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Beneficiary

09 Sep

Posted at 15:50h in Alzheimer’s, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Guardianship, Inheritance, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Retirement, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Success Story of the Month, Trusts, Wills

Divorces are often draining – financially and emotionally.  As a result, many do not want to incur more costs or even think about different financial arrangements.  However, anytime there is a significant change in your family (death, divorce, disability, births, etc.), your estate plan should be at...

31 Aug

Posted at 13:52h in Alzheimer’s, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Social Security

Many disabled individuals live solely on Social Security income but lack sufficient mental capacity to handle the payment of their living expenses.  Social Security (which doesn’t recognize powers of attorney) permits the appointment of a Social Security Representative Payee (Rep Payee) upon proof of disability and...

17 Aug

Posted at 20:24h in Alzheimer’s, Asset Protection, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Public Benefits Protection, Retirement, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts, Wills

Husband and wife (“clients”) have 2 adult children.  Once child is disabled and the other is a spendthrift (money is spent as soon as it is received).  The disabled child is on Medicaid and lives in a facility where the drug costs and the great majority of...

11 Aug

Posted at 20:34h in Alzheimer’s, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Retirement, Social Security, Transfer of Death, Wills

We get asked questions every day about probate: what it is, how to probate a will, etc. Here are 12 of the most common Texas Probate questions we receive. Question 1: What is Probate?             Answer: Probate is the process where a court confirms death and determines who...

11 Aug

Posted at 20:29h in Alzheimer’s, Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Social Security, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Transfer of Death, Trusts, utma

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,...

11 Aug

Posted at 08:16h in Alzheimer’s, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Mortgage, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts

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...

29 Jul

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

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

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

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

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”)....

14 Apr

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

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...

21 Jan

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

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....