albany estate planning

Adding a “Life Estate” to Your Estate Plan

Published on: October 3, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When planning for our later years, forward thinking individuals often wonder what is the best way to spend down their assets to qualify for Medicaid but still live a comfortable and dignified life until services like nursing care are absolutely needed. With the value of real estate skyrocketing over recent decades, homes that were just a few thousands dollars may put homeowners in a financially difficult spot now that the property is worth many times the initial investment.

Under federal Medicaid laws, individuals may only have a net worth below a certain level, including things like homes and automobiles in some cases. Often times, seniors need to “spend down” their assets to qualify for the invaluable services Medicaid provides and many individuals may attempt to give away homes or spend down savings accounts to qualify. However, Medicaid has a “look back” period that can last a few months, meaning seniors may be penalized for recently giving away assets or spending bank accounts before applying for coverage.

One solution which may be effective for some is to create a “life estate” with their home. By doing so, seniors can own, live in, and exercise full control over their home and simply pass it on to a beneficiary like a child once they pass. With the help of an estate planning attorney, individuals can create the life estate with the deed to their property and create a “remainder interest” for the person who will receive the property, known as the remainderman, upon the deceased’s passing.

Estate Planning and Prenuptial Agreements

Published on: October 2, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Once a tool for wealthy families to protect their assets when heirs got married, prenuptial agreements are now much more common in our society. Typically, such agreements cover property rights and other aspects of asset retention – but they can also set forth provisions for how each spouse will handle drafting their respective Wills. Since prenuptial agreements are increasingly more common today, it is important to understand how they could affect your estate plan. The following information can provide some insight into how prenuptial agreements might impact your estate planning goals.

Prenuptial Agreements and Priority

While you may think that your Last Will and Testament will take priority over other documents as long as it is executed in accordance with the law, that is not necessarily true. In fact, a prenuptial agreement is likely to take priority over your Will depending on the circumstances within the agreement and how it was drafted. Typically, the only way to avoid this would be for an individual to prove that a prenuptial agreement was signed under duress or that the agreement itself was designed in a way that encouraged divorce and exclusion from assets.

Potential Issues with Joint Bank Accounts

Published on: September 30, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

There are a number of reasons that people create joint bank accounts. Perhaps you and your spouse want to share a bank account to help simplify your marital finances. You may use joint bank accounts to help teach your children the importance of budgeting and financial planning. You may even need to have access to someone else’s bank account if they are incapacitated or cannot make purchases on their own. Whatever the reason for having a joint bank account, they are not without potential issues when it comes to your estate plan.

Vulnerability

Adding a person as an owner of a bank account inherently makes the account itself more vulnerable. In addition to the potential issues raised below, the more people you add as owners of a joint account the more likely you are to fall victim to theft – including identity theft. By adding individuals to the account, you will increase the risk of lost or stolen cards and/or checkbooks. Additionally, if the person you add to the account is not financially responsible, you risk losing the assets in that account because of poor financial planning.

Estate Planning and Identity Theft

Published on: September 28, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

In today’s day and age, identity theft is all too common a problem. In fact, the news is often filled with horror stories related to identity theft. Identity theft is a serious problem that can wreak havoc on your life, and it can also have a significant impact on your estate plan. The following information can help you start to understand the potential effects of identity theft on your estate plan.

Access to Private Information

Wills, powers of attorney, healthcare proxies, and other estate planning documents contain very personal information. Not only do some documents have your social security number, but they could also contain other sensitive financial information, too. It is extremely important to safeguard these documents to prevent such information from slipping into the wrong hands. For instance, if someone were to gain access to this type of personal information they could potentially open up credit cards in the name of the deceased individual or even file a final tax return in their name before heirs have a chance to do so.

Benefits of an Irrevocable Trust

Published on: September 26, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

There are two main types of trusts: revocable and irrevocable. Basically, each trust is self-explanatory on the surface. For the most part, you have unfettered ability to revoke or amend a revocable trust. In contrast, it is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to revoke or even amend an irrevocable trust. On the surface, it appears – and is true – that a revocable trust provides the creator of such trust with greater flexibility in modifying that trust to meet their comprehensive estate planning goals. However, irrevocable trusts still play an important role in estate planning and it is important to understand their benefits to make an informed choice about the type of trust that might be right for you.

Avoiding Probate

While most trusts will avoid probate, irrevocable trusts established during your lifetime will definitely be able to avoid probate. This will ultimately save you and your loved ones time and money by allowing a trust to take effect immediately as it has been designed to do. Your loved ones will be able to access an irrevocable trust according to its structure without having to wait for the courts to approve a Will or other documents related to probate of the deceased person’s estate.

Creating Savings Accounts for Disabled Family Members

Published on: September 26, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Individuals with disabled family members understand the many obstacles life can put in front of them and their family, especially when it comes to finances. For many, having a permanent disability can mean being unable to provide for oneself and that can mean relying on benefits from social welfare programs to get by. However, many of these programs have strict income thresholds that can exclude potential beneficiaries if they earn too much money or have too much capital.

Fortunately, New York is one of several states that allow disabled persons and their families to create special savings accounts to help maintain the person’s health, independence, and quality of life. The New York Achieving a Better Life Experience (NY ABLE) helps supplement but not supplant benefits provided through Medicaid, SSI, SSDI, private insurance and other sources and is exempt from om tax on its earnings and distributions, provided the funds are used to pay for qualified disability expenses.

The laws creating the ABLE statute was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in December 2015 and is federally authorized by the federal Stephen Beck, Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act enacted on December 19, 2014, as Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code. The NY ABLE program is administered by Office of the State Comptroller in consultation with specific State agencies and individuals appointed by legislative leaders, as specified in the NY ABLE statute.

Recognizing a Fraudulent Will: Part Two

Published on: September 23, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

In the second part of our two-part series on recognizing fraudulent Wills, we will continue to explore various characteristics of a Last Will and Testament that might indicate it is fraudulent. While some of the factors in the first part of this series might be a little more obvious, the information below may help you understand some less common but still observable aspects of a Will that could indicate it has been tampered with.

Wills Disproportionately Benefitting Religious Organizations or Charities

Especially in cases where a deceased person was not active in a religious organization or was only minimally active, this type of provision in a Will could indicate that something is amiss. Sadly, many elderly people can be easily influenced by unscrupulous individuals that want to use assets for their own benefit or to benefit something they find to be particularly important. Sometimes this comes at the hand of the religious organization itself, and sometimes it comes as a result of the influence of an individual with close ties to the religious organization in question. This is also true for large distributions to charities a deceased person would not normally have given money to or did not have a record of supporting during his or her lifetime.

New York’s Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) Form

Published on: September 22, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

In New York, patients have the right to make many decisions about their end of life care and even appoint a representative to do so in their interests if circumstances leave them unable to make such decisions for themselves. Using what is known as a Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form, patients can create a doctor’s order that informs physicians and emergency care givers whether to administer treatment like CPR or place the individual on ventilator or other life-saving equipments.

MOLST forms can be used in combination with a do not resuscitate (DNR) order to help give patients the most control over how their health care is delivered in an emergency situation or at the end of life where tough decisions must be made. In order for the MOLST form to be valid, the document must be signed by your physician and yourself, otherwise doctors may continue to deliver treatment during and emergency. The form will become a part of your medical file and will transfer over to whatever facility you may be treated at.

The main difference between a MOLST and DNR order is the former covers a broader range of care doctors may deliver, including intubation, administering antibiotics, and interesting feeding tubes, with DNR orders only cover administering CPR. Often times, patients using a MOLST face a life-threatening medical condition or lives in a long term care facility like a nursing home or hospice.

Recognizing a Fraudulent Will: Part One

Published on: September 21, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous people in the world that will go to great lengths to take advantage of certain situations. This is true when it comes to a person’s Last Will and Testament. While you might never contemplate changing a person’s Will to suit your needs, that does not mean other individuals will not try. Unfortunately, this can sometimes include members of your own family. While there are a variety of steps an individual can take to cover their tracks if they have interfered in the Will of a deceased person, there are some common warning signs that might help you detect if a Will has been forged or not. The following information may provide you with some insight in what to look for.

Wills Not Signed in Presence of a Lawyer

If a Will was not signed in the presence of an experienced estate planning attorney, there is a good chance the Will could be fake. In fact, if the Will was not signed in the presence of the deceased person’s estate planning or family attorney but was signed in front of a different attorney with little or no relationship to the deceased, there could be foul play involved. Estate planning is often an intimate, complicated process. It is important for individuals to be comfortable with their estate planning attorney, and utilizing outside legal services – especially legal services that have a relationship with potential beneficiaries – could mean a Will is not proper.

Trusts Are More Accessible Than You Might Think

Published on: September 18, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Once a tool for extremely wealthy individuals, trusts have gained in popularity over recent decades. Changes in laws governing trusts and the development of new approaches to estate planning have made trusts an invaluable tool for many working class families to ensure they are able to provide financial security to their loved ones. A trust can help make sure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes in a variety of different ways, some of which are discussed below. An experienced estate planning attorney can review the various types of trusts that you may be eligible for and can help you determine the right type and structure to achieve your estate planning goals.

Trusts Can Avoid Probate

The majority of trusts are established during a person’s lifetime, and these trusts will be eligible to avoid the probate process. While the New York probate process is less difficult than the probate process in other states, it can still be time-consuming and costly. Trusts are an effective way to allow loved ones to access the assets you wish to distribute to them without waiting for the probate process to be complete. Ultimately, this saves you time and money in addition to keeping assets within the trust out of the public record associated with the probate process.