Estate Planning

01 Jun SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – WHERE THERE IS NO WILL THERE IS A WAY

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Success Story of the Month, Wills

Married couple has no estate planning documents (no Will, no power of attorney, etc.) and the husband has lost mental capacity (you cannot sign a Will, power of attorney, etc. if you lack sufficient mental capacity). Husband is institutionalized and it is anticipated that he...

01 Jun CAN I PROBATE A WILL AFTER FOUR (4) YEARS?

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts

Texas law requires filing for probate (the process whereby the court determines if the Will is good) within four (4) years – but not always. A Will can be admitted as a “muniment of title” after four (4) years if the proponent is “not in...

23 May SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – REVOKING AN IRREVOCABLE TRUST

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Trusts

Husband and wife created a revocable living trust many years ago and deeded their homestead into the trust (the “Trust”). Husband and wife have two children born of their marriage. The Trust required that upon the first of them to die, the separate property and...

14 May LADYBIRD DEED VS. ASSET PROTECTION TRUST FOR PROTECTION OF HOMESTEAD

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Mortgage, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts, Transfer of Death, Trusts

Although there are numerous ways to protect your home from the claim of the state Medicaid agency (Health and Human Services Commission) if you receive Medicaid assistance (most typically for care at home or in a nursing home or other facility that accepts Medicaid, drug...

10 May DMV FAILS DRIVER’S TEST

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Probate Administration, Transfer of Death

On June 9, 2017, Governor Abbott signed a new law to be effective as of September 1, 2017 whereby an owner of a motor vehicle can transfer his or her motor vehicle at the owner’s death outside of probate (where it transfers by Will) or...

24 Apr THE TEXAS TWO-STEP: HOW MUCH CAN AN EXECUTOR BE PAID?

Posted at 09:00h in Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Taxes, Wills

A common question by someone who has been appointed as an executor of a Will after the Will has been probated (the process where it is determined the decedent’s Will is valid) is “What can I charge for acting as Executor?” After all, it often...

09 Apr SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – TALES FROM THE CRYPT – HOW TO PROVIDE FOR CHILDREN AND PROTECT ASSETS FROM GREEDY EX-SPOUSE

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts

Divorcee (client) wants an estate plan so that all her assets pass upon her death to her unmarried adult child (who has no descendants), but she wants to make sure that such assets never pass to her manipulating and greedy ex-husband. Since client’s child is...

04 Apr IS PRINCE HARRY PROTECTED FROM DIVORCE – OR WILL IT COST HIM A KING’S RANSOM?

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Divorce, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Trusts

As the time draws closer to the May marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, many might speculate as to whether the couple will have a pre-nuptial agreement – especially due to the well-known divorce of Prince Harry’s parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana (which...

22 Mar SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH: TAP THE BRAKES ON PROBATE AND PUT IT IN REVERSE (MORTGAGE)

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Mortgage, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Taxes, Wills

Mom dies at age 99 with three (3) surviving children. Mom has $50,000 in a bank account, $20,000 of debt and a home (which has homestead exemption) worth $150,000 that has no lien against it. One daughter, age 70, is unmarried (hereinafter referred to as...

22 Feb Tax Planning for Non-Taxable Estate after the New Tax Law

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Taxes

Client, whose husband died relatively recently, is concerned about the potential negative tax impact of the recently passed Tax Cut and Jobs Act (hereinafter the “Tax Act”). Client has 2 pieces of real estate (her home and a property in which her daughter live). The...