You are never too young to draft your estate planning documents. I am sure you would agree that anything can happen to anyone at any time. There are several cases in my office that can be used for illustrative purposes. A few months ago, I was retained by the family of a 43-year-old male who…
Special Needs Trusts are an integral part of almost every estate plan, yet, most people do not realize this. Typically, those who consult us on the applicability of Special Needs Trusts are either disabled or closely involved with a disabled child or other adult. In these instances, the need for a Special Needs Trust might…
Generally, in determining the Medicaid eligibility of a person receiving nursing facility services, any gifting of assets made by the applicant within the “look back period” will render the person ineligible for Medicaid for a period of time equal to the value of the gift divided by the regional rate. Under current law, the look…
Actually, yes! When someone dies, the first step is to determine if the decedent owned any assets individually, meaning there were assets with no joint owner or designated beneficiary. A very common fact pattern is where a surviving spouse dies owning a house. Once it is determined that individually owned assets exist, someone needs to…
This is a very common issue with revocable trusts and it results from not respecting the formalities of the trust. In order for a revocable trust to work as intended, that is, to avoid probate, your assets must be transferred to the trust. For instance, if you own a house, the deed needs to be…
According to a recent report published by the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2017, approximately 5.5 million individuals have “Alzheimer’s dementia”. If you consider those figures, together with the many other neurological diseases (ALS) and physical ailments (strokes) that impact our physical and cognitive abilities, you can understand why planning should be done to contemplate these matters….
The answer to this question is dependent on the County you live in. Regardless, the probate process can take quite some time and delay the distribution of assets to your heirs. The probate process begins by retaining us to prepare certain documents that must be filed with the Surrogate’s Court in the County where the…
You can appoint as many people as you wish, however there are a few things to consider about the person you appoint. First, you should always have a conversation with the person you appoint prior to making such appointment to ensure he is willing to accept the position of agent. Second, when considering your…
Often confused, the look-back period and the penalty period are two distinct concepts in Medicaid planning. It is important to understand the applicability of each. The look-back period is the five-year retroactive period beginning on the date you enter a nursing facility. Thus, if you enter a nursing home on November 1, 2017, the look-back…
Unfortunately, we cannot control if and when we may fall ill but we can be proactive to protect our financial assets by planning early. The risk of requiring a nursing home within five years of creating a Medicaid Trust is generally a risk associated with waiting too long to meet with and elder law attorney….
It is worth noting at the outset that there are many types of irrevocable trusts. I think it is safe to assume that when you reference an irrevocable trust, you are speaking of the trust that we regularly use to protect your assets if you need to apply for Medicaid in the future. For our…
A guardian is an individual (or sometimes an entity) appointed by the Court to handle the personal and/or financial affairs of a minor child. In New York, a child under the age of eighteen is considered a minor. Usually, the Court appoints a guardian for both the person and property of a minor, but…
For 2017, the federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption have increased to $5,490,000. This means that you can gift this amount over your lifetime without incurring a federal gift tax and to the extent you haven’t done so, any exemption remaining at death can be applied against the value of your estate for…
