New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Key Things to Know about Medicaid Spend Down

Published on: April 22, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Annual nursing home costs on the rise according to the New York Department of Health. As a result, the costs for nursing home care is beyond the financial resources of many New York residents. To pay the costs of Medicaid, many elderly individuals are dependent on Medicaid, which pays for residential nursing services and assisted living facilities.

To qualify for Medicaid, it often becomes essential for a person to spend down their savings until they qualify to receive Medicaid. Early planning and the assistance of a knowledgeable estate planning attorney are the best way to make sure that you qualify for Medicaid.

This article reviews some of the other important pieces of advice that a person should take into consideration when planning to spend down assets.

Elder Well-Being Alert: Healthy Heart Update

Published on: April 21, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Cardiovascular diseases, like heart disease, affect adults 65 and older more than any other age group. A large part of the reason why this is so is because as people age, so does their heart. Aging changes the appearance and function of the heart. In severe cases, a blood vessel can become so clogged that it will trigger a heart attack because cholesterol is blocking the flow of blood to the heart.

How doctors check your heart

Doctors perform a series of medical tests to determine the health of your heart. They include checking your blood pressure and ordering blood tests. The blood test will help them identify if your blood vessels contain cholesterol or certain proteins. Cholesterol is dangerous because if too much of it accumulates a blood vessel may be blocked causing a heart attack or stroke. Proteins reveal if there is inflammation in the body. The doctor will also order an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) to look at the electric activity in your heart. A chest x-ray is part of the usual workup to determine heart health and can determine if your heart is enlarged or your lungs contain too much fluid, signs of heart failure. An echocardiogram is a test involving sound waves that can detect and monitor heart disease. Lastly, the doctor can order a stress test, which is applying stress to the heart, in order to measure how it is performing.

How to Recover Hearing You’ve Lost

Published on: April 17, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

As we age, our hearing, like other functions diminish. When age- related hearing loss occurs, it is gradual and tends to affect both ears equally – what you cannot hear on the left side of your face is the same as what you cannot hear on the right side of your face. Doctors call this medical condition presbycusis or age-related hearing loss.

Why hearing loss occurs

Hearing loss is caused by noise aging, disease, and hereditary reasons. Hearing loss effects how people listen and then communicate with others. Because there are gaps with what is heard, the person suffering hearing loss may appear confused or misunderstand the context of the conversation. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that approximately 1 in 3 people between the ages of 65 and 75 have hearing loss. They also found that half of the people over 75 have difficulty hearing. Both groups, have the same difficulty admitting they are experiencing hearing loss or hearing difficulty.

Estate Planning Scams about which You Should Be Aware

Published on: April 17, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

There are a number of potential scams about which you be mindful when performing estate planning. In addition to things like large fees and trust mills, estate planning scams can also include advisors who offer inaccurate legal advice. The purpose of this article to review some of the most tips that you should follow to decrease your chances of following victim to an estate planning scam.

# 1 Do Not Wait to Create an Estate Planning

Most people have some wish or desire that they want to reflect in an estate plan. This can include the creation of a special needs trust or assets that a person would like to pass to loved ones. Even though it is true that estate planning documents help to avoid the uncertainty about how a person’s estate should be handled, a large number of people wait to create an effective estate plan. This increases a person’s chances of ending up victim of an estate plan because elderly individuals are the group most susceptible to estate planning scams. This is because a large number of elderly individuals suffer from reduced capacity and more likely than others to end up making poor decisions about how their estate should be handled.

Estate Planning Details to Always Disclose to Your Estate Planning Advisor

Published on: April 14, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

To create the best possible estate plan, it is critical to not only tell your advisor important information about your case. It is also critical to be honest. Failure to honestly disclose information about your financial status can lead to a number of serious complications and can sometimes even require your advisor to perform estate planning all over again. Unfortunately, there are a number of important things that people forget to disclose their estate planning advisor, which is why this article will list some of the important things that you should remember to mention.

# 1 – Family Issues

Many people with challenging family issues can find these matters difficult to discuss even though they have the potential to greatly interfere with a person’s estate plans. Often, an experienced estate planning attorney can help create estate plans that take these issues into considerations. For example, in situations where a person has an adult child with substance abuse, it might be possible to create a trust or other type of estate planning device to pass assets to the child. In deciding whether details should be disclosed to an estate planning lawyer, it is important to inform an estate planning advisor about any former spouses, any child support that you pay, any existing legal agreements in your family, or any relationships that you might have that could lead to financial obligations.

NY Estate Planning Strategies for Single Individuals

Published on: April 12, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

If you are still single and do not have children, it is common to have not thought much about money. If you are also coming closer to retirement, however, it is a wise idea to begin to consider estate planning. This article reviews some of the important elements that you should consider if you are estate planning and a single adult.

# 1 – Create a Trust

While a single person is still alive, they will be the primary beneficiary of a trust. It is important, however, to name beneficiaries who will receive assets after your death. If beneficiaries are young, however, it might be a wise idea to hold the assets in a trust until the beneficiaries are old enough to handle finances themselves. In these situations, it is also important to select a trustee who will manage these assets in case you are not able to do so on your own. If you are a single individual who is engaged in estate planning, it is critical to appoint an experienced trustee who can make sure that your assets are properly controlled and transferred.

Bucking Trends: Age is Just a Number and More Seniors are Renting Rather Than Owning Their Homes

Published on: April 10, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Words have meanings. They can quickly build-up or knock-down its recipients. One word emitting a great deal of comment is elderly. My father, an 82-year-old retiree, refuses to be identified as a senior. He prefers grey panther. He tells me that he wishes to be identified by the color of his hair, not his age.

Identity in the 50 plus range is a hot potato. People are living much longer than prior generations. 50 as the fashion magazines love to exclaim is the new 40. Is age a number or a feeling?

Is calling someone elderly or senior ageist?

What Does It Meant to Decant a Trust?

Published on: April 10, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It is important to parents and grandparents who are engaged in estate planning to consider the various challenges that can arise. Failure to properly take these issues into consideration can result in estate plans being jeopardized. Fortunately, in these situations, it is possible to decant a trust. This article explores exactly what decanting is and some of the reasons why people to decide to decant a trust.

Decanting a Trust in New York

For many years, estate planning involved irrevocable trusts which mean that even if a trust creator’s situation changed, it was still impossible to modify the trust. In recent years, however, many states have created “decanting” statutes that allow broken trusts to be modified. During the “decanting” process, a person laces assets in an inadequate irrevocable trust into a new irrevocable trust that has more adequate provisions. The nature of decanting statutes changes between changes. In accordance with New York law, an authorized trustee who has unlimited discretion over principal located in trust has the ability to appoint these assets into another trust. To move trusts in this manner, a person is not required to obtain consent of the beneficiaries and can do so without a court order.

Healthy Vision: Taking Care of Your Eyes as You Age

Published on: April 8, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The Roman statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero once said, “the eyes are the window to the soul.” In reality however, the eyes are the window to hidden health conditions. A dilated eye exam can detect diabetes, hypertension, auto-immune disorders, like Lupus, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, certain cancers, like skin cancer, and tumors, before these medical conditions are confirmed with blood tests or other diagnostic testing.

Individuals with “good” eyes should have their eyes examined once every two years. Other folks should consult with their eye doctor to determine how often to follow-up for chronic conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, nearsightedness, and farsightedness.

Protecting your vision

Important Things to Remember about Estate Plans

Published on: April 7, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning has the potential to be a very complex process. As a result, it can be difficult to asset what estate planning terms a person needs. By focusing on some critical issues in estate planning topics, you will be able to create as strong an estate plan as possible. As a result, this article focuses on three of the most important issues that you should take into consideration when performing estate planning. It is also worth understanding the assistance of an experienced estate planning lawyer can be particularly valuable no matter what your estate planning goals are.

# 1 – Beneficiaries

A large number of estate disputes arise because there are arguments about who is entitled to be a beneficiary or who should obtain assets. In addition to wills or trusts that are used to transfer assets to beneficiaries, it is also important to create a number of other supporting documents including living wills, financial power of attorneys, and healthcare power of attorneys. These additional documents can answer important questions about beneficiaries including who will control how assets are received in case a person becomes incapacitated. To make sure that assets are properly transferred to beneficiaries, it is also often important to make sure that other estate planning documents are written including brokerage accounts, joint accounts, and individual accounts.