12201 Merit Drive Suite 230 Dallas, TX 75251 | (214) 720-0102 Fax: (214) 754-0936 | www.dallaselderlawyer.com
Personal Message

Welcome to the January issue of the Texas Elder Law E-letter  

Happy New Year! We are pleased to announce that we are going to have bonus workshops for our maintenance members for year 2016. The topics will include the use of hybrid insurance policies in lieu of traditional long-term care insurance, retirement planning, home care, hospice care and end of life decision making, the 10 signs of recognition of Alzheimer’s disease, and much more. Of course, we continue to have our monthly free “Estate Planning Essentials” workshop. The next one is scheduled for Saturday January 9, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. If interested in attending a workshop, please call us at 214-720-0102 or sign up online at www.dallaselderlawyer.com. Space is limited, and we usually fill the room. So, if interested, you should let us know as soon as possible to reserve a space.

Also we are pleased to announce that Michael B. Cohen has been named to the Advisory Committee of the Senior Source. Besides helping seniors to improve their quality of life in a variety of ways including eldercare, financial security, advocacy, etc., Senior Source is part of a network (along with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and the Dallas County Probate Courts), to prevent elder abuse. For more information or to volunteer to help and visit seniors in need, its website is www.theseniorsource.org.

Also, don’t forget that Michael B. Cohen can be heard on KAAM 770 every Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and every Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on elder law and various estate planning issues. Podcasts of the shows are available on our website at www.dallaselderlawyer.com. 

Also, Michael B. Cohen will be a guest on KAAM's Alzheimer's Association on the topic entltled "Living with Alzheimer's - Early Stage Planning for the Future".  

STATE ATTORNEY GENERALS ATTACK PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS

At the present time, most nursing homes require residents or their “responsible party” to sign a nursing home admission agreement which binds the resident to arbitration instead of giving them the right to sue the facility if the facility is either neglig

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COURT RULES THAT FATHER CANNOT MARRY HIS SON

A Pennsylvania court recently ruled that a man who had adopted his same sex partner as his son in 2012, cannot annul his adoption so that he could marry his partner (adopted son).

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CONGRESS ENCOURAGES GIFTS FROM IRAS TO CHARITY

Over the past several years, Congress encouraged donors over 70½ years of age to give funds from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to charities by not subjecting the donor to income taxation which is normally the case when an individual makes a

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How Your IRA Can Benefit Both Your Heirs and Charity

Do you want to use your IRA to help a charity, but also benefit your heirs? Instead of leaving your IRA directly to your children, you can leave it to a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) while still benefiting your children.

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Should an Annuity Be Part of Your Retirement Planning?

Annuities can be valuable retirement and longevity planning tools, but they are complex financial products that can be misused. 

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The Hardship Exception to the Medicaid Penalty Period: Rare But Possible

If you transfer assets within five years of applying for Medicaid, you will likely be subject to a period of ineligibility. There is an exception, however, if enforcing the penalty period would cause the applicant an "undue hardship."

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Robin Williams' Death Laid to Underdiagnosed Form of Dementia

Although depression was initially given as the cause of actor Robin Williams’ suicide in 2014, his widow says autopsy results lay the blame on Lewy body dementia, a fairly common but hard-to-diagnose form of dementia. 

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