Assisted Living Facility Pays $750,000 for Unlawful Confinement to Estate of "Kung Fu" Judge A New York assisted living facility which was alleged to have kept former Brooklyn judge John Phillips confined to its facility against his will for 8 months prior to his death and...
Under current law, a donor may give $14,000 per year, per person, without having to report such gift to the IRS or be subject to gift taxes. Furthermore in Texas (which follows the federal law), a donor can give an amount in excess of $14,000...
Most of us are familiar with POD or “Pay on Death” provisions in bank accounts, but many are not familiar with real estate passing at death without a will or trust. Among the crop of new legislation being considered by the 84th Texas Legislature is...
The Veteran’s Administration has proposed new rules for eligibility for VA pensions and the Aid and Attendance benefit which are often used by wartime Veterans or their surviving spouses to help pay for the cost of care such as assisted living facilities and nursing homes....
On November 26, 2014, the Oregon Court of Appeals decided that the state agency’s attempt to expand estate recovery (where the state goes after the resources of a Medicaid recipient after such person’s death) was improper. Oregon had amended its rules so that the state...
Since the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 signed on February 8, 2006 (“DRA”), many Texas elder law attorneys have used a transfer planning option (often referred to as “reverse half-a-loaf”) to save at least 50% of the countable resources of a Medicaid...
As many of you know, Texas is an income cap state in connection with long-term care Medicaid eligibility. Presently, if an applicant for nursing home Medicaid has "countable" income (certain income is exempt or excluded) over $2163 per month, then such applicant is ineligible for...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is increasing the amount taxpayers can deduct from their 2015 taxes as a result of buying long-term care insurance. Premiums for “qualified” long-term care insurance policies (see explanation below) are tax deductible to the extent that they, along with other unreimbursed...
Ladybird deeds, which are commonly used to avoid probate and to avoid claims by the state if the property owner receives Medicaid benefits, are under attack. This is a red flag to all Texans whose biggest asset is their home and who have inadequate insurance...
The Journal of Financial Planning recently reported that a standby reverse mortgage (SRM) can be helpful as a risk management tool to help clients meet their retirement goals. The SRM represents an additional source of readily available cash in a bucket strategy to draw upon...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 12, 2014 that inherited IRAs are not exempt from the claims of creditors under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Previously, inherited IRAs were protected from the claims of creditors in many jurisdictions including Texas. After the death of the individual...
The Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2015 Revenue Proposals have been published, and there are numerous suggested proposals which increase taxes in connection with estate planning. Although the Senate passed proposals this past week retaining certain tax incentives for businesses and individuals, the revenue proposals included...
As a follow up to last month’s Dallas Morning News article by Pamela Yip entitled “Maintaining Trust”, we thought those who receive our email might be interested in the questions that she asked and a more detailed explanation as follows: Q: Do you have the right...
On October 28, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (HR 2189) that has a three (3) year look-back period and penalizes a claimant for VA pension benefits (typically made by the veteran or his or her surviving spouse when such person has...
The new Texas Estates Code (which will be replacing the Texas Probate Code) has changed the statutory durable power of attorney form that has been in existence since 1997. This change will be effective as of January 1, 2014. Although the existing forms or other...
Although Texas does not recognize same-sex marriages, here are a few estate planning considerations for same-sex married couples (couples who were legally married in another state) who live in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act: Federal employees...
Under current law, military veterans who invest in a survivor benefit plan must leave their benefits (an annuity) directly to their beneficiary – even if the beneficiary is disabled. Veterans are not permitted to roll their survivor benefits into a special needs trust (a trust...
When it was announced earlier this year that there would be no federal estate tax for estates under $5.25 million (instead of $1 million due to the “fiscal cliff”), many Americans were relieved as there was the thought that this would be permanent as adjusted...
Governor Perry has just signed a law (to be effective as of September 1, 2013) that allows Medicaid applicants to sell their life insurance policies to life settlement companies and not jeopardize Medicaid benefits provided certain conditions are met. Medicaid is a jointly run state and...
The American Taxpayer Relief Act permanently sets the estate tax exemption at $5 million for (adjusted due to inflation) an individual and $10 million for a couple which is the same amount that has been exempted for the past two years. However, Congress did change the...
