Wishing you a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with peace, good health and happiness.

Our next free Estate Planning Essentials Workshop (our last of the year) will again be live. Registration for our next live workshop (which will be Tuesday, December 13, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until noon) can be made by calling us at (214) 720-0102 or signing up online at www.dallaselderlawyer.com.

Attendees often ask questions about estate planning, probate, Medicaid and Veterans benefits. We proceed to answer the questions over the course of the workshop (although there will be a presentation also).

We want to thank those who joined or donated to our Walk Team, Michael’s

Marchers, for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s (which was held on Saturday, November 5, 2022).

While it is often advisable to have a will, there are some things you should not include. 

As we live longer, there is a greater likelihood of disability and the need for long-term care. However, most Americans have inadequate resources or income for such care and also lack long-term care insurance or similar insurance products. As a result, some elderly and disabled seek public benefits (such as Medicaid) to help defray such cost. However, the government looks at the applicant’s resources as entitlement to such benefits are “means-tested” prior to the government paying for benefits.

As of January 1, 2023, you can give up to $17,000 per year, per person without reporting to the IRS and without gift taxation. So, for example, if a married couple with three children wanted to give the maximum to each child, then they could give up to $102,000 ($17,000 x 3 by the husband and $17,000 x 3 by the wife) in year 2023 without reporting to the IRS.

The executor named in a will is the fiduciary who is responsible for (1) collecting the assets that pass by probate; (2) paying the debts, taxes, expenses and fees of the estate; and (3) distributing the assets in accordance with the terms of the will. The following are some of the most common mistakes that executors make: