trusts Tag

19 Mar SEVEN REASONS TO NAME A TRUST AS A BENEFICIARY OF A RETIREMENT ACCOUNT

Posted at 17:28h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Charitable Giving, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Retirement, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Transfer of Death, Trusts

On Saturday, February 27, 2021, I was a guest on financial advisor Rick Foster’s radio show on 660 AM and he asked the question, “When should an IRA go into a trust?” As a result of this often-asked question, I decided to expand upon this...

09 Feb SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

Posted at 09:00h in Asset Protection, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Medicare, Nursing Home, Short Term Care, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts

A married couple owns a homestead located out-of-state held in a trust. They move to Texas to be closer to their children since the wife needs long-term care. They have no long-term care insurance, and their liquid assets and income are insufficient to pay for...

21 Jan SEVEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUSTS USED IN PUBLIC BENEFITS PLANNING

Posted at 19:54h in Asset Protection, Assisted Living, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Nursing Home, Public Benefits Protection, Social Security, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Transfer of Death, Trusts, Veterans

Public benefits can range from payment of expensive drugs (no matter what age) to long-term care costs such as skilled nursing care. There are 40-50 Medicaid programs in Texas in addition to strictly federal public benefits programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security...

05 Oct SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH – “HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER” – OR ELSE!

Posted at 15:07h in Asset Protection, Beneficiary, Disability Benefits, Success Story of the Month, Trusts

Mother and father created an irrevocable trust which mother and father retained control of the assets and were trustees. After mother and father’s death, all their assets were to be distributed equally between their two daughters although the assets would pass to the daughters in...

04 Oct VETERANS BENEFITS PLANNING TORPEDOED

Posted at 20:58h in Assisted Living, Charitable Giving, Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Trusts, Veterans

As of October 18, 2018, planning to obtain certain Veterans (such as “improved pension” which includes aid and attendance) benefits for non-service connected disability will get much more difficult. Wartime veterans (or their surviving spouse) often get governmental assistance which helps pay for care costs...

06 Sep DID ARETHA FRANKLIN GIVE HER HEIRS ANY “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”?

Posted at 14:40h in Disability Benefits, Estate Planning, Inheritance, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Music, Probate Administration, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Taxes, Wills

Aretha Franklin, the beloved “queen of soul” died on August 16 with an estimated $80 million estate without a Will or other estate planning documents. She was survived by four sons – one of whom has special needs. Although her music and legacy will live...

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...

20 Nov SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

Posted at 11:00h in Alzheimer’s, Asset Protection, Business, Disability Benefits, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Quality of Life, Social Security, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Success Story of the Month, Transfer of Death, Trusts

Last Monday we were requested to do a Will for an 89-year-old married woman who was just put on hospice. Due to her being on hospice, we put her as an immediate priority. Her 90-year-old husband has Alzheimer’s disease and is living in an institutional...

30 Oct TEXAS REVOCABLE LIVING TRUSTS ADVANTAGES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

Posted at 11:00h in Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Long Term Care, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Power of Attorney, Probate Administration, Public Benefits Protection, Retirement, Social Security, Trusts

Many are under the mistaken impression that only the wealthy need trusts and that it is never needed in Texas since the probate process (the court process confirming the Will is valid) is simple in Texas compared to many other states. Although what is best for the individual may vary,...