Dallas Elder Law Attorney

Who is in charge of your body after death (funeral, burial, and removal of the deceased's remains subsequently) depends on your planning or state law. Casey Kasem's widow has that right (to the displeasure of his children) until she dies. However, after death, his children may have rights.

Estate planning is affected by divorce. This podcast describes how Shannen Doherty's family (instead of the husband she divorced on the date of her death) benefited from her divorce.

There are 109 Medicaid programs in Texas, each has its own rules for eligibility, including income limitations. This podcast describes the income limit on certain Medicaid programs that elderly or disabled commonly seek.

Rupert Murdoch is attempting to modify his irrevocable trust by court which affects his succession planning. This podcast describes what is needed to modify an irrevocable trust.

The definition of "home" is different under Medicaid and VA rules. Eligibility is often dependent on the definition.

Upstream planning to avoid capital gains taxes on giving of appreciated assets from child to parent is sometimes used, but one must be careful and should be used in limited situations as there are risks.

When a beneficiary inherits an IRA, the rule on the required time of distributions has been finalized.

Matthew Perry's estate planning accomplished many goals (1) privacy (2) charitable tax planning (3) reduction of risk of a contest (4) and probate avoidance for most of his assets among other things.

A trust can be named as a beneficiary of a trust - but should you? Your protection goals and the risks should be discussed to be making a decision.

A recent Texas Supreme Court decision concludes that a Medicaid applicant must pay for and occupy a homestead prior to nursing home admission for it to be excluded as a resource. Purchase of an ownership interest after institutionalized does not accomplish spend-down for the government to help pay for care.