12201 Merit Drive Suite 230 Dallas, TX 75251 | (214) 720-0102 Fax: (214) 754-0936

www.dallaselderlawyer.com

Welcome to the October Issue of the

Texas Elder Law E-Letter

Our next free “Estate Planning Essentials” workshops will be held on Saturday, October 6, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and Thursday, October 25, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Seating is limited. Call (214) 720-0102 to register or sign up online at www.dallaselderlawyer.com.

We are also pleased to report that we have again been awarded Top Ten Blog by the State Bar of Texas. This time it was for Michael B. Cohen’s article entitled “Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth? Gifting Pros and Cons – Consider Both Tax and Public Benefits Issues”. If interested in reading, click here.

Please join our walk team (“Michael’s Marchers”) for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s by registering here (or give us a call) which will be held on October 13 at Dallas City Hall.

Also for our estate planning clients who are not presently “maintenance members” (with numerous benefits ranging from a free annual meeting to phone calls to changes to existing documents as well as other valuable benefits), we are offering a special limited time option to join as a maintenance member if you join before the end of the year. If interested or if you want to find out more, please call (214) 720-0102.

Michael B. Cohen’s radio show on estate planning and elder law can be heard on KAAM (770 AM) every Monday at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Prior shows (topics are categorized) can be heard on Sound Cloud as indicated on our website www.dallaselderlawyer.com.

SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH - "HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER" - OR ELSE!

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...

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VETERANS BENEFITS PLANNING TORPEDOED

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.

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DON'T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH? GIFTING PROS AND CONS - CONSIDER BOTH TAX AND PIBLIC BENEFIT ISSUES

Although many realize you can make a tax-free gift of $15,000 per calendar year, per recipient without having to report the gift to the IRS, we often find that most are unaware of unintended adverse consequences...

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BOLD INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ALZHEIMER'S ACT GETTING BIPARTISAN SUPPORT

In a time of partisan politics, there seems to be at least one issue that Democrats and Republicans agree – something should be done to combat Alzheimer’s Disease.

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TAX LAW BENEFITS ABLE ACCOUNTS

A few years ago a federal law, entitled the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, was passed which allowed for tax-free growth savings accounts for the benefit of persons who developed a disability prior to age 26...

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