Estate Planning

31 Mar WILL ONLINE (REMOTE) NOTARIZATIONS BECOME THE NEW “NORM”?

Posted at 14:43h in Business, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Guardianship, Notarizations, Power of Attorney, Trusts, Wills

Italy and China have enforced strict curfews (much stricter than “shelter in place”) in recent months to “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus pandemic. As mentioned in our article “Pandemic Planning in Peril”, the signing of a Will in Texas is particularly difficult at this...

25 Mar SURVIVING SPOUSE HOMESTEAD RIGHTS – I NEVER WANT TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN

Posted at 17:01h in End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Mortgage, Taxes, Wills

Maya Holmes, a widow, decides to marry her new beau, I.M. Bitterman. Maya has two adult children from her first marriage, Iwanna Eura Holmes and Lo Theng Husbands. Maya owns a homestead as her sole and separate property that she had purchased with her late...

16 Mar IRA DISTRIBUTIONS TO BE AVERAGED TO DETERMINE INCOME FOR LONG-TERM CARE MEDICAID

Posted at 16:54h in Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Social Security, Trusts

Although nothing has been officially announced, a reliable source from the Texas Health and Human Services has indicated the state will look at the annual distributions from an IRA and divide that amount by 12 to determine the monthly income for long-term care Medicaid eligibility....

09 Mar FED PROPOSAL: NEITHER CATS NOR PIGS CAN FLY – ONLY SERVICE DOGS

Posted at 16:46h in Estate Planning, Quality of Life, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing new restrictions whereby only trained service dogs (and no emotional support animals) would be allowed to fly on airlines with people who have disabilities. Many consumers have complained about the various emotional support animals (ranging from cats...

01 Mar CORONAVIRUS LEGISLATION INCLUDES MEDICARE EXPANSION OF TELEMEDICINE

Posted at 16:39h in Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Medicare

President Trump signed Coronavirus (COVID-19) legislation on March 6 permitting expansion of Medicare coverage for telemedicine in outbreak areas to help contain and treat COVID-19. This is particularly important to those at high risk including older people and people of all ages with severe health...

11 Feb TRUMP’S MEDICAID REFORM PILL – CURE OR TOO MANY SIDE EFFECTS?

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Lawsuits, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Social Security

In an effort to limit federal Medicaid funding, the Trump administration has offered states the option for a Medicaid block grant. Medicaid block grants have been proposed by conservatives for many years. Texas requested a block grant in its last legislative session. Although there are...

09 Feb SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Nursing Home, Short Term Care, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts

A married couple owns a homestead located out-of-state held in a trust. They move to Texas to be closer to their children since the wife needs long-term care. They have no long-term care insurance, and their liquid assets and income are insufficient to pay for...

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...

30 Jan 15 QUESTIONS FOR SENIORS TO CONSIDER PRIOR TO SIGNING COHABITATION AGREEMENT

Posted at 09:00h in Assisted Living, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Mortgage, Social Security, Taxes, Veterans

As Americans continue to live longer, many have decided to cohabitate with a significant other (rather than marry) due to complications. These can include kids from a prior marriage or relationship or wealth accumulation by one or both parties. From a financial perspective, sometimes it...

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,...

30 Nov 2020 FINAL 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 16:52h in Disability Benefits, Divorce, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Social Security

The Texas Health and Human Resources has announced its final numbers in connection with long-term care Medicaid eligibility for year 2020. The final numbers are slightly different than projected as set forth in our November newsletter. As a result, we have edited that article with...

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...

26 Nov SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – SAVING THE FAMILY MINERAL INTERESTS, COSTS OF CARE AND MORE

Posted at 16:33h in Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Veterans

Elderly client, whose health is declining, owns a trailer and 11 acres that is treated as his homestead presently valued at around $55,000. He also owns 60 acres of undeveloped property where he would prefer to live which is much more valuable. The only other...

25 Nov HOME SWEET HOME – MEDICAID HOMESTEAD EQUITY (MAXIMUM VALUE) LIMIT INCREASED TO $595,000 FOR 2020

Posted at 16:27h in End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Mortgage, Nursing Home, Transfer of Death

As of January 1, 2020, the equity limit for a homestead applicant (who is single) for either the nursing home Medicaid program or “waiver” home care Medicaid program has increased to $595,000. Thus, if the home equity (the difference between the appraised value and any...

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,...

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