When a person dies, his or her relatives often rush to pay that person’s credit cards and other bills.   Bad idea.   In some circumstances, a bill may never have to be paid.   We’ll briefly explain how creditor claims work in the world of probate and then discuss an actual court decision.  Independent Administration vs. Dependent Administration   Texas has an extraordinarily easy type of probate called independent administration, which is used for most probate estates.   In an independent...

“On October 27, 1969, Prosenjit Poddar killed Tatiana Tarasoff.”  The California Supreme Court began its 1976 landmark opinion with this sensational opening.  What followed quickly became known as the “Tarasoff rule.”  What is the Tarasoff Rule?  The events leading to the decision were tragic.   According to Psychology Today, Poddar was an Indian graduate student at UC Berkeley. He had been seeing a psychologist about his obsession with Tatiana, who he was stalking. Poddar reportedly told the psychologist that he was...

If a simple blood test could reveal early signs of Alzheimer’s – years before symptoms appear- would you want to know?   It’s a serious question. In May 2025, for the first time, the FDA approved a simple diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s. And, based on the literature, doctors are very excited about it.  You should be, too.   Why Does Early Alzheimer’s Detection Matter?  Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. Dementia from Alzheimer’s disease often does not show until 20 or more years after the initial pathological changes to the...