Russo Law Group, P.C. is pleased to share this article on behalf of guest author Jack Halpern. Jimmo v. Sebelius Settlement Agreement. For about 30 years, home health agencies and nursing homes that contract with Medicare have routinely terminated the Medicare…
Parents of children with special needs will inevitably face the following question: Who is going to make health care and financial decisions for my child when I am unable to do so?
Planning and preparing the appropriate documentation for children with special needs will ensure protection for your loved ones.
Many times when I meet with clients to discuss Medicaid, their children come along with them. One of the most frequent questions I get asked by children is, “Well, mom put me on her checking account, so half of that is protected because it’s a joint account, right?”
We often see clients with concerns about loved ones who receive government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid. Since SSI and Medicaid have very strict rules as to how much money and how much income beneficiaries can have in their name, clients often want to be sure that their gift does not affect SSI and/or Medicaid benefits. It’s very important in this type of situation to implement proper planning that protects their loved one’s important benefits.
There are three types of guardianship proceedings in New York State:
Recently, I was helping a couple with planning. Unfortunately, the husband passed away about two weeks ago. After he died, the family realized that he had one bank account that was in his name alone, with about $3,000 in it. They did not realize this before he passed, otherwise they would have taken care of it.
Although legal planning documents such as a health care proxy, power of attorney, last will & testament, etc. are an important part of any estate plan, if you are the parent of a child with special needs, these standard estate planning documents may not be adequate. If your child will not be able to live independently or support him or herself as an adult, it is critical that you make special provisions in your estate plan.
In order to avoid probate, you may decide to either place your home in a revocable trust or place someone you trust on the deed, creating joint ownership. Each of these options have their own pros and cons, but which is a better safeguard?
Today (March 6, 2017) marks the last day a fiduciary of a trust or estate can make a distribution from the trust or estate, and still take the 65-day election on the fiduciary income tax return. The general rule is,…
On Long Island, a tax break affecting 35,000 Nassau County seniors was not renewed this year.
Recently, Nassau County let a long-standing property tax abatement expire without any notice to the recipients of the abatement.
Approximately 35,000 seniors, all earning less than $86,000 a year in income, were receiving approximately $200 a year in tax abatement. But now the abatement has been removed because the county legislature did not re-approve the abatement.