Sometimes clients ask questions where the answer differs as to legality versus morality. As a result, the attorney should be prepared to be both counselor at law and not just an attorney at law. A couple examples of actual cases (all dealing with an inheritance) illustrate...
Although the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration has monitored social media such as Twitter and Facebook since 2014 to determine if there is fraud by those who receive public disability benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI),...
The Will of a quadriplegic man (the “Testator”), who was unable to speak and who communicated with his attorney through a blinking system, was recently upheld by a Fort Worth appellate court. The attorney asked “yes” or “no” questions to the Testator who responded by blinking....
Client, a 78 year old widow in the early stages of experiencing dementia, creates an irrevocable trust which gives her the right to occupy her homestead which was deeded into the trust. Her goal was to save her homestead (or the proceeds therefrom if sold...
As a result of less employer-sponsored pension plans and the desire of Congress to encourage savings for retirement, it is anticipated that Congress will pass the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act later this year as it has bipartisan support. It will...
The federal law called the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act gives some people with disabilities or their families to establish a tax-free savings account that will not count as a resource for Medicaid eligibility (which is “means-tested”). For an adult disabled person who...
Do you bank online? Do you have a Facebook, Twitter or Linked In account? Do you have an app such as Shutterfly? What about Bitcoins? These are all examples of digital assets (see our article about estate planning issues concerning digital assets by clicking here). As a...
Dad, a nursing home resident in a facility that accepts Medicaid, owns highly appreciated out of state real estate that has been in the family for decades and approximately $100,000 of cash. The goals are to protect the real estate, have governmental assistance in paying...
If a Texas resident dies (the “decedent”) without a Will (“intestate”) and the estate assets are less than $75,000 (excluding exempt property such as a homestead if it retains its homestead status when there is a surviving spouse and minor children of the decedent in...
Although there are numerous ways to avoid a successful claim for estate recovery by the state government for Medicaid benefits (such as long-term care in a nursing home, assisted living facility or care at home, in addition to drugs) as set forth in a prior...
