The Work of NAMI Westchester is Important
By Littman Krooks Littman Krooks is proud to sponsor NAMIWalks Westchester. Team LK will walk with NAMIWalks Your Way on Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. I am honored to lead our walk team – Team LK: Lights in the Tunnel. Our work at Littman Krooks is aligned to NAMI’s work in helping individuals with mental…
A New Crisis Hotline for Mental Health
By Amy C. O’Hara, CELA Starting July 16, 2022, a new crisis hotline will be rolled out for individuals to call that is being touted as the “911 for mental health.” 988 will be the new three-digit phone number that callers can call or text and they will be routed to the National Suicide Prevention…
Understanding the Gift Tax in New York
By Joel Krooks, Esq. It is a common misconception that when a person makes a gift to another recipient that there is a gift tax. Gift tax planning is complicated yet can be an essential tool in estate planning. Annual Exclusion In 2022, the annual gift tax exclusion is $16,000 per individual. This means that…
Questions and Answers about a Student’s Right to Special Education Law and How to Proceed
By Littman Krooks After two years of living in a pandemic, many parents may wonder if their child has a learning or emotional disability or special needs. For some children, parents know about the challenges at birth or in early childhood. For other parents, they may not suspect a disability until a child is an…
New SEC Rules to Protect Against the Financial Exploitation of Senior Citizens
By Joel Krooks, Esq. Sadly, the financial exploitation of senior citizens is a growing problem in the United States. As a result of the growing problem, the SEC has approved new rules relating to the financial exploitation of seniors (Rule 2165 and amendments to Rule 4512). The new rules provide members of the Financial Industry…
Psychiatric Advance Directives
There are several advance directives that an estate planning attorney will recommend for clients, including a Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, and Living Will. For individuals that receive treatment for their mental health, an additional advance directive may be appropriate. A Psychiatric Advance Directive, also known as a mental health advance directive, is a…
Should You Refer Your Child with a Disability for OPWDD Services?
By Sandi Rosenbaum, Special Education/Special Needs Advocate Some students who receive special education services are indistinguishable from their typical peers once the school day is over. Others have physical, medical, or neurodevelopmental differences that affect their lives, and those of their families, every day. They require far more supervision and support than their same-aged peers,…
Office for Civil Rights Reminds School Districts of Important Obligations in Ongoing Pandemic
By Littman Krooks The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education (“OCR”) has delivered a Report on the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on students in K-12 and in higher education, Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students (“Report”). Not surprisingly the Report concludes that the impact of…
Important 2022 Updates Regarding Estate Taxes, Medicare and Medicaid
By Brian L. Miller, Esq. With a new year upon us, we have new changes to the federal estate and gift tax limits, Medicare premiums, deductibles and co-insurance amounts for Medicare Part A and Part B programs, and the New York State Medicaid asset and income limits. FEDERAL ESTATE AND GIFT TAX LIMITS As of…
The Realities of Health Care Advance Directives
By Joel Krooks, Esq. Recently, the Uniform Law Commission formed a new committee to review the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (UHCDA). Although, New York is not one of the states that follows the UHCDA, the potential changes the committee is discussing brings important issues to light. The states that do follow the UHCDA are…
