eCourses

Session 1: The Grievance Process and Most Common Violations - The presentation is intended to provide general information regarding the amendments made to the grievance process in 2018, the proper way to respond to a grievance identifying attorney misconduct, and common problems to avoid in practice. Session 2: So You Think You Know Your Evidence and Procedure? - An interactive and entertaining presentation testing your knowledge of the Texas Rules of Evidence and Procedure. Session 3: Research on Legal Writing - Get information about empirical research on legal writing techniques. Research supports plainer writing, reduced use of intensifiers, reduced use of “emotional” words, and use of narrative. Research also supports “connectives” (transitions), priming, and the value of resources, i.e. money. Session 4: Dealing With the Problem of Opposing Counsel - How to avoid intimidation and manage the disruptive, disreputable, and overly zealous opposing counsel in an ethical, civil, and professional manner.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Medicaid Update - Latest developments affecting planning and applications for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care and home care. Session 02: What All Estate and Probate Attorneys Need to Know About Medicaid Planning and Drafting - Issue-spotting and discussion highlighting elder law issues for which every estate planner and probate attorney should be on the lookout. Session 03: The View from 30, 000 feet – Medicaid Myths All Attorney's Should Know - Join Stephanie as she explains Medicaid and Medicare mythbusting and challenges common misconceptions about: MERP, Medicaid, and Medicare, as well as protecting the home and other assets with Transfer on Death Planning and Couples Planning for Medicaid. Session 04: When Your Client May Have Diminished Capacity - In estate planning and elder law, attorneys often have clients that may be in some stage of diminished capacity. This creates ethical and legal issues for the attorney that can’t be ignored. Explore those issues and ways the attorney can navigate these turbulent waters. Session 05: Real Estate Issues in Elder Law - Review issues to better protect your clients, including homestead and agricultural exemptions; recent changes; to inspect or not, what could possibly go wrong; easements; and transactions with an affidavit of heirship within four years of date of death.  Session 06: Role of the Guardian - Examine the duties and responsibilities of a guardian under Texas law and guardianship administration, from initiation to closing, including the code requirements of selling and leasing property, ethical issues, and more. Session 07: Alternatives to Guardianship Including Supports and Services - An examination and discussion from the perspectives of the bench and in practice on lesser restrictive alternatives and available supports and services in guardianship. Which work? Which do not? And, how, in every case, the answer is, "It depends." Session 08: Medicaid Matters and Probate Proceedings - Join Stephanie as she explores how to protect homes from the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program [MERP] through probate proceedings, in addition to understanding the basics of protecting homes from the reach of MERP in the first place. Independent administrations may not always be the best choice, particularly in cases where no statutory waivers apply.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

THIS MONTH: Contracting with Third-Party Vendors: Top Risk and Privacy Law Considerations • IRAs In Estate Planning, or Trust Me, I'm an EDB for RMDs After the RBD • Beating the Expert • Running Your Law Firm as a Business • The Unruly Client

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Need ethics credit? We’ve got you covered! UT Law CLE’s First Friday Ethics streams live every first Friday of the month, and features some of our best ethics speakers and presentations for a total of 3.00 hrs ethics credit. Fulfill your entire annual ethics requirement in Texas in one day! This month includes: (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) The Grievance Process and Most Common Violations The presentation is intended to provide general information regarding the amendments made to the grievance process in 2018, the proper way to respond to a grievance identifying attorney misconduct, and common problems to avoid in practice. Nicole E. Jackson, Rosenblatt Law Firm - San Antonio, TX   (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) A Lawyer's Duty in a Democracy Under Attack (Replay) An examination of lawyers' duty to support the Constitution and democratic principles when they are being challenged.  Michael Curry, Attorney-Mediator - Austin, TX (1.00 hr | 1.00 hr ethics) Sign Right Here (Replay) A survey of provisions for your attorney client agreements from “must haves” to “optional” clauses. Claude E. Ducloux, Attorney at Law - Austin, TX (0.50 hr | 0.50 hr ethics) The "Difficult" Clients (Replay) Explore how to define, spot, course correct and terminate “difficult” clients and client relationships. John B. Henry III, Law Office of John B. Henry, III, PLLC - Bellaire, TX

Includes: Video Paper Slides

The presentation is intended to provide general information regarding the amendments made to the grievance process in 2018, the proper way to respond to a grievance identifying attorney misconduct, and common problems to avoid in practice.

Includes: Video Paper Slides

THIS MONTH: Legislative Update: New Texas Business Courts • EPA’s Latest Grid-Impacting Regulations • Mediation Strategies, Solutions and Lessons Learned • Accessing and Managing Digital Assets After Death • Deal Ethics

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Explore how to define, spot, course correct and terminate “difficult” clients and client relationships.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Role of the Guardian - Examine the duties and responsibilities of a guardian under Texas law and guardianship administration, from initiation to closing, including the code requirements of selling and leasing property, ethical issues, and more. Session 02: Role of the Ad Litem - A review of the responsibilities of the attorney ad litem and guardian ad litem in guardianship proceedings with an emphasis on practical application of the statutes, conduct in uncontested and contested proceedings, and pointers on applications for fees. Session 03: Alternatives to Guardianship Including Supports and Services - An examination and discussion from the perspectives of the bench and in practice on lesser restrictive alternatives and available supports and services in guardianship. Which work? Which do not? And, how, in every case, the answer is, "It depends." Session 04: Guardianships During Divorce - Two of the most difficult legal proceedings a person can go through in life are divorces and guardianships. Explore how to handle the challenges that arise when these two practice areas collide. Session 05: Things Every Texas Estate Planner Should Know About Advising New to Texas Clients, Including Transfer of Guardianship from Another State - An overview of common issues for Texas Estate Planners to address when working with clients who have moved to Texas from another state, such as identifying tax issues and updating estate planning documents. Also hear a discussion of the steps for transferring a guardianship case from another state, from closing the case in the sending state to acceptance in Texas. PLEASE NOTE: To claim Texas Guardianship Ad Litem credit for the presentations that include guardianship hours, download the guardianship accreditation documentation (found here) as you claim your general MCLE credit at the end of this course and submit the affidavit to the State Bar of Texas.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Update on trust, estate and guardianship legislation passed during the 88th legislative session. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Latest developments affecting planning and applications for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care and home care.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Texas adopted its trust decanting statute in 2013. Ten years (and several amendments) later, practitioners are still grappling with when and how to decant a trust. Hear an overview of trust decanting in Texas, with a specific focus on decanting in response to unanticipated elder law and special needs issues.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

Gain insight on basic information about digital assets to estate planners and attorneys representing executors or administrators of estates, while also providing practical advice for how to access and manage those assets before and after death.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Explore 20 drafting ideas to help the trustee in the administration of a trust and to minimize their liability. The materials include “Trustee Boot Camp: A Checklist for New Trustees.”

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A review of an executor’s powers and fiduciary duties relating to the administration of real estate in probate proceedings, including the interplay between a beneficiary’s vested ownership interest and an executor’s right of possession, whether a power of sale is really all that powerful, and dealing with a surviving spouse’s homestead rights.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

We’ve seen a lot of changes in how IRA’s and retirement plans are taxed after the participant’s death, especially when left in trust. Here’s what you need to know when planning an estate with significant tax-deferred assets.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Gain insight into why clients purchase life insurance and confirm that life insurance is an asset that (i) requires and can benefit from active management as the contract matures, (ii) can be sold similar to other financial assets and (iii) may have a value to the policyowner that is significantly greater than the cash surrender value. Review the various types of insurance commonly used in estate planning, the evolution of universal life insurance that has contributed to the development of the life settlement market, the tax treatment of life settlements should a policy be sold in a life settlement, options for working with a life settlement for clients who need additional funds for retirement and a discussion of trust owned life insurance and how the life settlement option is of particular importance for fiduciaries to understand to avoid potential liability for a policy surrender or lapse.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

The federal estate tax return is often not mentioned to the client in the course of a probate attorney’s representation of an executor or administrator of a decedent’s estate. Given such factors as the looming sunset of the current gift and estate tax exemption, the opportunity for portability of a married decedent’s unused exclusion to a surviving spouse, and negative consequences that can result from failing to file a federal estate tax return, this presentation offers some steps for the probate attorney to consider when deciding whether to include a discussion of the federal estate tax return when representing an executor or administrator of a decedent's estate.  

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

How to find, use, and compare pooled trusts for older clients, including clients  for themselves, spouses, and other family members. Whether clients have substantial or modest resources, there are a variety of pooled trust strategies to consider suggesting to older clients who are seeking to protect care options throughout the future.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

The Corporate Transparency Act of 2020 mandates that certain business entities disclose beneficial ownership information to FinCEN to combat illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorism financing, and tax fraud. Estate planners who use business entities for asset holding or wealth structuring should be aware of the CTA's reporting requirements and possible penalties for noncompliance, as some of these entities may fall under the Act's purview.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

An overview of common issues for Texas Estate Planners to address when working with clients who have moved to Texas from another state, such as identifying tax issues and updating estate planning documents. Also hear a discussion of the steps for transferring a guardianship case from another state, from closing the case in the sending state to acceptance in Texas.

Includes: Video Audio Paper