This column first appeared in the San Antonio Express News on May 5, 2017. The House passed H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017, on May 4 and sent the bill to the Senate. Various Republican Senators have said that they find the bill to be unacceptable, that they will propose something different, and that they will not be in a rush. Hence, H.R. 1628 is likely to be stopped or significantly changed by the Senate. You said that you tried to actually read H.R. 1628. T

This column first appeared in the San Antonio Express News on April 24, 2017. Prior to 1995, home equity loans were illegal in Texas. Texas was the last state in which the homestead was granted very broad protection against creditor’s claims. The banking industry then convinced the Texas Legislature to approve a modification to the Texas Constitution, and sold the voters on the benefits of equity loans. Since that vote, both home equity loans and reverse mortgages have been l

This column first appeared in the San Antonio Express News on April 17, 2017. Let’s define some terms. A Power of Attorney (POA) is a entrustment of authority from a Principal to an Agent. The “Principal” is the maker of the POA. An “Agent” is the person to whom authority has been entrusted. In your case, mother is the Principal, sister is the Agent. Every POA should be “Durable”, which means that it does not cease if the Principal becomes disabled. If it is not Durable, the