Beneficiary

29 Jul LADYBIRD DEEDS – 10 SITUATIONS WHERE IT IS BEST THAT A TRUST RECEIVE PROPERTY INSTEAD OF AN INDIVIDUAL

Posted at 19:55h in Asset Protection, Assisted Living, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Home Equity, Inheritance, Lady Bird Deed, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Mortgage, Nursing Home, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Transfer of Death

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...

22 Jul JAMES BROWN’S HEIRS “FEEL GOOD” AFTER COURT RULES AGAINST BIGAMOUS “SPOUSE”

Posted at 19:50h in Beneficiary, Elder Justice, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Wills

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...

15 Jul DEAD MONEY – HOW CAN GOVERNMENT COLLECT $1.4 BILLION FROM STIMULUS CHECKS SENT IN ERROR TO THE DECEASED?

Posted at 19:45h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Social Security, Transfer of Death

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...

08 Jul RIVAL OF TIGER KING A COPYCAT? SHERIFF: MISSING HUSBAND’S WILL FORGED

Posted at 21:13h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Short Term Care, Wills

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...

01 Jun MURDER, SHE WROTE? WOULD “TIGER KING” NEMESIS BE TEXAS TOAST UNDER TEXAS ESTATE LAWS?

Posted at 14:19h in Beneficiary, Business, Dementia, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts, Transfer of Death, Wills

The recent Netflix series “Tiger King” focused on the feud between an Oklahoma private zookeeper (of big cats such as tigers and lions) known as “Joe Exotic” (herein “Exotic”) who also called himself the “Tiger King” and big cat animal rights preservationist, Carol Baskin (“Baskin”)....

06 May ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART – MARRIAGE CAN BE VOIDED AFTER DEATH

Posted at 16:13h in Beneficiary, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Quality of Life, Wills

Under Texas law, a surviving spouse has a life estate in the homestead of their deceased souse (see our article entitled “Surviving Spouse Homestead Rights – I Never Want to Fall in Love Again” by clicking here). A life estate gives the surviving spouse the right...

28 Apr KOBE BRYANT’S TRUST IS NO SLAM DUNK

Posted at 16:23h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

Although Kobe Bryant’s revocable living trust was carefully drafted for estate and tax planning, the co-trustees (his surviving spouse, Vanessa and Robert Pelinka, Jr.) have filed a Petition to Modify the Trust to add as a beneficiary his youngest child, Capri, who is just nine...

14 Apr PANDEMIC PLANNING IN PERIL: WHERE THERE IS A “WILL”, IS THERE STILL A WAY?

Posted at 15:49h in Beneficiary, Business, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Guardianship, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Notarizations, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Quality of Life, Retirement, Transfer of Death, Trusts, Wills

Coronavirus concerns have resulted in an unprecedented demand for Will planning in America. Even younger Americans are realizing that they are not invincible. Most Americans fail to have even a simple Will leaving the risk of their assets being distributed in accordance with the laws...

09 Apr 10 KEY PROVISIONS OF CORONAVIRUS LEGISLATION THAT AFFECT SENIORS

Posted at 15:42h in Beneficiary, Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Mortgage, Retirement, Social Security

Although we are all affected by the pandemic, the following are just some of the key provisions that impact seniors: Rebates. All U.S. residents with adjusted gross annual income of up to $75,000 ($150,000 if married) who are not a dependent and have a work eligible...

03 Feb SON HOT – SUES OVER DAD’S FROZEN HEAD

Posted at 08:00h in Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Lawsuits, Wills

“They chopped his head off, burned his body, put it in a box and sent it to my house,” stated Kurt Pilegram who has sued cryogenics firm, Alcor Life Extension Foundation (“Alcor”), for a million dollars for emotional distress for what they did to his...

28 Jan ATTORNEY GENERAL’S ESTATE PLANNING FLAWED

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Trusts

Former Attorney General Janet Reno (appointed by President Clinton) created and funded a revocable living trust prior to her death in 2016. She was not married and had no descendants. Her trust had a specific bequest of her mostly underdeveloped four acre ranch home in...

21 Jan SEVEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUSTS USED IN PUBLIC BENEFITS PLANNING

Posted at 19:54h in Asset Protection, Assisted Living, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Miller Trust, Nursing Home, Public Benefits Protection, Social Security, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Transfer of Death, Trusts, Veterans

Public benefits can range from payment of expensive drugs (no matter what age) to long-term care costs such as skilled nursing care. There are 40-50 Medicaid programs in Texas in addition to strictly federal public benefits programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security...

14 Jan CHANGE IN RETIREMENT ACCOUNT LAWS AND INCREASED TAXES (SECURE ACT) LEAVES MANY BENEFICIARIES INSECURE

Posted at 19:45h in 401(k), 529 plan, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Retirement, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Taxes, Trusts

Although the SECURE Act passage last month (which became effective January 1, 2020) covered 29 new provisions, the one provision likely to cause the most impact is the removal of “stretch” inherited IRA provisions to 10 years unless the beneficiary is an eligible designated beneficiary....

10 Jan SIX REASONS TO USE A TRUST PROTECTOR – AN EXTRA LAYER OF INSURANCE FOR YOUR TRUST

Posted at 19:44h in Beneficiary, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Trusts

A trust protector is a person or entity appointed by the one who establishes the trust (the “trustor”) to protect the trust assets and beneficiaries in the event the law changes or circumstances change and the trustor is unable to make such changes. Here are...

24 Dec LADYBIRD DEEDS – WILL TITLE COMPANIES FOLLOW COURT RULES?

Posted at 15:56h in Assisted Living, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Mortgage, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Taxes, Transfer of Death

Ladybird Deeds are often used to protect a homestead from a Medicaid estate recovery claim as it avoids probate and are supposed to permit the grantor (the one who signs the deed) to reserve for the grantor’s life, the full possession, benefit and use of...

10 Dec “KNIVES OUT” CUTS TO CORE OF CERTAIN ESTATE PLANNING BASICS

Posted at 15:51h in Beneficiary, Dementia, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Short Term Care, Transfer of Death

The recent popular murder mystery movie “Knives Out” delves into several key estate planning topics (such as Will contests and undue influence) during this whodunnit thriller. In the movie, a wealthy man changes his Will shortly before he was murdered. Since his family members feel jilted,...

27 Nov BIG BAD WOLF (LONG-TERM CARE COSTS) CAN’T BLOW DOWN HOUSE MADE OF IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS

Posted at 16:47h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Trusts

Irrevocable trusts are a tool commonly used by many who plan in advance to preserve resources if they desire governmental assistance to pay for long-term care costs. Although Americans are living longer resulting in increased need for long-term care, sales of long-term care insurance have...

24 Nov JOINT BANK ACCOUNTS – A BLESSING OR A CURSE? NINE REASONS TO NOT USE A JOINT ACCOUNT

Posted at 16:09h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Trusts, Wills

Joint bank accounts can be helpful in several ways, but such accounts can also be a trap for the unwary. A couple of the major benefits are as follows: Trusted joint account owner can pay your bills. Probably the most common reason for opening such accounts,...

23 Nov TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED VOIDED BY COURT

Posted at 10:00h in Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Probate Administration, Transfer of Death, Wills

TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED VOIDED BY COURT The Fort Worth Court of Appeals has recently set aside a Transfer on Death Deed (an instrument that usually avoids court action for real estate to pass to a beneficiary) since a jury determined the deed was signed as...

16 Nov WHERE THERE IS NO WILL, THERE IS A WAY (SOMETIMES) – SMALL ESTATES AFFIDAVITS

Posted at 10:00h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Notarizations, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Transfer of Death, Trusts, Wills

Texans who die with modest means may be able to have their property transferred if they have no Will and if certain other requirements are met. One of the main reasons for having a Will or a Trust is to transfer property of the deceased...

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