DISTANCE AND PROFESSIONALISM The New York Times ran an article on December 23, 2015 discussing the distance that the average American lives from their mother. As revealed in longitudinal study published in 2010, half of Americans live 18 miles or less from their their mother. As shown in the graph…
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New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
INHERITING A ROTH IRA ACCOUNT
ROTH IRA ACCOUNTS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT This blog explored the topic of inheriting an individual retirement account (IRA) in a previous blog. It is necessary to explore the topic of inheriting a Roth IRA, as a Roth IRA is fundamentally different from a traditional IRA. Some of the differences between…
SPECIAL NEEDS, THIRD PARTY AND SELF SETTLED TRUSTS – WHATS WITH ALL THE NAMES?
LEGAL DISTINCTIONS THAT MATTER When a person applies for Medicaid eligibility there are many pitfalls that an unsuspecting or unsophisticated applicant can run afoul of. To help them retain the benefit of certain monies that they would normally have access to third parties or the applicant themselves can create a…
PLANNING FOR YOUR SPECIAL NEEDS LOVED ONES
CREATE A GLOBAL PLAN TO GO INTO EFFECT TODAY If you are a parent, stepparent, grandparent or caretaker of a special needs child you need to prepare for the day when you are no longer able to physically and financially care for your special needs loved one. While it is…
BACK TO THE BASICS – INHERITING AN IRA
STILL TAXABLE Death and taxes, the old saying goes, are the only two things in life that are guaranteed. Taxes unlike passing away, can at least be deferred, mitigated and reduced. If your total estate is less than $5.45 million (2016), it is logical to believe that an individual retirement…
HOW TO WRAP UP THE AFFAIRS OF A SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST?
TRUST SETTLOR GIVES UP CONTROL When a settlor creates a trust, he/she passes title of the property or asset to the trust or gives cash money to the trust, wherein the trustee invests the money as a fiduciary or manages the asset or asset in issue for the best interest…
UNDERSTANDING CELEBRITY BONDS
DAVID BOWIE BONDS As the world learned, David Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016. Mr. Bowie was always on the leading edge of creativity, an advocate for meaningful social change and a musical genius to boot. He started his musical career at the same time as the Beatles,…
ADULT GUARDIANSHIPS, RESTORING RIGHTS
GUARDIANSHIP CAN BE VACATED As this blog has discussed in some detail in the past, Adult Guardianship is a complicated area of the law, dealing with many sensitive issues of personal power, ability and basic competence. On a very basic level, guardianship is a judgment that is entered by a…
FEDERAL COURT EXCEPTION TO PROBATE JURISDICTION
FEDERAL COURTS ARE COURTS OF LIMITED JURISDICTION There is little question that Federal Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. If there is neither original jurisdiction, meaning a question of federal law or rights that arise as a result of federal legislation nor complete diversity of the parties, meaning that all of…
FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR ELDERLY DEPENDENTS
EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS For those of among us who care for elderly parents or relatives, you do it without expectation of compensation or reimbursement. You dedicate time, money, resources and do it day in and day out and will continue to do so without concern for recompense. That does…