eCourses

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: (1.00 hr | 1.00 hr ethics) Update on Conflicts of Interest (Replay) An overview and analysis of the rules, case law and ethics opinions regarding conflicts of interest rules including simultaneous representation of potentially adverse clients, positional conflicts, conflicts involving the lawyer’s personal interest, imputed disqualification, conflicts involving insurance, conflicts regarding former or prospective clients, and conflicts arising from pre-retention contacts. Dennis P. Duffy, Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC - Houston, TX (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Special Needs Trusts Ethics Jeopardy (Replay) Attorneys and trustees need to clearly understand their ethical obligations. Using the Jeopardy game show format, in this interactive session, the presenters cover various ethical issues encountered in a special needs practice, providing the answers while the audience provides the questions. Mary Alice Jackson, Boyer & Boyer P.A. - Sarasota, FL Bryn A. Poland, Mayo & Poland PLLC - Baytown, TX (0.75 hr | 0.75 hr ethics) Privacy, Cyber, and Ethical Challenges of Data Governance (Replay) Learn about the challenges faced by in-house and outside counsel in harmonizing ethical practices and privacy compliance in data governance programs as new technologies continuously change the way data can be collected and used. Kristy Sambor, SailPoint Technologies - Austin, TX Ken Suh, Troutman Pepper Locke - Chicago, IL (0.50 hr | 0.50 hr ethics) Artificial Intelligence as a Core Competency: An Ethics Lens (Replay) Identify the ethical issues raised under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. In further exploring the practical use cases for AI products, platforms, and machine learning technology within an underdeveloped security regime, this presentation will alert practitioners to common pitfalls relating to clients communications, confidentiality, and fees within the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI usage. Wesley Nute, Walsh Gallegos Treviño Kyle & Robinson, P.C. - Irving, TX

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Session 01: Medicaid Update and Other Hot Topics - This presentation identifies and explains recent changes in Medicaid law and policy. Discuss Medicaid advocacy strategies that are “hot,” either because they are new or because they are underutilized but work really well. 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: Medicaid Planning or Medicaid Avoidance? - Sometimes we can help a relatively wealthy person qualify for Medicaid long-term care. This presentation explores how to help the client determine whether or not they are able to pay privately; and if so, whether they would be better served by doing so or by qualifying for Medicaid. Session 04: MERP Defense - This presentation provides updates on changes in defending against MERP claims and discussion of continuing sticky situations and traps. Discuss where HMS and we disagree and the problems of timelines, statutes of limitations, and the need for legislative change. Session 05: 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 - A discussion of practical considerations in determining whether lesser restrictive alternatives and supports and services are available and feasible in guardianship proceedings. Session 09: Medicaid Planning in Guardianships - A discussion of how government benefits planning for single and married individuals can be accomplished in the context of Guardianships and Community Administrations. Session 10: 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.

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An overview of the basics of special needs trusts and public benefits including selection of appropriate trust option, pitfalls to avoid and case examples.

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Gain insight on the topic of the termination of the special needs trust when a beneficiary passes away and there is a Medicaid lien owed. Hear the basics of the requirements of the Medicaid pay-back provision, how to contact the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to verify the Medicaid lien and obtain the lien payoff, and the process of settling the lien with the agency.

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Learn about the tax-advantaged Texas Achieving a Better Life Experience Program (Texas ABLE®), a disability savings program created specifically for Texans with qualifying disabilities. This session takes a deeper dive into all things Texas ABLE—from how to open and manage a Texas ABLE account to discovering ways eligible individuals with disabilities and their families are using the accounts, all while helping to preserve state and federal means-tested benefits, including SSI and Medicaid. The session also highlights upcoming legislative changes including the Age Adjustment Act and its impact on program eligibility.

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Buying a home for an SNT beneficiary can be one of the largest and most consequential purchases an SNT trustee will make during the lifetime of the trust. In this session, review procedures, considerations, best practices, and potential pitfalls for SNT trustees as they navigate the home-buying process.

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Address the basic requirements for special needs trusts, common errors in drafting, the requirements for reforming a trust versus modifying a trust, and the benefits for reformations.

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This presentation covers recent changes to HUD housing programs that impact how income and assets are calculated for families. Learn about the new law and analyze the key updates to better inform your clients. Additionally, the session provides guidance on recertifying tenant income to ensure compliance with the updated regulations and current creative housing trends such as the use of Accessory Dwelling Units.

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In the early days of special needs planning, “supplemental” needs trusts were intended to do just that: provide funds for quality of life enhancements for a person whose primary needs would be met by a wellfunded system of supports. Today, at a time when parents and caregivers are aging and dying, and where Medicaid funded programs are a shell of what they used to be, funds left in trust for a person with a disability will often serve as a primary source of long term support. This presentation highlights the benefits of case management and advocacy services in identifying and addressing the challenges faced by a trustee managing funds in a discretionary trust for a disabled beneficiary whose formal and informal support networks are changing.

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Explore drafting strategies to prevent litigation. A drafting attorney and a litigation attorney deliberate the right words, communications, and approaches to provide clear legal drafting, forestall conflicting interpretations and avoid future disputes.

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Discuss how to identify what benefits your client has; what additional benefits they may be eligible for; what distributions by a trustee (or anyone) will make them ineligible; and what distributions will keep them eligible for those benefits.

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A review of the Medicare Program Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D including recent changes in Part D.

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A review of recent cases from around the country impacting special needs trusts, trustees and trust beneficiaries.

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Focus on the uses of Sole Benefit Trusts, including distinguishing them from other types of special needs trusts. It will include practical application, hypothetical situations, and sample language.

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Attorneys and trustees need to clearly understand their ethical obligations. Using the Jeopardy game show format, in this interactive session, the presenters cover various ethical issues encountered in a special needs practice, providing the answers while the audience provides the questions.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

The centralization of SSI trust reviews business process celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2024. This session provides a look back, including improved quality, accurate and consistent trust determinations, and technical proficiency of employees. In addition, hear the latest regarding the legal opinion process, early termination, 90-day amendment period, and updates to the trust POMS.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

This presentation unpacks the case study of The Center for Special Needs Trusts Administration to better understand what happened and explores the deviations from best practices in pooled trust administration. Also, discuss safeguards for beneficiaries with disabilities, standards for trust administration, and what checkpoints to look for in a pooled trust’s operations.

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A basic overview of tax issues relating to the administration of special needs trusts, including those created by court order.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Most special needs trusts will be depleted long before the end of a beneficiary’s life. To protect a child with disabilities for life, a plan may need to consider a full 100 years. To protect an adult, a plan may need to consider 50 years or more. This session highlights projections, distribution plans, changes in circumstances, age-based changes, trustee continuity, administration costs, and funding (not wasting a penny).

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Changing trustees can be easy or complex, depending on the type of trust, the assets of the trust estate, and a variety of other factors. Discuss the process for changing trustees, as well as potential obstacles,

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides