Miami Estate Planning Law Blog

The daughter and ninth husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor appeared in probate court this week to continue an argument that's been going on for quite some time. In March, Gabor's daughter, Constance Francesca Hilton, asked to be appointed her mother's conservator; on Wednesday, she said she would be amenable to having the court appoint an independent conservator to manage the financial, health and other affairs of her 95-year-old mother.

Gabor's husband, Frédéric von Anhalt, has agreed only to try to resolve the matter outside of court. The parties told the court on Wednesday that they planned to meet with a retired probate judge next month to work out a settlement.

The three have not been one big, happy family for some time. In 2005, Gabor sued her daughter, accusing Hilton of stealing $2 million. The case was dismissed when Gabor failed to show for a hearing, but the animosity between Hilton and von Anhalt linger. He maintains that Hilton has tried to manipulate her mother and has been causing financial problems for the star. A doctor's report supports his claims that Gabor is well cared for by her husband and two aides.

In spite of the efforts of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, residents of the state may be surprised to know there may only be minimal, if any, training required to care for the elderly. Other states are even farther behind. This lack of qualification and monitoring can prove dangerous for family loved ones, and easy for people who prey on the elderly and vulnerable in our society. In addition, unless a complaint is filed, the business caring for the elderly person will not be regularly monitored.

According to the co-director of the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect, the base of the problem is the lack of a long-term care system throughout the United States. The state of Florida has struggled with the same problem for some time.

We often talk about talking. Talk to your parents. Talk to your kids. Talk to your attorney or financial advisor. Talk talk talk -- and, with apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein, it's not all happy talk. There just isn't a way around it when it comes to estate planning, though. Everything starts with a conversation.

Ahh, but how do you start that conversation? Do you open with a joke? A man walks into a bar without a healthcare directive.... Do you blurt, as a friend of ours did with her mother? Ma, you'd better write down now who gets the Encyclopedia Britannica when you die, because it'll get ugly if you don't. Do you wander in through the back door? You know, Aunt Gladys, I saw this great documentary the other day -- maybe you saw it, too? All about how to put real estate into a revocable trust and name a, like, loving relative as beneficiary?

If you have seen the original "The In-Laws," with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, you may remember the South American dictator's prized art collection. He showed off one piece after another, and Falk lavished praise on all of them. Arkin looked on, confused -- it was a collection of paintings on velvet. The tiger was the most impressive.

The collection may not have fetched much in the United States, but the true value of a collection is measured by the collector. And the IRS. Especially after the collector dies, and his heirs must decide what to do with the velvet Tiger, the velvet Elvis, the velvet Dolly Parton and so on.