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09 Oct FIVE MISCONCEPTIONS ON ESTATE PLANNING

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Quality of Life, Retirement

Estate planning is not simply protecting your assets or having a Will and a power of attorney. It is a plan whereby you are in control of your assets during your lifetime when you are well and to protect you if you should become disabled...

07 Oct 2020 PROJECTED MAXIMUM RESOURCE LIMITS FOR SPOUSAL MEDICAID (HOW TO KEEP MORE FOR SPOUSE IF ILL SPOUSE NEEDS TO GO INTO NURSING HOME OR NEEDS CARE AT HOME)

Posted at 09:00h in Disability Benefits, Divorce, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Social Security

As we live longer, there is a greater likelihood of disability and the need for long-term care. However, most Americans have inadequate resources or income for such care and also lack long-term care insurance or similar insurance products. As a result, some elderly and disabled...

02 Oct PRINCE’S ESTATE REQUESTS “PURPLE RAIN” DROUGHT FROM TRUMP CAMPAIGN – THE ESTATE OF PRINCE FAR FROM BEING SETTLED

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Music, Taxes

The Estate of legendary musician, formerly known as Prince, has (for at least the second time) requested the Trump campaign to stop playing Prince’s most famous song, “Purple Rain,” or any of his songs at Trump’s campaign events. The Estate owns all copyrights to the...

29 Sep SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE PROPOSED $350 MILLION INCREASE FOR ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA RESEARCH

Posted at 15:16h in Alzheimer’s, Dementia, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning

The Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee has proposed a $350 million increase, raising the total to $2.8 billion annually if passed into law, for research funding on Alzheimer’s and dementia for year 2020. The Senate Subcommittee saw the progress in dementia research being made by researchers...

24 Sep MAYBE YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ THE “SMALL PRINT” A PLACE FOR MOM PAYS $6 MILLION DUE TO CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR VIOLATION OF TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

Posted at 09:00h in Business, Estate Planning, Lawsuits

The largest senior living and care referral service in the country, A Place for Mom, has agreed to pay $6 million to settle a class action lawsuit as a result of allegations that the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The plaintiff alleged that...

18 Sep LAWYER’S WILL DRAFTING LIKELY TO COST MILLIONS TO DECEDENT’S PARTNER

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Wills

As a result of poorly worded language drafted in a Will by a New York lawyer, the surviving companion of 18 years of the deceased is likely to be disinherited. The Last Will and Testament of 84 year old New York City psychologist, Jill Morris...

15 Sep CONRAD N. HILTON FOUNDATION TO RECEIVE BILLIONS FROM BARRON HILTON’S ESTATE − WOULD PARIS HILTON HAVE STAYED AT THE VERY FIRST HOTEL NAMED HILTON ─ WHICH WAS IN DALLAS?

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Inheritance, Taxes

Barron Hilton, who helped make the name “Hilton” synonymous with hotels and one of the hotel industry’s leading brand names, has left the bulk (97%) of his estate worth billions to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation established for his father Conrad...

10 Sep HELTER SKELTER – CALIFORNIA COURT REQUIRES DNA TEST OF CHARLES MANSON’S “GRANDSON” AS REQUESTED BY PRISON PEN PAL WHO WANTS THE ESTATE

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning

A California judge has required a DNA test of Jason Freeman, who claims to be the “grandson” of notorious murderer Charles Manson, to determine if he is a possible heir of Manson who died in 2017. The request was made by Michael Channels, a memorabilia...

06 Sep SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – USING DIFFERENT LEGAL TOOLS (LADYBIRD DEED, REVERSE MORTGAGE AND REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST) IN THE TOOLBOX

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Mortgage, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts

Client had created a revocable living trust several years ago prepared by another attorney. The most common reasons for such a trust is to avoid probate (the laws that govern the probate process which is the process to determine if the Will is valid and...

04 Sep SUICIDAL MANHUNT MURDERERS RECORDED “LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT” ON CELL PHONE

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Wills

After killing several people in Canada resulting in a manhunt over three Canadian provinces, Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, left a video on a cellphone in which they said goodbye to their families and described their last wishes for their remains similar to a...

03 Sep QUEEN OF SWEDEN AND IKEA PARTNERSHIP TO HELP PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA

Posted at 09:00h in Alzheimer’s, Assisted Living, Dementia, Long Term Care, Nursing Home

In an effort to make it easier for those suffering dementia to live independently instead of going to a nursing home, the Queen of Sweden (Queen Silvia), furniture maker Ikea, along with Skanska (a Swedish construction company) are teaming up to provide comfortable living solutions....

30 Aug NEW LAW LIMITS NURSING HOME ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS

Posted at 09:00h in Assisted Living, Estate Planning, Lawsuits, Long Term Care, Nursing Home

At the present time, many skilled nursing facilities and other long-term care facilities require the patient (or their agent) to sign an admission agreement (in which amendments are not permitted) as a condition of being admitted to the facility. One of the almost universal provisions...

29 Aug SENIORS HAVE LESS RIGHTS THAN TERRORISTS – NEW TEXAS LONG-TERM CARE MEDICAID TRANSFER PENALTY DIVISOR ANNOUNCED

Posted at 09:00h in Assisted Living, Elder Justice, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Retirement, utma

Under our criminal justice system, guilt must be determined “beyond a reasonable doubt” as there is a presumption of innocence. However, if a senior makes a gift within five (5) years and applies for long-term care Medicaid, there is a presumption of guilt since Medicaid...

28 Aug SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – WIDOW PROBATES HUSBAND’S WILL SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH TO GET FULL TITLE TO HOME

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Wills

Many people incorrectly assume that the surviving spouse will always get full title to their homestead that was bought together after the first spouse dies. In this case, the husband, who had two children from a prior relationship and four children born of his marriage...

27 Aug $1 MILLION IN UNCASHED CHECKS AND THREE HANDWRITTEN “WILLS”, ARETHA FRANKLIN’S ESTATE IN CHAOS ONE YEAR AFTER HER DEATH

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Probate Administration, Taxes, Wills

“Sock it to me, sock it to me” are part of the famed lyrics of Aretha Franklin’s hit song, “RESPECT”, but her lack of estate planning has landed a haymaker to the previously closely-knit heirs of the late songstress who died a little over a...

26 Aug JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S WILL – FIVE LEGAL ISSUES LEFT TO BE DECIDED

Posted at 09:00h in Elder Justice, Estate Planning, Lawsuits, Notarizations, Probate Administration, Short Term Care, Taxes, Transfer of Death, Wills

Jeffrey Epstein’s signing of a Will two days before his suicide leaves many legal issues that may take more than a decade to decide. By creating a “pour-over Will” into a trust he created, we know that he has planned for privacy on who are...

06 Aug LARGE GRANT GIVEN TO DETERMINE IF LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION REDUCES ALZHEIMER’S RISK

Posted at 15:00h in Alzheimer’s, Dementia

The U.S. National Institute of Aging (NIA) is giving the University of California, Berkley a five year grant expected to total $47 million to determine whether lifestyle changes will reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study will be used to determine if lifestyle interventions...

06 Aug ELECTRONIC WILLS ACT APPROVED BY UNIFORM LAW COMMISSIONERS

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Notarizations, Probate Administration, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts, Wills

On July 17, 2019, the Uniform Law Commission passed an act allowing probate courts to validate Wills electronically signed by a testator and witnesses. Texas law does not presently permit electronic signing and witnessing of Wills due to special signing requirements to make sure the Will...

05 Aug ADDITIONAL SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – THE USE OF UTMAs IN MEDICAID PLANNING

Posted at 09:00h in 529 plan, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Success Story of the Month, utma

Long-term care Medicaid helps pay for long-term care costs if certain eligibility requirements such as medical necessity, Medicaid bed availability, “countable” resources being below a $2,000 limit, restrictions on most uncompensated transfers if made within five years of application, etc., are met. In this case the...

04 Aug ANDERSON COOPER INHERITS $1.5 MILLION FROM HIS MOTHER, GLORIA VANDERBILT

Posted at 09:00h in Business, Charitable Giving, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Trusts, Wills

Gloria Vanderbilt’s Will provided that her son, CNN news reporter Anderson Cooper (“Anderson Cooper 360”), will receive the residue of her estate other than her Manhattan co-op and contents therein which were bequested to another son, Charles Stokowski. Since Wills and inventory are a matter...

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