This column first appeared in the San Antonio Express News on November 20, 2017. When a person dies, they might have a Will, might have other plans like a Trust, or may have done no planning at all. If there is no planning, the person is said to have died “intestate” and Texas law decides who inherits any assets. Further, there may have to be a complex legal proceeding to decide exactly which individuals should be granted status as heirs under the law. Lots of questions are l

This column first appeared in the San Antonio Express News on November 14, 2017. Dear Mr. Premack: Our widowed mom was in a nursing home on Medicaid. She died this July. Her Will leaves her house to all her children. Last month MERP sent me a claim letter stating they will file a claim against the estate. We did not filed a hardship application. MERP has a contractor (HMS) that does their recovery and they are not being reasonable to our needs. They want private information l

The National Council on Aging has just posted a blog article regarding tax reform efforts in Washington. The article is significant and I recommend you read it here. The article makes the case for the proposition that a) Congress knows that its tax reform bill will greatly expand the deficit (by giving large tax breaks mainly to corporations and the already mega-wealthy), and b) that when the deficit does increase, most normal Americans will not remember that the increase is