On January 31, 2020, the Federal Government declared a public health emergency (PHE) in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In March 2020, Congress passed implemented a Medicaid continuous coverage requirement as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). In exchange for an increase in federal Medicaid matching funds, states were required to keep [...]
The fundamentals of negotiating are to bring the other party to a position that you were already agreeable. Negotiating is a learned skill that has been continually practiced by me during my professional life. I have recently decided to make mediating probate, trust, estate, and guardianship disputes a major part of my law practice. When [...]
David M. Pyke announces that he will now mediate probate and estate disputes. Mr. Pyke brings his 35+ years of experience as a probate and estate planning attorney who has tried over fifty trials, more than half of them jury trials. Having been trained in the Black Swan Method™ developed by Chris Voss, a [...]
A Google search will reveal various options for creating a Will or other estate planning documents without the assistance of an attorney. Why not save some money and use those? To be a bit cheeky, my response is like Clint Eastwood, "Go ahead; make my day." A probate attorney will probably earn much more cleaning up [...]
A power of attorney is the right of someone to act for another. A power of attorney is given, not taken. The person who gives the power of attorney is called the "principal" and the person appointed is the "agent" or "attorney in fact". The agent does not acquire a power of attorney by something [...]
To the surprise of many, being the recipient of a gift by inheritance or otherwise is not a taxable event. What about the gift tax? The "gift tax" is part of the estate and gift tax - it is one tax. It is paid by the person making the gift or by their estate, and [...]
Do you need to call your attorney immediately after a loved one has died? Probably not. The first thing to do is to grieve, console family members, and plan final arrangements. These are what matters most. After the shock of death and dealing with final arrangements, it is appropriate to consult an attorney. Although waiting [...]
The word "estate" can mean different things. To some, it means what you own. To the Internal Revenue Service, it is the property of the decedent subject to estate tax. To a probate attorney, it means those assets that are transferred by the Last Will and Testament. We call that the “probate estate.” Doesn’t a [...]
Trusts are commonly used in estate plans to leave assets to minor children, incapacitated beneficiaries, or spendthrifts. To avoid the expense of guardianship for a minor, a trust is a necessary part of the estate plan for that beneficiary. Trusts are used for young adults because although the legal age of majority in Texas [...]
I have been a resident of Dallas for 61 years, so I find it amazing that there are people who don't live within ten miles of the hospital where they were born. Many, because of careers or wanderlust, move frequently from state to state. Many others who may have lived in one state for many [...]