Guardianship if often an expensive legal process which should be avoided if possible. Thus, planning should be considered as an alternative to guardianship. Guardianship is often needed for an incapacitated person. Texas law defines an “incapacitated person” as: a minoran adult, who because of a physical or mental condition,...
A recent decision of a San Antonio appellate court determined that faulty drafting of an annuity contract by the insurance company who issued the annuity resulted in a beneficiary being paid far more than the contracted terms. The annuity contract provided for payments during the joint...
It was recently announced that a simple blood test could be effective in diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease (even if the person seemed normal) 20 years before memory and thinking problems are to be expected in people with a genetic mutation that causes Alzheimer’s. Although the blood test...
Ladybird Deeds and Transfer on Death Deeds are used to avoid probate (which is the legal process whereby the court determines if a will is valid and assets are distributed according to the will). These types of deeds are particularly useful to avoid Medicaid Estate Recovery. If...
After a 14-year battle over James Brown’s estimated $100 million estate, it appears “good” will finally prevail over the greed of Brown’s 4th “wife”. The Supreme Court of South Carolina has recently ruled that Tommie Ray Hynie’s marriage in 2001 to the “Godfather of Soul” was invalid...
As a result of a rush to stimulate the economy early in the pandemic, the IRS apparently failed to follow its own procedures (established after recovery from the recession in 2008) and sent 1.1 million stimulus checks totaling $1.4 billion to those who are deceased. Now...
What would happen in Texas if it were determined either before or after probate that a Will was forged? This question becomes topical due to the recent determination by a Florida sheriff (after 2 handwriting specialists examined the Will) that there “100% forgery” of the Will admitted...
Joe Exotic, the so-called “Tiger-King” in the Netflix hit docuseries during the pandemic who was found guilty of paying a hitman to kill his arch-nemesis, Carole Baskin, lost his zoo, G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park, to Baskin pursuant to a court order on June 1,...
As COVID-19 increases pressure on state Medicaid budgets as demands for Medicaid coverage become even greater, states may be inclined to expand Medicaid estate recovery giving the state the right to have a lien against the property (most commonly a homestead) of a Medicaid recipient...
Although Little Richard recently died, with an estate estimated at $40 Million, it could have been much greater if he had made better business decisions. He sold the rights to his hit song, “Tutti Frutti”, to Specialty Records for $50 plus a half cent for...
