New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Six Pet Considerations for Estate Planning

Published on: June 8, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a larger than usual number of people adopting pets. After all, stay-at-home orders reduced the chances that people had to interact with others and pets began to play an increasingly more important role as companions. Data compiled from PetPoint reveals that animal welfare organizations throughout the country had a difficult time keeping up with the demand.

With pets playing a role in a record number of people’s lives, it’s critical to understand the powerful and valuable role that pets can play in the lives of seniors and individuals with disabilities.

# 1 – Reducing Loneliness

What Makes Estate Planning Critical

Published on: June 8, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Many people associate estate planning with the extremely wealthy, but in reality, most people benefit from creating a strategy for how their assets should be handled. Anyone who has anything to leave behind needs to create an estate because an estate plan will function as a guidebook for how anything you leave behind should be handled.

This article reviews some of the most critical reasons why people should consider engaging in the estate planning process.

# 1 – Estate Planning Can Include Documents of Varying Purposes

Understanding How Divorce Impacts Your Estate Plan

Published on: June 5, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

As Bill Gates prepares to navigate the divorce process, divorce has again entered the public consciousness and caused many people to question the nature of how marriages dissolves and how it impacts various aspects of our lives. One often overlooked aspect of divorce is how it can impact overall plans for the future.

To minimize the potential impact that divorce has on their lives, many high-power couples including Bill and Melinda Gates enter into settlement agreements. Even ordinary couples, however, discover that divorce has the potential to impact their estate plans. This article discusses some of the most important issues that couples should consider about how divorce can impact estate plans as well as what you can do to make sure that your estate plan continues to achieve your goals.

Life Insurance

Ways to Avoid Retirement Savings Tax Issues

Published on: June 4, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Taxes continue even after you retire. Choosing not to pay attention to the possibility of taxes incurred during retirement could substantially lower your standard of living in retirement. To make matters even more complex, some of the common-sense strategies that people utilize to reduce taxes can lead to paying more in retirement and on inheritances.

This article reviews just one of many strategies that can be utilized to minimize the amount of taxes that you end up paying in retirement.

# 1 – Make the Most of Timing

Advice on Estate Planning for an LLC Interest

Published on: June 2, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For many business owners, it’s a critical issue to make sure that business organizations including LLCs are properly structured. While many business owners have created revocable living trusts to articulate how their assets should be managed and to avoid probate, it’s a good idea that LLC interests are not put into the trust. This means that even if everything else with an estate plan is done correctly, a family would still likely need to undergo the probate process to both access and manage LLC interests. This, however, is not the best situation and there are more preferable options.

Placing an LLC interest into a trust is often a simple and affordable option. While it might be possible to simply file paperwork if an LLC involves a single member, it might be necessary to articulate such arrangements in an operating agreement. Many times, there are provisions in operating agreements that allow individuals to make these transfers. If no such provision exists however or there is not an operating agreement, the consent of the other LLC members is often required to perform such a transfer.

The Advantages of Utilizing an LLC for Estate Planning

New Jersey Court Decides Influential Elder Law Case

Published on: May 30, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Many legal scholars and others who are impacted by elder law issues are positively responding to a landmark decision in favor of people who care for their parents at home. This decision has the potential to result in a substantial increase in the number of homes that are transferred to caregivers.

The case in question, A.M. v. Monmouth County Board of Social Services, was decided by New Jersey’s Appellate Division and reaffirmed a New Jersey regulation, which permits older adults to transfer their homes to adult caregiver children without facing Medicaid penalties. The regulation permits the transfer of homes without penalty when an adult child provides care to a parent for a period.

An Influential Victory

A Simplified Power of Attorney: Holding the “Short” Form Power of Attorney to its Name

Published on: May 28, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The crisis brought by COVID has served as a stress test for many of the laws and regulations effecting our nation’s seniors. The power of attorney, a document that gives one person, the agent, the legal power to act for another, the principal, fills a dire need to put control over their health and resources in trusted hands in the event of incapacity, especially in times of crisis. Patients in nursing home facilities, for example, need quick and durable responses to the crisis. And guarantees that the courts, and third parties such as banks, will respect their decisions.

In 1948, the “Short Form” POA was created to simplify the process for New York citizens. Since then, it’s become anything but. A new law rectifies this.

New Power of Attorney Bill Comes into Effect June 13, 2021

How the Covid-19 Pandemic Has Increased the Risk of Elder Fraud

Published on: May 26, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The elderly are at risk of financial abuse, and unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the rate of financial abuse. Abusers are known to look for individuals who are particularly vulnerable and factors like death, incapacity, health challenges, and diminished capacity can all lead a person to face such a situation. Data, however, shows that the pandemic has increased the risk of these factors. As a result, it’s critical to understand what financial abuse among the elderly can include as well as what you can do to prevent your elderly loved one from being harmed in this way.

Common Types of Financial Abuse

Some of the most common types of financial abuse to which elderly individuals often fall victim include the following:

California Court Decides Sonoma Trust Case

Published on: May 23, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

A Court of Appeals in California recently affirmed a trial court’s award of attorney fees to a trust. This decision came after the trust tried to enforce a conservation easement. The defendants in the case owned land and were accused of intentionally violating an easement. This case raises an important lesson about the role that conservation easements can play concerning trusts.

How the Case Arose

A conservation agreement refers to a voluntary arrangement between a landowner and either a land trust or government agency that limits land use to protect a property’s condition. When an entity violates a conservation agreement, courts are permitted to award injunctive relief as well as financial compensation.

Are Lifetime Gifts Right for You?

Published on: May 20, 2021 | by Ettinger Law Firm

One of the primary purposes of estate planning is to appoint someone to handle your estate after you pass away as well as describe how you would like your remaining assets distributed. Many people decide that the best way to pass on assets is to family members, which often include children and/or grandchildren. While there are many estate planning strategies, you should likely at some point consider whether passing on a lifetime gift makes sense.

The Current Exemption Amounts for Lifetime Gifts

In 2021, each person in the United States can transfer up to $11.7 million either during that person’s life or time of death without being subject to any federal estate or gift taxes. If your transfers exceed this amount, only the excess amount is taxed at 40%. New York currently does not have a gift tax. While this provides an even greater reason to utilize lifetime gift taxes, it’s worth remembering that several of the states surrounding New York have gift taxes. Due to these currently advantageous taxes, many individuals utilize this opportunity to keep wealth within their families. Making gifts to your family while you are still alive offers the advantage of seeing your loved ones enjoy these assets.