Elder Law Tag

01 Aug Success Story Of The Month: It’s More Than Take 2 Aspirins And Call Me In The Morning – Use Of Estate Planning And Elder Law To Solve A Planning Headache

Posted at 13:52h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Divorce, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Guardianship, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Mortgage, Notarizations, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Success Story of the Month, Taxes, Transfer of Death

Is your head ready to explode with the myriad of legal issues that can spring from your estate planning problems? The case below illustrates the problems and solutions to eliminating the pain and meet the goals of a client. FACTS: 54-year-old disabled, divorced man (“Recipient”) needs...

03 Oct 10 Common Questions On When To Make A Distribution From Your IRA

Posted at 10:25h in Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Probate Administration, Retirement

If you have an IRA, you are required to make a distribution annually once you reach a certain age (if you were 70½ prior to January 1, 2020, then you should already be making required minimum distributions known as “RMDs” – otherwise you could be...

09 Jun Call Me Irresponsible – Should A Child Be Required To Pay For Parent’s Care?

Posted at 13:01h in Assisted Living, Elder Justice, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Lawsuits, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Retirement, Social Security

A child often relies on his or her parents until adulthood is reached. So, does the child have a duty to support his or her parents if they are no longer able to provide for themselves? The answer may depend on where the child and...

04 Jun TEXAS COURT RULES AGAINST PENALIZING INCAPACITATED MEDICAID APPLICANT IF NO REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED

Posted at 14:37h in End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Social Security

On May 24, 2019, a Texas appeals court ruled that if an incapacitated Medicaid applicant does not have a guardian appointed, then the resources of the applicant should be considered unavailable for Medicaid eligibility purposes. Usually, the cost of long-term care (such as a nursing...

04 Jun FIVE COMMON MISTAKES AT WILL SIGNING

Posted at 14:24h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Notarizations, Probate Administration, Wills

Mistakes made during the signing of a Will are frequently the cause of litigation. Some of the common mistakes are as follows: Attorney should handle the Will signing ceremony. Although it is not required by law that an attorney handle the ceremony, the probability of error is...

01 May LEGALITY VS. MORALITY

Posted at 15:39h in Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration

Sometimes clients ask questions where the answer differs as to legality versus morality. As a result, the attorney should be prepared to be both counselor at law and not just an attorney at law. A couple examples of actual cases (all dealing with an inheritance) illustrate...

01 May WILL BY BLINKING OF EYES APPROVED BY COURT

Posted at 15:28h in End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Notarizations, Probate Administration, Texas Bar Today Top 10 Blog Posts, Wills

The Will of a quadriplegic man (the “Testator”), who was unable to speak and who communicated with his attorney through a blinking system, was recently upheld by a Fort Worth appellate court. The attorney asked “yes” or “no” questions to the Testator who responded by blinking....

13 Dec SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – HOODWINKED ELDERLY CLIENT SALVAGES MEDICAID

Posted at 19:10h in Beneficiary, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Probate Administration, Success Story of the Month

An elderly client, whose husband lives in a skilled nursing home due to his lack of mental capacity, retains us to apply for long-term Medicaid for her husband so that the government will help pay for his cost of care. However, to be eligible for...

13 Dec NURSING HOME MEDICAID INCOME CAP TO RISE

Posted at 19:06h in Divorce, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Social Security, Trusts

As many of you know, Texas is an income cap state in connection with long-term care (most commonly used for nursing home care) Medicaid eligibility. Presently, if an applicant for nursing home Medicaid has “countable” income (certain income is exempt or excluded) over $2,250 per...

13 Dec MARVEL MOGUL DID NOT NEED SUPERHERO TO PROTECT HIM

Posted at 19:03h in Asset Protection, Business, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Power of Attorney, Success Story of the Month, Trusts, Wills

Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics co-creator of superheroes such as Spider-Man, Black Panther, Fantastic Four and the Hulk, recently died at age 95 after experiencing a mental decline. Predators such as his caregiver, daughter and business associates all tried to gain control of his assets...