Blog

24 May Proving Abuse of Power of Attorney

When someone is granted a power of attorney over another person’s financial assets or healthcare decisions, they assume a fiduciary duty requiring that they act in the best interest of the principal who gave them that power. Unfortunately, despite the highest hopes of the person granting power of attorney, some who are entrusted with a POA betray that trust and convert the principal’s money or other property to their own use. In this blog post, we discuss the ways in which someone may abuse a POA and what can be done to stop the abuse of power....

18 May New Independent Assessments Procedure for NY Medicaid

Posted at 18:41h in Estate Planning, Medicaid and Asset Protection

During the NYIA’s nurse assessment, the Community Health Assessment, the nurse is required to conduct an interview with the applicant or their representative about what help the applicant needs performing activities of daily living, or ADLs....

13 May Undue Influence

Posted at 19:53h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament

In most cases, getting copies of documents about a trust in which you have an interest, even a contingent one, should not be difficult unless the parties involved are estranged or hostile to one another. If you are a contingent beneficiary whose parent or other close relative is already a vested beneficiary, then, typically, you can easily direct the trustee to provide you with the trust information that you desire....

02 Mar New York Medicaid Increased Asset and Income Limits for 2023

Posted at 21:38h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid and Asset Protection

New York’s Medicaid program increased the limits of income and financial assets with which an applicant can qualify for benefits in 2023. The new higher limits provide welcome relief to people struggling with the inflation that raged through much of 2022 and expand the pool of New Yorkers who can now qualify for needed coverage....

11 Nov How Do Beneficiaries Get a Copy of a Trust?

Posted at 15:15h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament

28 Oct Medicaid Protection Trust

Posted at 14:28h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid and Asset Protection, Special Needs Planning

Unless you take some steps to protect your home, ideally more than 5 years before you need Medicaid, the biggest asset most New Yorkers ever own, the source of their wealth, will not be fully or at all available to leave to their children or grandchildren....

14 Oct Assignment of Tangible Personal Property to a Revocable Trust

Posted at 13:59h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

To ensure someone makes the most informed decision about the best instrument to use in planning how their own estate will be set up, they should understand how wills and trusts work, how they differ from one another, and what advantages and disadvantages each instrument offers to both the settlor/testator(rix) and the beneficiaries. In this blog post, we’ll focus on how a revocable trust can serve as a tool to transfer tangible personal property or other assets to the next generation or to other parties you wish to endow....

07 Oct New York Estate Administration Checklist

Posted at 19:03h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

If you are named as the executor of a person’s will, or you plan to administer the estate of someone who died without a will, you will be assuming a role of great responsibility as an estate fiduciary. How you perform your new duties will be subject to the oversight of the New York Surrogate’s Court, and the scrutiny of all those who stand to benefit from the decedent’s estate....

30 Sep Letters Testamentary in New York

Posted at 18:14h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

A letter testamentary is an important court order issued by the NY Surrogate’s Court only after the court conducts a detailed review of all the documents submitted by the person seeking to be recognized as the legal executor of decedent’s estate. ...

23 Sep Per Stirpes vs. By Representation vs. Per capita

Posted at 19:23h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament

This blog post explains one of the most important choices you will need to make when deciding how your estate will be passed to the next generations of your family....

What Is an ABLE Account - ABLE Account Rules

16 Sep What Is an ABLE Account?

Posted at 19:13h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Special Needs Planning

An ABLE Account is a special bank account that enables certain people with disabilities to save more money than they would otherwise be able to, in tax advantaged savings accounts -- while continuing to receive benefits from Medicaid, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD or SSDI), or housing assistance....

09 Sep Medical Debts in New York After Death

Posted at 18:22h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

When a family member dies after a long illness, especially one that required very expensive medical treatments, the unpaid medical bills that remain can be enormous. Who is legally responsible for the medical debts that a decedent leaves behind?...

02 Sep What Is an Affidavit of Heirship in New York?

Posted at 17:48h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

An affidavit of heirship is a document, sworn to under oath, that is submitted to the Surrogate’s Court definitively identifying all of the people who may have a legal claim to inherit the decedent’s assets or property....

31 Aug Questions to Ask an Estate Planning Attorney

Posted at 13:40h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

Because estate planning sometimes involves legal instruments unfamiliar to most clients, it’s important to have trust that your estate planning lawyer is knowledgeable about what’s right for you and your family, and that they are up to date on all current and pending laws relevant to your purpose....

19 Aug How an In Terrorem Clause Is Used In NY to Protect Your Estate Plan

Posted at 15:42h in Estate Planning

To discourage an unsatisfied beneficiary from bringing a legal action challenging the terms of a Will or trust, New York law permits the testator to include what is called an In Terrorem clause....

11 Aug New York State Supplemental Needs Trust

Posted at 15:33h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid and Asset Protection, Special Needs Planning

A Supplemental Needs Trust (SNT) is a legal instrument used to permit people with disabilities to remain eligible for Medicaid and other public benefit programs while keeping financial assets or income that would otherwise disqualify them from those benefits....

05 Aug Do You Have to Pay Taxes on Life Insurance?

Posted at 15:07h in Estate Planning, Tax Advocacy

When can a life insurance death benefit be considered taxable income and what steps can reduce exposing the beneficiary of your policy to unnecessary taxes?...

21 Jul UPDATE on NY Community Medicaid 30-Month Look Back

Posted at 12:57h in Medicaid and Asset Protection

Soon, the New York Community Medicaid program will implement a new eligibility requirement that you need to know about. The new eligibility test will apply a look-back period to Medicaid applicants seeking community-based or in-home care and assistance. I say “soon” because the date it will go into effect was delayed several times and may be delayed again. ...

15 Jul When Is A Gift Not A Gift For Medicaid Eligibility Purposes?

Posted at 13:35h in Estate Planning, Medicaid and Asset Protection

While Medicaid disapproves of applicants transferring valuable assets in anticipation of applying for Medicaid benefits, some pre-application transfers or gifts are permissible. Medicaid identifies the asset transfers that will not trigger a penalty when reviewed by program eligibility assessors....

11 Jul New York State Marital Inheritance Laws

Posted at 15:56h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament

In New York, contested wills and other probate matters are handled in the Surrogate’s Court. There is a Surrogate’s Court in each of New York State’s 62 counties....

08 Jul What Does Administration C.T.A. Mean in the Probate Process?

Posted at 17:52h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

An administration C.T.A. is a process ordered by the court when the person named as executor in a Will is unable or unwilling to fulfill his/her fiduciary responsibilities. An important part of writing a Will in New York is the designation of someone to act as the executor of the Will when the time comes to submit the Will to the Surrogate’s Court for probate....

01 Jul Estate Planning for New Parents

Posted at 16:20h in Estate Planning

When a young couple is starting a new life together, estate planning is probably the last topic on their minds. But, the birth of a child should change that. Suddenly, new parents become responsible for the life of another person, one who will depend on their good judgment and planning. There are immediate estate planning steps new parents should make upon the birth of their first baby....

24 Jun What Are Rolling GRATs? What Is a “Zeroed-Out” or “Walton” GRAT?

Posted at 15:11h in Estate Planning

A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) is an effective tool estate planning and elder law attorneys use to prevent estate and gift taxes from consuming the assets their clients intended for their families and other beneficiaries to receive. Essentially, it is a mechanism to minimize the tax burden on large financial gifts that exceed the annual gift tax exclusion limit....

17 Jun New York Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) Law

Posted at 16:38h in Estate Planning, Medicaid and Asset Protection

The New York Medicaid Estate Recovery Program may place a lien on property owned by benefit recipients at the time of their death when it is part of an estate being administered in the Surrogate’s Court. That means that any property that is transferred either through a last will and testament (Will), or through the law of intestacy (if the deceased Medicaid recipient made no Will), is subject to being attached....

10 Jun 2022 Spousal Refusal in NY

Posted at 15:46h in Medicaid and Asset Protection

By invoking spousal refusal, only the income and assets of the spouse who needs care is considered in the Medicaid eligibility examination. The refusing spouse can keep or distribute assets to family members, or otherwise dispose of the financial assets as they please....

03 Jun What Is Half-A-Loaf Medicaid? Is It Right for You?

Posted at 15:16h in Medicaid and Asset Protection

The predominant “Half-a-Loaf” strategies used in New York and New Jersey are called: Promissory Note Planning (New York), and Annuity Half-A-Loaf Planning (New Jersey)....

27 May Estate Tax Planning: Benefits of a Credit Shelter Trust

Posted at 14:33h in Estate Planning, Tax Advocacy

Sometimes called an AB Trust, the Credit Shelter Trust is designed to take full advantage of any estate tax exemptions while simultaneously reducing or eliminating estate taxes payable when the surviving spouse dies....

20 May Limited Letters of Administration in New York State | SCPA 1001

Posted at 21:31h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

In cases with no will, the court appoints an “administrator” to oversee the management of the estate assets. In such a case, the Surrogate Court will issue Letters of Administration, documents attesting to that person’s authority to perform acts for the estate, subject to the court’s approval....

25 Mar New York’s CDPAP Program

Posted at 19:46h in Medicaid and Asset Protection

The New York Medicaid Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is an innovative program that enables disabled and elders who live in the Community but who need in-home healthcare or personal assistance to recruit family member or friends to provide their care as they direct. The work they perform will be paid for by the state Medicaid program....

18 Mar Reasons to Remove the Executor of an Estate

Posted at 21:12h in Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Probate NY

In New York, removing an executor requires substantial evidence of specific grounds set out in the statute that governs their disqualification. Our state’s courts treat the removal of an executor as a very serious step to be taken only in rare circumstances. The courts have ruled that removing an executor annuls the testator’s choice, and should be granted only when the grounds are clearly established or on a clear showing of serious misconduct that endangers the safety of the estate....

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