Estate Planning Articles
Changes to the Medicaid program in New York can have a big effect on estate assets and planning. New regulations that were put into place in early September allow for the state to recover costs spent on an individual’s Medicaid services. Estate recovery of these costs can come from any assets that pass via a [...]
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Women are so busy raising kids, taking care of their elderly parents, and maintaining a household and career that they often do not focus on what will happen to them in retirement and beyond. A new white paper by the Volunteers of America called “Boomer Bust 2011: Still Unprepared and Unaware” highlights how unprepared seniors [...]
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Individuals who have a doctor’s orders to receive home health care cannot have these services suddenly cut or scaled back. Many elderly people need a certified home health agency to help with basic tasks after a hospital procedure or short-term rehabilitation stay. It has come to the attention of patient advocates and the New York [...]
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Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are great tools to save money for retirement and are also a critical part of an individual’s estate plan. As each person and family has a different objective as they reach the golden years, it is a wise step to speak to an experienced estate planning lawyer to make sure it [...]
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Many seniors fail to consider their pets when building an estate plan, an oversight that often finds them homeless or in animal shelters, according to the Humane Society of the United States. People often incorrectly assume they will outlive their pet, or that a friend or family will take care of their pet when they [...]
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Financial abuse of elderly Americans has risen 12 percent since 2008, a new study from MetLife has found. Older Americans are now estimated to lose $2.9 billion every year. The results were released just days before World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a worldwide effort to bring attention to elder abuse and neglect that takes place [...]
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The demographics of aging are shifting, and the number of single, childless seniors is growing. Baby boomers, now entering retirement, are much more likely to be childless than previous generations. Some estimates run higher than 25 percent. In addition, more couples have opted to live together outside marriage. Add to that the fact that women [...]
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Parents often face many challenges when preparing an estate plan, as they must consider how best to provide for their children after they are gone. Parents of a child with special needs, though, are faced with several unique challenges. They will want to develop a plan that safeguards the quality of the child’s life, supplementing [...]
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Creating an estate plan for one’s family can be a difficult and complex process. However, receiving an inheritance can be almost as difficult as creating an estate plan, as there may be many challenges and questions that arise. When you receive an inheritance, you will have to consider the effect this will have on your [...]
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A child with special needs deserves a parent’s continued stewardship and guidance, even if the parent becomes incapacitated or passes away, and the following estate planning documents are key to ensuring the child’s security. (1) A last will and testament. (2) A general durable power of attorney (“GDPA”). This document designates an agent to act [...]
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