Scrooge In The Real World: Issues of Capacity, Testamentary Intent, and Probate Contests by Texas Guardianship Lawyer and Texas Inheritance Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Scrooge In The Real World: Tales of The Spirit of Giving, Testamentary Intent, Capacity, Guardianships, and Gift Aftermath by Austin Texas Guardianship Lawyer and Texas Inheritance Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Almost everyone is familiar with the Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol" and the story of Ebenezer Scrooge.  In the story, Ebenezer Scrooge claims to have been visited by three ghosts and because of the ghostly visits changes his miserly tendencies through the spirit of Christmas to give away large amounts of money and assets.  These gifts are given to several people around him including Bob Cratchit whose family greatly benefits from this change of heart and change of character.

In the real world, stories of large gifts and testamentary bequests prompted by ghostly visits and fear often create issues of capacity, guardianships, testamentary intent, undue influence, fraud, and will contests.  In my probate and guardianship practice, I hear many stories of an elderly person's sudden change of heart and change of spending/gifting/bequesting tendencies.  More often than not, many of these stories begin with declining memory of an elderly person and the entrance of a caretaker, financial adviser, employee, friend, long lost relative, or new spouse into the person's life.   

What happens in the real world when the spirit of gifting allegedly takes over a person and they give large gifts to an employee, a caretaker, or strangers?  What happens after the gifts are given and the person no longer has money or assets?

Scrooge in Real Life: Proving the Gift or Bequest Was Not From Undue Influence or Incapacity

In the real world, the story of Scrooge and his sudden change of heart may be looked at a bit differently than in the Dicken's story.  This is especially true if large gifts are given to strangers, caretakers, or new people in the person's life.  In these situations, the large gifts and changes in testamentary disposition prompted by ghostly visits may be perceived very differently from the perspective of the person's spouse, children, heirs, and the court.   

If a person that has saved money and assets most of their life, suddenly believes they are speaking with and interacting with ghosts and then because of this belief they give away large gifts, many issues may be raised including: 1) When should someone step in to determine if this person has the capacity and/or the testamentary intent to give away a large portion of their money and assets?  2) Does the giver understand the consequences of their actions?  3) Is this gift or bequest the result of undue influence, fraud, or incapacity?  4) When should the gift be allowed to be completed and when should it not?

 Texas Undue Influence Contests and Fraud Lawsuits Are on The Rise

Under Texas law a growing number of "gifts" and testamentary bequests are being questioned and contested including many gifts and bequests to employees, caretakers, strangers, and some relatives.  In determining if the gift or bequest can be successfully contested, the court is going to look to see if the person had capacity to give the gift or testamentary intent to make a bequest, and if the person was under undue influence when making the gift or bequest.  These determinations are fact issues that will be case specific and be dependent on numerous factors including the nature of the gifts; the giver's understanding of the gift/bequest and their relationship to the recipient; whether there has been any fraud or duress in the inducement in obtaining the gift/bequest; and if the gift was the result of drugs, alcohol, dementia, or a psychotic break.

In the real world, the explanation of being visited by three ghosts would probably merit a psychological evaluation by a medical doctor.  It may also be the basis of a claim for fraud, duress and undue influence from the person's heirs and beneficiaries. 

Also, it should be kept in mind that in many situations where the giver is elderly and may be developing memory problems, it is common for the person to later forget about the gift or bequest.  As such, in some situations it may be a good idea to properly document the gift or bequest to ensure that it can be proven that the gift or bequest was not the result of incapacity or undue influence.  This can often be tricky as there may be disgruntled heirs that will later contest the gift or bequest regardless of the situation and the person receiving the gift may not be in the position to insist on proper documentation. However, consulting a lawyer regarding a large gift or bequest is typically a good idea.  In these situations, the lawyer will typically want to meet alone with the person giving the gift or bequest to ensure that the person has capacity and is not under undue influence.

Scrooge The Day After,  A Year After, and 5 Years After

In the story of Scrooge, we stop when he is still rich and in the process of giving.  However, what happens the day after, year after, or five years after the spirit of generosity has taken over?  For a lucky few they have so much money and wealth that it doesn't matter.  They can give away hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars and still not see a change in their lives.  However, for the majority people a year or two of giving can deplete their life savings.  

What happens to these people?  What if they have giver's remorse?  What if they need their wealth back for medical or nursing home care?

For some under, it might seem like a good idea to give away large gifts, especially, to avoid potential estate taxes or to be able to qualify for future Medicaid benefits and avoid having a nursing home drain all of a family's assets.  However, these issues must be considered carefully before anyone gives away their wealth and assets.  Being without sufficient assets in case of a serious medical problem can create serious problems for someone that has made large gifts in the last 5 years. Under the Medicaid look back period, there is a 5 year look back period to qualify.  If a person like Scrooge decides to give away their assets and then in a year or two requires nursing home or other health care benefits, they may regret the gifts.  In most of these situations where the person made large gifts and now cannot afford medical care and nursing home care, the person cannot qualify for Medicaid benefits until these "gifts" are paid back.  This creates a problem for the person that gave the gift and sometimes for the person that received the gift.  Trust, loyalty, and communication are keys in these situations.

Likewise, what happens when the person is attempting to take advantage of gifts to avoid estate taxes.  In these situations, the person gifting their assets will need to give up control of their assets to take advantage of the gift tax.  Whether through out and out gifts or irrevocable trusts, it is important for the person intending to give large gifts to understand once they give the gift it is gone.  They cannot take back the gift if circumstances change.

In most situations, it is important for the giver to understand the consequences of the gifts that they are giving especially if these assets may be needed in the future.

Federal Contractor Fraud: Federal Contractor Fraud Whistleblowers Can Recover Large Rewards For Properly Exposing Federal Contractor Fraud by Texas Federal Contractor Fraud Lawyer Jason Coomer

Federal Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Rewards Under The Federal False Claims Act: The Federal False Claims Act and Department of Justices Are Offering Large Financial Rewards To Federal Contractor Fraud Whistleblowers That Are The First To Properly Expose Federal Contractor Fraud and Federal Grant Fraud by Texas Federal Contractor Fraud Lawyer and Federal Contractor Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Coomer

The Department of Justice through the Federal False Claims Act is offering federal contractor fraud whistleblowers large rewards for being the first to properly report large federal contractor fraud, federal grant fraud, and other fraud committed against the federal government.  These rewards have resulted in Billions of dollars in recoveries for the United States and hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries for whistleblowers.  New expansions of the Federal False Claims Act are expected to expose additional fraud and create even larger recoveries in the future.

Federal Government Spending, Federal Government Contracting, and Federal Government Contractor Information

Federal Government spending has increased dramatically over the last 10 years including large increases in health care spending and defense contractor spending as well as large bailouts of the financial sector.  With this increased Federal Government spending has come a large increase in the number of government contractors and fraudulent government contractors that submit fraudulent documents and false certifications of products and services.

 

To help keep track of increased government spending and government contractors, the Office of Management and Budget has created OMB Watch which "exists to increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and promote active citizen participation in our democracy."  OMB Watch envisions "a more just and democratic society, one in which an open, responsive government protects people's health, safety, and well-being, safeguards the environment, honors the public's right to information, values an engaged and effective citizenry, and adequately invests in the common good."   For more information on OMB Watch and Federal government spending, please go to the following web site: Fedspending.org

Government Contracting, Acquisitions, and Regulations

Federal Government Contracting can be extremely complicated, but lucrative.   Civil False Claims Act creates financial incentives for private citizens that have knowledge of government contractor fraud to blow the whistle on these fraudulent contractors. Whistleblowers under the act not only receive protection from the government for their A key provision of the act was known as qui tam.

WIFCON.com serves "the federal acquisition community by providing quick access to acquisition information such as contracting laws and pending legislation, current and proposed regulations, guidance, courts and boards of contract appeals, bid protest decisions, contracting newsletters, and selected analysis of federal acquisition issues."  For more information on Federal Government Contracting, please go to the following web site, WIFCON.com.- Where in Federal Contracting?

Federal Business Opportunities is also an excellent web site for information on Federal Government Contractors and Contracting.  For more information on Federal Government Contracting, please go to the following web site, Federal Business Opportunities.

Blowing the Whistle on Those that Commit Fraud Against the United States Government, First to File Provisions of the Federal False Claims Act, and Preserving Relator Rights to Share in Recovery of Funds

If you are aware of a defense contractor, highway contractor, large health care company, FEMA contractor, HUD contractor, or other large contractor or subcontractor that is defrauding the United States Government out of millions or billions of dollars, it is important to blow the whistle on the government contractor fraud.  By reporting the fraud you can save the government and taxpayers large amounts of money. 

Further, if you are the first to file and blow the whistle correctly pursuant to the Federal False Claims Act, you may be able to share in the recovery.  As such, to become a relator it is important to collect evidence of the fraud and work with experienced attorneys to make sure that every effort is made to protect your rights as a relator, qui tam plaintiff, and government contractor fraud whistleblower, so that you can share in the recover that is made from your heroic efforts.

For more information on Federal Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuits, please feel free to contact Texas Federal Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Coomer.

Medicare Fraud Whistleblowers: Probate Lawyers and Executors Are Seeing More Medicare Fraud That Can Be The Basis of Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Reward Lawsuits by Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Medicare Fraud Whistleblowers: Probate Lawyers and Executors Are Seeing More Systematic Medicare Fraud By Nursing Homes, Home Health Care Providers, and other Health Care Providers That Can Be The Basis of Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Reward Lawsuits by Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Health care costs in the United States are over $2.3 Trillion each year and are continuing to rise.  Included in these costs are a significant amount of Medicare fraud including nursing home Medicare fraud, home health care fraud, assisted living facility Medicare fraud, and other fraud directed at seniors.  Some estimates suggest that health care fraud including Nursing home Medicare fraud is about 10% of the cost of health care.  These numbers are expected to rise as more people become eligible for Medicare and more people move to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Because of the growing number of Medicare eligible recipients, more and more people will pay for their health care including nursing homes, hospice, home health care, physical therapy, pharmacies, and medical equipment through Medicare.  The nursing homes and associated health care providers that accept Medicare payments too often find that it is more profitable to use fraudulent billing practices to increase their income from Medicare.  These nursing homes and elder care providers sometimes begin to use systematic Medicare Fraud including upcoding, manipulation of outlier payments to Medicare, illegal kickbacks, charging for unnecessary services, double billing for services, and falsely certifying goods or services that were not provided are all forms of Medicare fraud that cost United States taxpayers billions of dollars each year. 

These forms of Medicare fraud can often be difficult to detect and often require the family of a senior or the administrator of the person's estate to detect the fraud.  In these situations, it is important to determine if there is significant billing fraud taking place and if it may be systematic.  If this is the case, it can often be beneficial to work with a Medicare fraud whistleblower lawyer to determine the extent of the fraud and help build a whistleblower reward lawsuit that can expose the fraud as well as potentially result in a large financial recovery.

 

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Medicare Billing, Elder Care Billing, Nursing Home Revenue, and the Prospective Payment System (PPS)

Most nursing home and elder care costs are paid through Medicare, Medicaid, and government programs.  To be able to collect Medicare, Skilled Nursing Facilities have to use the Prospective Payment System and follow government regulations.  Under these regulations, Medicare will pay some nursing home costs for Medicare beneficiaries who require skilled nursing or rehabilitation services. To be covered, the person must receive the services from a Medicare certified skilled nursing home after a qualifying hospital stay. A qualifying hospital stay is the amount of time spent in a hospital just prior to entering a nursing home.  Unfortunately, some Skilled Nursing Facilities are violating the qualified hospital stay requirement.

In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress mandated that payment for the majority of services provided to beneficiaries in a Medicare covered skilled nursing facilities SNF stay be included in a bundled prospective payment made through the fiscal intermediary (FI)/A/B Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) to the skilled nursing facilities SNF. These bundled services have to be billed by the skilled nursing facility to the FI/A/B MAC in a consolidated bill.  This Consolidated Billing in nursing homes was implemented in 1998 and required all skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and nursing facilities (NFs) to file consolidated billing for Medicare.

Under Consolidated Billing the facility must submit all Medicare claims for the Part B services and supplies that all its Medicare residents receive, except for certain services specifically excluded. Medicare pays the facility, and the facility then reimburses any external providers or suppliers according to contractual arrangements.

By checking Medicare Summary Notice (MSN), a Medicare recipient, guardian, or estate administrator may discover systematic Medicare fraud that can result in a large Medicare fraud whistleblower recovery for the government and for the persons that report the systematic Medicare fraud.  Medicare fraud whistleblowers that are able 1) to obtain original and specialized information of significant fraud and 2) are the first to file regarding the specific Medicare fraud can save taxpayers millions of dollars and recover a large reward for reporting the fraud. 

For more information on properly reporting a large health care provider that is committing systematic Medicare fraud including double billing, phantom billing, illegal kickbacks, upcoding, bill padding or other types of Medicare Fraud, please feel free to contact Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Jason Coomer.

Texas Meningitis Outbreak: FDA Warns Texas Health Care Providers Regarding NECC Contaminated Drugs By Texas Meningitis Lawyer Jason Coomer

Texas Meningitis Outbreak: Texas Medical Providers Ordered By FDA To Retain, Secure, and Withhold Potentially Contaminated Drugs That May Cause Meningitis By Texas Meningitis Contaminated Drug Lawyer Jason Coomer

The New England Compounding Center (NECC) meningitis contaminated drug outbreak that has claimed over 25 lives and has made hundreds of people sick may include several Texas medical providers that have been ordered by the FDA to retain, secure, and withhold any NECC drugs that may be contaminated and that the Texas health care providers may still have in their possession.

The following Texas medical providers that have ordered or used NECC drugs include: Medical City Dallas Hospital, Abilene Regional Medical Center, Alamo Heights Surgicare, Austin Medical Center, Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, Children's Medical Center Dallas, College Station Medical Center, Corpus Christi Medical Center-Bay Area, Corpus Chisti Medical Center-Doctor Reg, Corpus Christi Outpatient Surgery, Cosmetic and Maxillofacial Surg. Center, Convenant Medical Center-Lakeside, Dallas Plastic Surgery, Dallas Back Pain Management, Dell Children's Medical Center, Driscoll Children's Hospital, East Texas Orthopaedics, El Paso Specialty Hospital, Harlingen Medical Center, Harris Methodist Southlake Center, Hendrick Medical Center, KSF Methodist WB, KSF Orthopedic Center P.A., Lake Pointe Medical Center, Longview Regional Medical Center, Mansfield Surgery Center, Methodist Charlton Medical Center-Cardio, Metroplex Hospital, Michael E. Debakey V.A. Medical Center, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Scott & White Memorial Hospital, Shannon Medical Center, Texas Midwest Surgery Center, Texas Orthopedic Hospital, The Baylor School of Medicine Ambulatory Surgery Center, University Medical Center, Valley Regional Medical Center-Cardio, Weatherford Regional Medical Center, and Williamson Surgery Center. 

There are several other health care providers in Texas and throughout the United States that have ordered or used these potentially contaminated drugs.  For a complete list of medical providers, please go to the following lists of health care providers that have ordered NECC drugs: FDA List of Health Care Providers.

It is not clear yet as to how many people and their families will be impacted by this contaminated drug meningitis outbreak, but it is important for people that have received potentially contaminated drugs and that are showing symptoms of meningitis to immediately contact a medical professional to determine if they have meningitis.  If the they are infected with meningitis, it is important to obtain medical assistance and report the contaminated drug.  For more information on the contaminated drugs, meningitis, and FDA actions, please feel free to go to the following web pages: Texas Meningitis Lawsuits and Contaminated Drug Meningitis Lawsuits.

The Federal Estate Tax and Protecting Family Wealth by Texas Family Wealth Protection Lawyer:

Protecting Family Wealth From The Government Requires Giving Up Control of Wealth By Texas Family Wealth Protection Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

The current Federal Estate Tax will expire on December 31, 2012 and the exemption could reset to $1 million and a 55% maximum tax rate on non-exempt assets.  Many families are facing difficult decisions as to if they should transfer large amounts of wealth to the next generation through gifts and into irrevocable trusts to avoid the federal estate tax or hope the federal estate tax laws will be revised again to extend large federal tax exemptions. 

Major Estate Tax Change Looming - Don't Be A Last Minute Louie - Forbes

"The case for making a large gift in 2012 to use up the unified credit against gift and estate taxes is compelling for people who can afford it.  Right now, taxable gifts totaling $5,120,000 can be made in a lifetime without incurring liability."

The Medicaid 60 Month Transfer Rule

 
Many families will also face the decision as to whether to transfer assets to allow loved ones to qualify for Medicaid and avoid large medical expenses and large Medicaid liens.  The person seeking to qualify for Medicaid benefits to help pay for nursing home care and other medical benefits will need to transfer their property at least 60 months before qualifying for Medicaid.

This 60 month look back period forces families to make difficult decisions well before a situation arises.  On a personal note the person transferring their assets has to be sure they know what they are doing and greatly trust those that to whom they are transferring their assets.

How Do I Protect My Assets From The Government Under Current Law?

Under current federal law, it is necessary for the person transferring their assets to give up control of their assets in order to take advantage of the current federal exemptions or to qualify for Medicaid benefits.  For a person to give up control of their assets, the assets need to be transferred through gift, death, or irrevocable trust. 

In all of these options the person transferring their assets will have to give up control of their assets and cannot take back their assets if their situation changes.  Giving up control in assets is difficult for many people as transferring their assets will make them dependent on others and place them in a vulnerable position.  For some people and their families, it is worth the risk to protect assets from the government.  For other people and their families, the risk of losing control of their wealth and relying on those that they transferred their wealth to is not worth the risk.  They would prefer to control their wealth to the very end and risk losing a large portion to the government, medical bills, or opportunists.

 

The Lucky Few:  Five Families Save $8.75 Billion in 2010 

In 2010, the federal estate tax exemption was unlimited and five billionaires died without paying any federal estate taxes.   The savings from federal estate tax to these families was approximately $8.75 billion.  These billionaires were George Steinbrenner, Walter Shorenstein, Dan Duncan, Mary Cargill and John Kluge. In this election year there are some calls to repeal the death tax and extend the unlimited federal exemption.  It is expected that if the Republicans win the presidency and congress that the unlimited federal exemption will be extended.  Additionally, if the Democrats win it is expected that a federal exemption of around $5 million per person or $10 million per married couple will be extended.  However, please keep in mind with significant government budget issues, it is not clear if either party will be able to allow unlimited or large exemptions to continue in the future.

Further, the Medicaid qualification 60 month rule is expected to stay in place.  This rule will impact many families and will place many families in difficult planning situations.  In fact, with the need to reduce Medicaid benefits by government, it is expected that new rules to limit Medicaid qualifications will be put in place in the future placing families with assets of $100,000.00 to $2,000,000.00 in difficult estate planning situations.

Avoiding Probate Real Estate Traps and The Loss of Family Real Estate Through Probate by Texas Real Estate Probate Lawyer Jason Coomer

Protecting Family Real Estate Through Probate From The Government and Other Loss by Texas Real Estate Probate Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

As a Texas Real Estate Probate Lawyer, I am seeing an increasing number of Texas families lose their family's real estate to governmental entities and vultures that purchase real estate at foreclosure sales for pennies on the dollar.  In many instances the owner of the real property passes away and the real property gets stuck in the probate process.  The family does not have the information or resources to pay the taxes or clear title to the property.  In many of these situations, time and delay works against the family until the real property is taken by the government and sold for pennies on the dollar.

Below are some of the common traps that families fall into that allow their real estate to be lost or taken as well as some suggestions on how to avoid or navigate out of these traps.

The Privacy Trap: Lack of Information and Resources Can Result in the Loss of Real Property

The most common trap is the privacy trap where the owner of real estate handles all the finances for the family and does not communicate as to what real property is owned or what other assets are available to maintain the real estate.  This is a common trap because many people do not want to share their financial information.  Most people want to control their finances through their entire life.  Further, as many people age and start to lose their physical strength, they feel more vulnerable making them less likely to share information on their wealth even with family members and loved ones.  

In many of these situations when the owner dies or becomes incapacitated, the family will be busy grieving their loss and how to deal with guardianship issues or funeral issues and not have the necessary information or resources to deal with the family's real estate.  This often creates a situation where real property can be lost through inaction or taken by opportunists.

Communication and organization are keys to avoiding this potential privacy trap.  Having detailed records of real estate and other assets can help prevent both from being lost.  These records need to be kept in a safe place and accessible for loved ones to obtain if death or incapacity occurs.  Further, communication of asset information and the decedent's wishes prior to death or incapacity are also important, but these conversations can be difficult as most people do not like to think of their own potential incapacity or death.  

The Fear of Death Trap: Lack of Estate Planning Can Result in Unintended Issues And Problems

The fear of death trap is also a common trap that can cause real estate to become trapped or lost through lack of estate planning.  Most people have a fear of their own death and many will not want to envision a time when they are not alive.  This fear will prevent many people from doing any type of estate planning which can result in real estate and other property being lost.  In some situations, a person's estate is inherited by minors or long lost relatives.  In both of these situations, the lack of estate planning can result in the inheritance by minors or long lost relatives to require the person's estate to have to go through additional and often costly court administration including appointment of ad litems and a dependent administration to properly transfer the property.  In both of these situations additional court costs, legal fees, and necessary proceedings can result in a family delaying or not moving forward with the probate process to clear title to real estate.

Further, there can be other unintended consequences where property is given to heirs that do not get along.  In many of these situations the family begins to fight over the estate.  These fight can tear a family apart, prevent a family from moving forward with the probate process, and/or last years as each side will not agree with the other to moving forward with a simple administration.

In all of these situations and many other situations where estate planning is not done, a person's real estate can get stuck as the lawful heirs do not know how to transfer the real property, refuse to allow real property to be transferred to other family members, or do not have the resources to go through an expensive probate lawsuit.

Estate planning with a lawyer is typically the best way to avoid this trap.  Estate planning may cost some money and be a difficult issue to face, but it can often save substantial amounts of money and assets as well as avoid contested probate litigation.  Ignorance of estate planning and probate can be extremely costly to many families and will result in the loss of substantial family assets including mineral interests, family farms, houses, commercial property, investment property, lake houses, condos, and other real estate.  

The Medicaid Trap: The Government Will Take More Family Real Estate in The Future 

In the past, families that had a loved one that needed to go into a nursing home used to be able to transfer that person's property to a family member and then seek Medicaid to help pay for nursing home and medical expenses.  Those days are now gone.  Transfers of assets to make a person eligible for Medicaid benefits now need to be made at least 60 months (5 years) prior to applying for benefits.  This puts families in a difficult situation where family assets would need to be transferred out of the elderly person's control well before there is any need for Medicaid benefits.  This early transfer could be beneficial for the family, but could also cause substantial problems for the person transferring all their assets as they would have to trust and rely on their family to continue to take care of them when they may still be physically and mentally fit.   However, if the person keeps their home and other assets, they may not be able to qualify for Medicaid when they need it or they may leave a home with a substantial Medicaid lien on it to their family. 

The Medicaid trap is probably the most difficult of the probate real estate traps and will continue to become more problematic as health care costs continue to increase, more people need Medicaid benefits, and the government continues to change Medicaid rules to seek more resources in order to continue to provide Medicaid benefits.   

Texas Accident Death Lawsuits Include Wrongful Death Claims and Survival Accident Claims by Texas Accident Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Texas Accident Death Lawsuits Include Survival Action Claims and Wrongful Death Claims and Usually Require The Grieving Family To File A Probate Lawsuit To Obtain Control of Their Loved One's Estate by Texas Accident Death Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Under Texas law there are two main types of claims that arise out of fatal accidents.  These claims include survival actions and wrongful death actions.  The survival action passes through the decedent's estate and allows the heirs or beneficiaries of a decedent to seek compensation for the death of their loved one.  To obtain control of the survival action the lost loved one's estate needs to be administered through a Texas probate and an administrator or executor needs to be appointed.  This will allow the administrator or executor to file a survival action and seek survival action damages.

The survival action seeks damages or claims for what the decedent would have recovered had the person survived the accident.  These claims travel through the decedent's estate and either go to their heirs or beneficiaries.  These damages include:

•  Expenses associated with the death including funeral costs
• Medical expenses prior to the death
• Pain and suffering associated with the untimely death 

Texas Wrongful Death Claims Are Available to the Spouse, Parents, and Children

In addition to survival actions claims, Texas law also has wrongful death claims that are available to the spouse, parents, and children of a person that has been wrongfully killed by the negligent actions, reckless actions, or intentional actions of another.  Wrongful death claims seek money compensation for the parents, spouse and children of the decedent based on a variety of factors including:

• Loss of love, companionship, comfort, assistance, protection, affection or care 
• Loss of financial support 
• Lost benefits, such as insurance, from the death 
• Loss of inheritance from an untimely death

 

Many Families Do Not Realize That In Addition To Survival Action and Wrongful Death Action Claims There Are Often Several Different Types of Death Benefits and Insurance Recoveries That Can Also Be Recovered
 

After losing a loved one in an accident, it can be difficult to locate all potential insurance recoveries as well as to prove to insurance companies and guilty defendants the full extent of damages that your family has suffered. This is especially true if the damages suffered include the loss of a main contributor of financial support to your family or if there are large medical and funeral bills created by the death.  These damages can often cause a ripple affect of other damages that can result in the loss of a home, loss of vehicles, loss of ability to go to college, and other serious financial problems.    

In thoroughly investigating the death of a loved one, it is important to understand the potential different types of compensation that can be obtained through the Texas legal system and insurance policies.  In addition to seeking compensation from defendants responsible for the accidental death of a loved one, insurance can often provide compensation for the loss of a loved one.  Accidental Death Policies, Life Insurance Policies, Homeowners Insurance, General Commercial Insurance Policies, and Automobile Accident Policies are all types of insurance that can compensate widows and Texas families for the accidental death of a loved one.  In many instances if the party that killed your loved one is a business corporation, the party will have a general commercial policy of one million dollars to insure them from catastrophic injuries and death.  These policy can sometimes be hidden until a formal demand is made to the company responsible for the death.  Additionally, if the party that accidentally killed your loved one owns a home they will probably have a homeowners insurance policy that may compensate for an accidental death including deaths caused by fire and smoke, an accidental shooting or stray bullet, negligent children, attack dogs, dangerous condition on the property, or other negligence committed by a homeowner.  Like other insurance policies, these policies must be triggered within a certain time of the death and will not be automatically triggered.  A formal demand typically must be made to trigger these insurance policies.

Seniors Face Difficult Decisions On How To Protect Themselves and Their Wealth in Their Golden Years by Texas Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer and Texas Financial Exploitation Lawyer

Protecting Yourself and Your Wealth From Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation in Your Golden Years by Texas Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer

Many seniors will face difficult decisions on how to protect themselves and how to protect their wealth in their golden years.  Unfortunately for many seniors, they are not aware of many of the potential dangers they may face as they age and many will become victims of elder financial abuse and exploitation.  In fact, over 10 percent of seniors are affected by some form of elder abuse including financial exploitation and the numbers are rising as the senior population increases and the number of opportunists targeting seniors continues to increase.  These opportunists include caretakers, financial advisers, and others who see a senior as an easy target to make money.

Caretakers Often Have Access and Opportunity to Commit Financial Exploitation and Caretaker Financial Abuse of Seniors

As a Texas Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer, I have seen numerous situations where a senior falls victim to caretaker financial exploitation.  Caretaker financial exploitation occurs when the person taking care of a senior takes advantage of the situation and begins taking control of the senior's wealth without permission or authority.  In my practice many families have contacted me regarding a caretaker that has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from a vulnerable senior.  The caretaker is commonly a family member, but can also be a hired home health care provider, a neighbor, a financial adviser, a family friend or other opportunist that comes into the senior's life and then realizes that the senior has substantial wealth, suffers from dementia or other memory problems, and no one is watching them or their finances closely.  In many of these situations, credit cards are used for the caretaker's benefit; bank accounts are drained or shifted into joint accounts allowing the caretaker greater access to money; beneficiary designations on stocks, CDs, retirement funds, and life insurance are changed; wills are changed; real property is sold and new property is purchased; and trusts are created.  In some situations the caretaker will even marry the senior to have better access to assets and inheritance rights.  Overall, a caretaker without oversight can often take control of a senior's wealth and leave a senior without their life savings.

In extreme cases, I have spoken to several families that claim a caretaker isolated the senior from family and friends, took the senior's wealth, and then placed the senior in a nursing home or kept the senior heavily medicated and locked up.  In some situations after the senior's wealth was transferred, the senior died under mysterious circumstances.    

Many acts of financial fraud, financial elder abuse, and financial exploitation of the elderly are committed by family members and caretakers that have moved in and take over the senior's finances.  While some of these financial transfers are authorized by the elderly person, many are not.  In some situations there is clear fraud and exploitation, while in other situations it can be difficult to determine what actions are authorized and which are not.  Communication between the senior's friends and family are often the best protection for seniors, but many seniors are hesitant to communicate regarding fraud and exploitation. 
 

Financial Advisers Often Have Access and Opportunity to Take Advantage of Seniors With Investment Fraud Schemes and Senior Financial Exploitation

The Department of Justice has warned that the country's recession has resulted in an unprecedented rise in investment fraud schemes.  Many of these investment fraud schemes have been aimed at wealthy seniors who are often easy targets with substantial wealth.  Common investment schemes include selling seniors annuities, selling risky investments to seniors, and pushing Ponzi schemes to seniors.  Many of these schemes are pushed onto seniors by high pressure financial advisers working on commissions.

Other financial advisers take control of a senior's wealth and then begin to churn the investment to increase their commissions or even worse take the senior's wealth through false accounting statements and illegal transfers.  Financial adviser senior exploitation can also be hard to identify as many seniors will keep their investments a secret from those around them and can sometimes forget about investments or die without communicating the existence of an investment.

Many Seniors Will Need To Make Difficult Decisions Regarding Who To Trust and How To Protect Themselves and Their Wealth 

    
Many seniors that have worked hard during their lives to amass wealth are often reluctant to share information regarding their wealth or their health with those around them.  In fact, as many seniors age and begin to feel physically and mentally weaker, they will feel a need to protect this information even more strongly and many will become defensive of family, friends, or professionals that inquire about these topics.  This natural tendency to solely control wealth and health information, however, can create an environment where the senior is isolated and becomes an easy target for an opportunist to come into the senior's life and take advantage of the isolation.  For a growing number of seniors, they become vulnerable to physical, emotional, and financial abuse from caretakers, financial advisers, family members, and other opportunists in their later years.  

The decisions seniors make when they are younger and stronger will greatly impact what happens to them as they age, become weaker, and lose their memory.  However, planning for the future can be difficult as many seniors do not want to share financial or health information with those around them.  Further, sharing with the wrong person or failing to share this information can result in financial exploitation.  Recognizing who to trust is key to protecting yourself as you age, but this can be difficult and is often different for every senior and family facing these issues.

Large Corporations See Dead People as Profits by Texas Family Inheritance Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Families Are Losing An Increasing Amount of Family Inheritance and Wealth As Banks, Oil Companies, Large Corporations, and Other Opportunists Are Taking Wealth and Assets by Texas Family Inheritance Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Each year hundreds of billions of dollars of family inheritance are being passed down through inheritance to rightful heirs and beneficiaries, however, an increasing amount of family wealth is being lost to banks, oil companies, large corporations, and other opportunists.  As a Texas family inheritance lawyer, it is all to common to see a family's wealth lost or stolen.  

In many situations, the lost loved one does not have a will and the family does not have an accurate accounting of their loved one's wealth or assets.  This lack of information combined with grieving the loss of a loved one and/or relatives living far from their lost loved ones can create opportunities for large corporations to retain control of assets and eventually take the assets.

Banks, Oil Companies, Insurance Companies, and other Large Corporations Will Commonly Create Procedures That Allow Them To Hold On To Wealth As Long As Possible And In Some Cases Keep The Wealth That The Family Does Not Claim

In my practice, I have seen families that have spent years attempting to claim substantial amounts of family wealth from large corporations, but because of difficult and complicated bureaucratic procedures the families have been unable to collect the family wealth including stocks, royalties, bank accounts, and insurance.  In many situations, large corporations have found that creating difficult corporate policies and procedures to follow in order to claim the money and assets will often cause many families to give up on family wealth and allow the corporation to retain control of the wealth and eventually take the assets. 

In fact, in many instances these corporate procedures will include customer service policies that start out with the immediate denial of all claims regardless of whether money or assets are owed. An immediate telephone denial is effective because it will deter many families from moving forward with a claim for assets and there is often no record of any wrongful denial of benefits or money owed.  Other effective deterrents include the corporation that will not speak with the family or provide any information because the family member seeking the assets is not the owner.  This often seems plausible as it is often necessary to prove that the owner died and the family member has control of the estate or is a beneficiary.  However, there is also a potential trap in these situations, where the corporation will request the family member send all of their documents regarding the claim to the corporation before they can speak with you.  The request for documents is effective because some people will send their original documents to the corporation without keeping a record and will have a difficult time proving the claim in the future.  Further, it can be an effective stall to keep requesting documents that are hard or impossible to obtain.

Further, in addition to the standard denial and request for document trap, there is typically a standard policy where the customer service representative cannot give you their full name or direct contact information, thus you are typically stuck on hold in a telephone answering system and have to begin the dance anew each time that you contact the company.  Further, it is important to keep in mind that most times anything that you are told over the telephone is not on the record and may not be correct.  As such, the customer service representative may tell you almost anything to get off the telephone including the standard denial and request for documents then never be available again to verify the information.

Further, it is common that the customer service representatives that make the corporation the most money will typically be the ones that deny everything and are good at finding new and different ways of denying claims.  These "successful" customer services representatives will often be experienced in how to deny claims for money and assets, how to send viable claims into repeated stalls, as well as be able to avoid giving information that may lead back to them or allow the family to verify any prior communications.  

Overall, there is a clear economic incentive for many large corporations to have difficult telephone customer calling centers and complicated procedures that prevent families from being able to quickly claim family wealth.  This incentive will commonly allow the corporation to retain control of the money and assets as well as in many situations allow the corporation to benefit from investing the money and charging fees on managing the assets.  Further, if a family claiming substantial wealth can be stalled and delayed for several years this may allow the corporation to eventually take the wealth through fees, accounting tricks, and illegal acts. 

These difficult family wealth claim procedures can be an effective strategy for corporations because some families will give up and very few will contact an attorney to seek payment of assets or to file suit to obtain the assets.
   

Unclaimed Wealth Laws Are Commonly Not Enforced and Corporations Can Often Create Complicated Accounting Procedures To Hide The Theft of Money

 

Even though recent laws require some large corporations to keep track of lost or unclaimed money and after a certain amount of time give the unclaimed money to a government entity, many corporations do not comply with these laws because there is minimal enforcement of these laws and they can often get away with the theft because no one is watching. 

After five to ten years of holding money or assets, many corporations will transfer the money through multiple accounts and complicated accounting procedures making the money almost impossible to track.  Obtaining these accounting documents can be extremely difficult and understanding these accounting documents can often be almost impossible as much of the information and accounting tricks are designed to hide transactions and to prevent from actual theft transactions from being verified.

Further, the corporations know that it is highly unlikely that a lawful heir will pop up after five to ten years to claim the money or that a state will be aware that the large corporation was required to place a specific account into a specific state's unclaimed property and failed to do so.   

Some Corporations Are Finding It Extremely Profitable To Steal From Dead People

Overall, many corporations are finding that if they can create difficult claim procedures for family wealth and complicated hard to understand accounting procedures, the corporation can often steal from the dead and not get caught.  With a growing elderly population and an increased amount of family wealth in investments and accounts in large multinational corporations that have customers in numerous states and countries, these corporations can use apparent negligence and mistakes to their advantage to take money from dead people and make a large profit from stealing family wealth.

Interest Rate Fraud Lawsuits and Interest Rate Manipulation Lawsuits: Libor-Like Manipulation Possible in Other Benchmarks, Iosco Says by Texas Interest Rate Fraud Lawyer and Interest Rate Manipulation Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Interest Rate Fraud Lawsuits and Interest Rate Manipulation Lawsuits May Become More Common As Evidence of Widespread Interest Rate Fraud and Interest Rate Manipulation Is Coming to Light by Texas Interest Rate Fraud Lawyer, Texas Interest Rate Manipulation Lawyer, and Texas Financial Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer

Interest rate fraud and interest rate manipulation can create large profits for businesses and investors that can control and manipulate interests rates for their advantage.  This illegal advantage appears to have been more prevalent than once thought and a paper by the International Organization of Securities Commissions suggests that the lack of transparency in setting some bench marks may have allowed some investors, bankers, and financial services providers to manipulate interest rates to their advantage.

In some situations these interest rate manipulation schemes can be the basis for an interest rate fraud lawsuit or a financial confidential whistleblower reward lawsuit.  If you are the original source with special knowledge of interest rate fraud and/or the victim of interest rate manipulation that cost your pension, business, or investments a substantial amount of damages, please feel free to contact Texas International Interest Rate Fraud Lawyer and International Financial Services Institute Employee Confidential Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer. 


Libor-Like Manipulation Possible in Other Benchmarks, Iosco Says - Bloomberg

"The same lack of oversight that enabled traders to manipulate the London interbank offered rate plagues other benchmarks around the globe, according to a group of international securities regulators."

"Fewer than half of the benchmark interest rates surveyed in the U.S., Europe and Asia were based on actual transactions, according to a confidential International Organization of Securities Commissions discussion paper obtained by Bloomberg News. Instead, the rates were calculated by methodologies that were unclear, not transparent and only rarely subject to specific regulatory standards or obligations, the group said."

“Iosco, as the international organization of financial market regulators, is firmly committed to restoring confidence in benchmarking activities globally,” Masamichi Kono, chairman of the Iosco board, said in a Sept. 14 statement."