Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer |

31 Aug NO FEE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE – BUT IT COULD BE CHOICE FOR THEE

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...

11 Aug 16 WAYS TO AVOID GUARDIANSHIP OF THE ESTATE

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,...

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...

16 May THE STAMP OF APPROVAL? 5 COMMON MISTAKES OF NOTARIES

Posted at 16:18h in Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Guardianship, Notarizations, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Wills

Although you might think something as simple as the act of notarization would rarely result in a problem, careless errors are frequently made. The following are some of the errors we have recently seen or other common errors in connection with notarization: Failure to require personal...

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...

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...

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,...

22 Oct SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – THE WORLD ISN’T ALWAYS PERFECT

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Mortgage, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts

This story is an illustration of some of the many thoughts that should be considered even if one has a small estate. In this case, the client’s major asset is her home that was deeded to her by her six siblings as it was their...

09 Oct FIVE MISCONCEPTIONS ON ESTATE PLANNING

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Quality of Life, Retirement

Estate planning is not simply protecting your assets or having a Will and a power of attorney. It is a plan whereby you are in control of your assets during your lifetime when you are well and to protect you if you should become disabled...

06 Sep SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – USING DIFFERENT LEGAL TOOLS (LADYBIRD DEED, REVERSE MORTGAGE AND REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST) IN THE TOOLBOX

Posted at 09:00h in Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Mortgage, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts

Client had created a revocable living trust several years ago prepared by another attorney. The most common reasons for such a trust is to avoid probate (the laws that govern the probate process which is the process to determine if the Will is valid and...