CHOOSING THE RIGHT PERSON AND STEPS TO TAKE As noted in a previous blog, being an executor of an estate can be a thankless job. There are ways, however, that can allow you to make the job and life of an executor easier and less painful. It is a…
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New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
DYNASTY TRUST REEXAMINED
VERY SIMPLE CONCEPT This blog examined the dynasty trust in the past but it is time to reexamine certain aspects of the dynasty trust. The dynasty trust is a trust designed primarily to avoid the generation skipping transfer tax when a person wants to leave money to their grandchildren or…
BACK TO THE BASICS – MEDICAID PENALTY PERIOD
RULE OF HALVES Many people find themselves going into nursing homes earlier than expected and without the appropriate planning. Things happen in life to derail our best laid or thought out plans. With more and more elderly Americans living longer, the need for nursing home care is increasing and will…
NON-PROFIT REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES FOR DISABLED
GROWING NEED More ten million elderly Americans rely exclusively on their Social Security pension as their sole means of support. Approximately 90 percent of senior citizens receive some sort of income from Social Security and approximately half of those relied on Social Security for at least half of their monthly…
ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION RELEASES 2O16 REPORT
STAGGERING FIGURES The Alzheimer’s Association recently released its 2016 Alzheimer’s facts and figures report earlier this month with a long list of many facts and figures, as the reports name implies. While the Alzheimer’s Association produces and publishes its report yearly, the 2016 report highlights the personal financial impact that…
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION – SAFE BANKING FOR SENIORS
LARGE NEED TO REDUCE AND PREVENT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION The American Bankers Association is looking to serve a large market that is only getting larger by the day. At the same time, they are working to shore up the larger financial markets in a larger effort to prevent financial fraud…
DIGITAL ACCOUNTS AND PLANNING
COMMON PROBLEM There is much talk lately of how to deal with email, facebook, twitter accounts, et cetera of people who pass away. For those of us who have friends or family who passed away and see their facebook account send a reminder to all of their friends on their…
SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS AND GOVERNMENTAL BENEFITS
CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS Last year a case out of the Western District of Massachusetts Federal District Court dealt with the interplay of a special needs trust and eligibility for certain governmental benefits that the special needs trust was supposed to address. The case of DeCambre v. Brookline…
ANOTHER CELEBRITY PASSES WITHOUT A WILL
PRINCE APPARENTLY DID NOT HAVE A WILL The world learned recently that Prince joined the long list of celebrities who passed away intestate or without a will. Some of the names on the list are surprising, others not so. The Honorable Salvatore Phillip “Sonny” Bono, Michael Jackson, Howard Hughes, Abraham…
MEDICAID TRANSFER AFTER ADMISSION TO A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
THOROUGH PLANNING NEEDED IN ADVANCE This blog has discussed the necessity of proper and thorough planning to ensure a smooth transition into a continuing care retirement community. This requires, among other things, that a person properly and legally transfer all of their assets, or a substantial portion of their assets…