By all accounts drug prices continue to soar. According to a RX Savings Solutions Study, a heavily prescribed antidepressant, fluoxetine marketed as Prozac, has increased in price 879%. More than 3,400 drugs have increased their price in the first six months of 2019, representing a 17% increase from the year…
Schedule an in-office, Zoom or phone consultation Here.
New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Common Type of Estate Planning Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
As estate planning professionals, we encounter a number of situations and are very familiar with the most common types of estate planning errors that people make. No matter if these mistakes are the result of laziness or lack of care, errors in estate planning have the potential to create…
Turcott v. Estate of Clarence D. Bates: Unjust Enrichment and How to Avoid It
The Idaho Supreme Court recently affirmed a court’s award of damages for unjust enrichment. The case, Turcott v. Estate of Clarence D. Bates, concerned a woman and her husband who spent a substantial amount of time and money making improvements for the woman’s father with the assumption that the woman…
Report Finds Almost All Americans Take Social Security at the Wrong Time
One of the most important decisions when contemplating retirement is deciding when to start claiming Social Security benefits. A major study found that almost all Americans take Social Security at the wrong time. This timing problem has cost retirees about $111,000 per household. Retirees typically claim Social Security benefits at…
Advice on Funding Special Needs Trusts
If you are a parent with a special needs trust, you likely understand how critical it is to prepare for the future. After all, these trusts make sure that a child continues to receive financial support in case you die or become incapacitated. These trusts are also particularly helpful because…
The Role of Handwritten Wills
When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, she was not believed to have had any type of estate plan. Months after her death, however, several handwritten wills were located in the late singer’s home. While some people think that handwritten wills are never valid, this is simply not true.…
Reasons to Consider Creating a Trust
Many people fail to engage in any type of estate planning. Statistics compiled by AARP suggests that approximately 60% of Americans lack a will or any type of estate planning. Of the people who do decide to create plans for what happens in case they die or become incapacitated,…
Advice on Selecting a Digital Asset Guardian
As time passes, an increasing number of people are finding out that they have digital assets as part of their estate plan. No matter if it’s audible content, digital documents, or social media page, however, it is often critical to appoint someone who can properly look over these assets in…
Who Pays and When Does a Reverse Mortgage Become Due and Payable?
In our last post we reviewed reverse mortgages as a way to cash out of the equity in your home while allowing you to remain in your home. As long as you are 62 and older, own your home, and plan to live in it, it is possible to convert…
Important Considerations in the Removal of an Administrator or Executor
The Indiana Supreme Court recently upheld the removal of a father as the administrator of his deceased son’s estate. The son was killed in an accident in July 2007 when the vehicle that he was traveling in was struck by a bus. The man’s surviving daughter was subsequently placed…