One of the most frustrating things as a Special Needs planning attorney is to have someone in my office doing planning and they tell me that they need to disinherit a family member because they are receiving some kind of…
“My mother has too much money, so I guess she has to pay privately for her home care”, Mary told me recently. As an Elder Law Attorney for over 17 years, I can tell you that I hear this almost…
So you own your home and you think that it will be transferred to your family upon your passing without going to court. But is that really the case? What does all of this mean? A house that is owned…
It’s that time of year where we are celebrating with our loved ones and we are starting to make plans for what we want to do better or different in the coming year. Reassessing your estate plan should be at…
As a planner, I sometimes hear things like: “I thought I could give my kids $10,000” “I’ll just sell my house to my children for $1” “Can I pay my grandson’s college tuition and not have to worry about Medicaid?…
When it comes to protecting your assets from the costs of a long-term illness, such as a nursing home, the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is a staple planning technique. It is an effective way to protect your home (and other…
The new federal tax law entitled, “An Act To provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018,” which is commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs…
If the nominated Executor in your Last Will and Testament dies, then you should meet with an experienced estate planning attorney to review and possibly update your will to account for the loss. If you do not update your Will,…
Effective as of October 18, 2018, the Veteran’s Administration (VA) will be implementing significant comprehensive changes to the pension benefit rules. These rules were actually published back on January 2015 but have not been implemented until now. Some background first. …
Medicare recipients who reside in New York should keep an eye out for their new Medicare card. In an effort to prevent fraud, and fight identity theft, the federal government is issuing new Medicare cards to all Medicare beneficiaries that…