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“Elder Law Estate Planning” is an area of law that combines features of both elder law (disability planning) and estate planning (death planning) and relates mostly to the needs of the middle class. Estate planning was formerly only for the wealthy, who wanted to shelter their assets from taxes and…
According to the New York State Bar Association, “medical aid in dying is a medical practice that has been adopted in ten US jurisdictions (WA, MT, VT, CA, CO, D.C., HI, ME, NJ, NM) that allows a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with a prognosis of six months or less…
For 2024, the exemptions for estate taxes rise to 6.94 million for New York estate taxes, and to 13.61 million for Federal estate taxes. The annual gift tax exclusion rises to $18,000. If your estate is, or may become, greater than the New York threshold, early intervention can avoid the…
While studying the topic of dementia, your writer was surprised to learn that the single most effective preventative measure would be for more of the hard-of-hearing to wear hearing aids. Studies show that only one in six persons who needs a hearing aid actually uses one and the average person…
Gratitude has to do with appreciation. Appreciation means to add value to. Things that appreciate tend to grow, just as being grateful for something or someone raises its or their value in our estimation. Even though, at any given time, countless more things are going right than going wrong in…
When Husband Handled the Finances While women and men have many issues in common, some of these issues tend to affect women more deeply. For example, in the case of the death or disability of a spouse, it is more often the surviving wife who is unfamiliar with handling the…
Gifting to minors raises some unique considerations. For one, people under the age of eighteen lack the legal capacity to own assets. The Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) was created to protect assets that are passed on to minors. This act determines when minors can receive an inheritance for…
Trusts can shield your assets from the high cost of home care making you eligible for home health aides through the Medicaid program. Trusts start the five year “look-back” for institutional care, making you eligible for Medicaid benefits to pay for a nursing home. Trusts can ensure the inheritances you…
Two overriding questions govern your choices in an elder law estate plan. First, what will happen to your assets when you pass away? Second, what will happen to your assets if you need long-term care? A comprehensive plan covers both issues. You must protect assets from going to long-term care…
Planning for, and then executing, inheritances is often fraught with emotion. Most families choose to leave the inheritance “to my children in equal shares, per stirpes.” Per stirpes is Latin meaning “by the roots” so that if a child dies before the parent, their share goes to their children (if…