by Salvatore M. Di Costanzo, Esq., and Joanna C. Feldman, Esq. Regardless of whether your estate plan is basic or complex, it is important to review the plan every few years for reasons that include life events and changes in laws and/or regulations. Life Events Estate plans can change drastically upon the occurrence of certain…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman This question was recently asked at an event we hosted during which we discussed strategies to leave a legacy after death. A Medicaid Trust is an irrevocable trust used to protect assets should one need nursing home care and seek Medicaid to help cover the cost. Because assets in a Medicaid…
Co-authored by Joanna C. Feldman As Monday, April 16, 2018, was Health Care Decision Day, your question is timely. In New York, a Health Care Proxy allows you to appoint someone to make health care decisions for you should you become mentally incapacitated. You can even appoint a successor should the primary person be unable…
I often review existing estate planning documents and in doing so, find that most estate plans consist of a living will and health care proxy which are advance directives dealing you’re your health care matters. A health care proxy is a document that appoints another individual to make your medical decisions if you are…
If there is one unavoidable consequence of life and relationships, it is that our loved ones may fall ill at some point, whether it be a parent, grandparent, child, aunt or uncle. Sometimes it could be a tragic accident or disease that affects them, and other times it is simply part of the aging process….
I recently received a frantic telephone call from someone whose sister suffered a stroke and was admitted to a hospital. Upon admission, the facility asked if there was a health care proxy appointing an agent to make medical decisions on the patient’s behalf. The sibling answered in the negative. As a result, the hospital refused…
In a perfect world, everyone would craft an estate and elder care plan well in advance of having to implement it˗ but the world isn’t perfect! I have had the opportunity to work on a fair amount of cases where clients, who had no estate or elder can plan, fell ill or became disabled. In…
