By: Laura Brancato, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP Elder Law practitioners work within complex family dynamics when they engage with their clients on a variety of topics. Most often, even if tension exists among family members, the exchanges among the parties are civil. In some circumstances, however, family dynamics are more complex and even become unsafe. When this arises the elder law practitioner is faced with how best to advise a …
By Brian L. Miller, Esq. With Governor Cuomo officially ending the New York State’s COVID-19 State Disaster of Emergency on June 24, 2021, so too ended his authority to suspend and modify laws using executive orders. As such, the Governor’s executive orders which allowed remote notarization and remote witnessing of documents have ended. Effective June 25, 2021, your estate planning and other legal documents executed in New York must be …
By Joel Krooks, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP In 2021, the New York estate tax exemption amount is $5,930,000. If an individual has over $5,930,000 of assets, then that individual will owe an estate tax at their passing. One planning technique for individuals to consider is to use a Credit Shelter Trust in estate planning documents. This planning tool is only for married couples. The main benefit of a Credit Shelter …
By: Amy C. O’Hara, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP Earlier this month, Congress reintroduced the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act (H.R.3763). The proposed bill provides significant and long overdue improvements to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program including increasing the general income disregard from $20 per month to $123 per month, adjusting the earned income disregard to $399 per month (currently $65 and one-half of gross earnings), and increasing the $2,000 …
June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Because of the many issues surrounding elder abuse, Littman Krooks attorney Brian L. Miller, Esq., and his guest, Ilene Amiel, Financial Care Manager from Personal Affairs Administrator Inc., are a hosting a discussion on financial elder abuse. Brian and Ilene will discuss money management and how we can work together as a team to protect our clients. Topics include: Abuse by third …
We share this bulletin to update our clients on an important change in New York law governing powers of attorney which could impact your estate planning. This bulletin provides important information related to the changes. If you, or someone you know, is impacted by these changes or if you are uncertain about how this update applies to you, please call our office to schedule a consultation. A properly drafted Power …
By Brian L. Miller, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP In April of 2020, New York State passed laws significantly changing the Community Medicaid program for all New Yorkers, including the implementation of a thirty-month lookback for all asset transfers. These laws were intended to take effect in October 2020 but have been pushed back several times since then. As elder law attorneys, we continue to follow any updates and guidance from …
By Laura Brancato, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP In recent months, television viewers have been captivated by docuseries and fictional portrayals of conservatorship, known in New York as Guardianship. As with most on-screen productions, there may be more dramatic fiction at work than factual portrayal. A reasonable viewer would be worried about the prospect of guardianship, and maybe with good reason. A guardianship proceeding is an involved and often expensive process …
By Bernard A. Krooks, Certified Elder Law Attorney You have finally gotten around to focusing on your estate planning and have taken that first step by contacting an estate planning lawyer. Now you have to decide who gets what (or does not get) upon your demise. These are difficult decisions and are often complicated by the fact that you may not wish to leave your hard-earned assets to someone who …
By: Bernard A. Krooks, Certified Elder Law Attorney Estate planning is so much more than filling in the blanks on a few forms that you have printed out from the internet. In addition to having the proper documents and fiduciaries, you need to make sure that the estate plan is coordinated so that your beneficiary designations do not upset what you think is a perfectly drafted estate plan. For example, …
