included for bereavement services.
• Fraudulent billing for upcoded levels of hospice care.
• Hospice did not guide a self-assessment of ability and care provided.
• Clinical records were not maintained for every patient.
• Interdisciplinary group did not characterize and modernize the plan of care for each patient.
Recent Hospice Fraud obligation Cases
The Doj and U.S. Attorney's Offices have been active in enforcing hospice fraud cases.
In 2009, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals settled an Fca lawsuit by paying .8 million to the federal government. The defendant allegedly failed to get written certifications of concluding illness for a amount of its patients.
In 2006, Odyssey Healthcare, a national hospice provider, paid .9 million to decide a qui tam suit for false claims under the Fca. The hospice fraud allegations were commonly that Odyssey billed Medicare for providing hospice care to patients when they were not terminally ill and ineligible for Medicare hospice benefits. A Corporate Integrity business transaction was also a part of the settlement. The hospice fraud qui tam relator received .3 million for blowing the whistle on the defendant.
In 2005, Faith Hospice, Inc., settled claims an Fca claim for 0,000. The hospice fraud allegations were commonly that Faith Hospice billed Medicare for providing hospice care to patients more than half of whom were not terminally ill.
In 2005, Home Hospice of North Texas settled an Fca claim for 0,000 regarding allegations of fraudulently billing Medicare for ineligible hospice patients.
In 2000, Michigan osteopath Donald Dreyfuss, who pleaded guilty to criminal fraud charges, including violation of the Aks for receiving illegal kickbacks from a hospice for recommending the hospice to the staff of his nursing home, settled an Fca suit for million.
Conclusion
Hospice fraud is a growing qoute in South Carolina and throughout the United States. South Carolina hospice patients, hospice employees, and their Sc lawyers and attorneys, should be well-known with the basics of the hospice care industry, hospice eligibility under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and typical hospice fraud schemes. Hospice organizations should take steps to ensure full compliancy with Medicare/Medicaid hospice billing requirements to avoid hospice fraud allegations and Fca litigation.
Hospice Fraud - A recap For Employees, Whistleblowers, Attorneys, Lawyers and Law FirmsPresident Obama's News Conference on the American Jobs Act Tube. Duration : 73.08 Mins.
The President said, I hope every senator thinks long and hard about what's at stake when they cast their vote on the Jobs Act. October 6, 2011.
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