- Child SupportBankruptcy is a powerful tool. Filing Bankruptcy stops ALL attempts to collect civil judgments and debts. It does not stop criminal prosecutions nor does it stop a family court from determining or enforcing child support.
- Premarital Agreement
- GuardianshipGuardianship is the legal process by which a person obtains authority from a court with probate jurisdiction to make decisions involving another person’s care. The proposed ward must be found to be “incapacitated†. The person appointed as a Guardian is often a family member, as family members are given priority for appointment under the Guardianship Code. The person who needs assistance is called a ward. This person may be a minor (by law a minor is presumed unable to handle his or her own affairs) or an adult.
- Social Security DisabilitySocial Security Disability Insurance or SSDI pays a monthly amount based on prior wages. A worker must have worked for 6 to 40 quarters depending on the age of the applicant to qualify for SSDI upon a finding of disability. The number of quarters that must have been worked to qualify increases with the age of the worker. A disabled worker can often be paid two to three times more than someone qualifying under the poverty program-SSI.
- Medicaid PlanningI get many calls from people wanting to protect assets with a Qualifying Income Trust (QIT), first called a Miller Trust. This type of Trust is very useful in Medicaid Planning and applications. It does not protect assets, but it does help qualify Medicaid applicants for Long- term Skilled Nursing Care. When a person’s income exceeds the income cap, the applicant is disqualified from Medicaid. The income cap is adjusted annually. The current cap in Texas is $2,313.00 since January 1, 2019.
- Estate PlanningEstate planning is a process that allows you to legally declare your preferences regarding many aspects of your life, such as your health care, your finances, your assets, and your beneficiaries. The purpose of developing an estate plan is to ensure that your wishes are known, should you become unable to express them yourself. Whether or not they are honored, though, depends on several factors, such as the quality of the plan you’ve put together, how clearly your wishes are expressed, and whether or not anyone involved contests what you’ve declared.
- WillsCharles Kennedy, Texas Will and Estate Planning Attorney, Serving the Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield/Kennedale and Fort Worth, Texas area since 1991
- Trusts12. If I have a child with severe disabilities do I have an existing care plan with enough detail and explanation that someone else can step in and take care of my child as I do now or better? Am I making adequate plans to fund a special needs trust or to otherwise provide for more than governmental benefits will provide my child?
- Power of AttorneyWhether the patient has a current, signed, broad-form HIPAA release, Medical Power of Attorney and Physician’s Directive (commonly called a Living Will);
- ProbateCreditors are supposed to be given notice of a probate administration being opened. Probate Law requires that if an estate is probated there must be an administration opened if the estate probate is filed within four years of a persons death.
- BankruptcyBankruptcy law has greatly changed over the years. It is now much more difficult to get through to obtain a discharge and even to enter. The information below is summarized and the actual statute must always be considered. Much of the language in the statute is so vague, contradictory or poorly structured that many years will be required for the appellate courts to reach decisions and if contradictory opinions are issued the Supreme Court may need to hear cases to make final binding determinations of what the law means.
- ForeclosureIf the foreclosure occurs after a person dies and before an estate administration is opened Texas law permits the foreclosure to be set aside in a dependent administration. The administrator of the estate must file a lawsuit to set aside the foreclosure. The administrator will be given six months to sell the property and pay off or refinance the mortgage. As part of the process the mortgage lender must file with the administor and the Court a sworn claim setting forth the contract and all charges and payments. The administrator, as in all claims, can accept the claim or deny the claim in part or in whole. The procedure is substantially different in certain respects in a dependent administration than in an independent administration.
- Tax LawDuring my time as a CPA, I felt like I was really starting to make a difference. I guided individuals, families, small business owners, and farmers through an array of financial concerns, like income, estate, and payroll tax issues. The work was rewarding, but I began to wonder if it was right for me after all. Something told me I could do even more for my clients if I were to expand my knowledge base. And so I went back to school to study law.