Blog

10 Jul HORMONE-BLOCKING PROSTATE CANCER COULD LEAD TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Posted at 15:30h in Alzheimer’s, Dementia, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Quality of Life

An analysis from University of Pennsylvania researches of data from a study of 154,000 older patients over an eight year period indicates that patients who are given hormone-blocking prostate cancer treatment have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Although the results are not proof, the...

10 Jul U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES STATE NOT PERMITTED TO TAX UNDISTRIBUTED INCOME FROM NON-RESIDENT TRUST

Posted at 15:07h in Estate Planning, Power of Attorney

The U.S. Supreme Court recently rules that “the presence of in-state beneficiaries alone does not empower a state to tax trust income that has not been distributed to the beneficiaries where the beneficiaries have no right to demand that income and are uncertain to ever...

10 Jul COURT: LAWYER INCOMPETENT FOR ADVISING CLIENT TO ACT BEYOND AUTHORITY UNDER POWER OF ATTORNEY

Posted at 14:54h in Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Trusts

A court has ruled an attorney was incompetent for advising his client, who was acting as agent for his brother pursuant to a power of attorney, to transfer assets to himself notwithstanding a lack of authority. Most people think (apparently, including some attorneys) that a...

10 Jul DOG OWNER’S WILL REQUIRES EXECUTOR TO BE EXECUTIONER OF HEALTHY DOG

Posted at 14:37h in Estate Planning

Pursuant to the terms of the Last Will and Testament of a Virginia dog owner, the named executor was required to have the owner’s healthy pet dog (which is personal property in Virginia as it is in Texas) euthanized so that the dog could be...

10 Jul SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – LADYBIRD DEED INTO PET TRUST IS CATS’ MEOW

Posted at 13:55h in Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Lady Bird Deed, Medicaid Planning, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death

The goal of a self-proclaimed “cat lady”, who is on Medicaid, is to make sure her 14 cats are adequately cared for after her death. However, her only assets are her home, car and a small bank account. Her home and car are “non-countable” resources...

10 Jul INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT USED TO INVALIDATE FRENCH ROCK STAR’S WILL

Posted at 13:35h in Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts

The fate of French rock star Johnny Hallyday’s $112 million estate hangs in the balance due to his Instagram account. Hallyday, who lived in California for approximately ten years prior to his death in December 2017, was survived by his fourth wife and their two...

04 Jun SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – PROTECTING THE LOAN ON PARENTS’ HOME FROM MEDICAID ESTATE RECOVERY – LADYBIRD TO THE RESCUE

Posted at 19:44h in Asset Protection, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Taxes, Transfer of Death, Wills

Parents own homestead as their major asset. Their health is beginning to decline, and neither of them have long-term care insurance or enough income or assets to pay for long-term care. As a result, if either of them needs long-term care, Medicaid is likely to...

04 Jun TEXAS COURT RULES AGAINST PENALIZING INCAPACITATED MEDICAID APPLICANT IF NO REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED

Posted at 14:37h in End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Social Security

On May 24, 2019, a Texas appeals court ruled that if an incapacitated Medicaid applicant does not have a guardian appointed, then the resources of the applicant should be considered unavailable for Medicaid eligibility purposes. Usually, the cost of long-term care (such as a nursing...

04 Jun FIVE COMMON MISTAKES AT WILL SIGNING

Posted at 14:24h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Notarizations, Probate Administration, Wills

Mistakes made during the signing of a Will are frequently the cause of litigation. Some of the common mistakes are as follows: Attorney should handle the Will signing ceremony. Although it is not required by law that an attorney handle the ceremony, the probability of error is...

04 Jun IRS GIVES DETRIMENTAL TAX RULING TO SURVIVING SPOUSE NOT NAMED AS BENEFICIARY

Posted at 14:17h in Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Retirement, Taxes

A recent ruling by the IRS demonstrates the importance of naming a spouse as the beneficiary of an IRA in which the surviving spouse has a community property interest. In this case, the husband (who died) named his child as the sole beneficiary of his...