PART BB

Sec. BB-1. 18-A MRSA §5-408, sub-§(6) is enacted to read:

(6)__The court may not authorize any gifts from the protected person's estate other than to the protected person's spouse unless the court finds:

(a)__That the estate of the protected person is sufficient for the protected person's care and maintenance for the present and the foreseeable future, including due provision for the protected person's established standard of living and for the support of any persons the protected person is legally obligated to support; and

(b)__That the purpose of the gift is not to diminish the protected person's estate in order to qualify the protected person for federal or state aid or benefits.

The provisions of this subsection do not prevent the court from approving a transfer of assets to a trust established pursuant to 42 United States Code, Section 1396p(d)(4), as amended.

Sec. BB-2. 18-A MRSA §5-409, sub-§(b), as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to read:

(b) When it has been established in a proper proceeding that a basis exists as described in section 5-401 for affecting the property and affairs of a person the court, without appointing a conservator, may authorize, direct or ratify any contract, trust or other transaction relating to the protected person's financial affairs or involving his the protected person's estate if the court determines that the transaction is in the best interests of the protected person. In the event of a proposed transaction that would transfer assets out of the protected person's estate to another person other than the protected person's spouse or to a trust other than a trust established pursuant to 42 United States Code, Section 1396p(d)(4), as amended, that transaction may not be authorized unless the court has established upon due inquiry that the estate of the protected person is sufficient for the protected person's care and maintenance for the present and the foreseeable future, including due provision for the protected person's established