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Wealth alone is no guarantee that older individuals will enjoy a safe and happy retirement. While Americans enjoy well-planned senior years, some older individuals live alone with no one to care for them. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 28 percent of people over age 65 live alone. This number is expected to increase in the coming years. Consider the case of Peter Knoll, a 75-year-old Manhattan millionaire who died …
Emergency first responders often possess little more than the information contained in a 911 call and a street address. While this might suffice for most situations, when the emergency involves a resident with special needs, customary rescue operations can be traumatic for the resident and challenging for emergency personnel. To solve this problem, city officials in Yonkers, New York, recently created the First Responders Disability Registry, a voluntary database of …
Annual nursing home costs in Westchester County are $149,136 on average, according to the most recent information published by the New York Department of Health. This is a significant expenditure, especially when multiplied for each year of nursing home care, well beyond the financial resources of most New York residents. Small wonder that 63 percent of New Yorkers in nursing homes are dependent on Medicaid to pay for their care. …
By Bernard A. Krooks, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP We all remember the lyrics from that famous song: “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage.” While these words may be music to the ears of a young couple, folks who are considering getting married later in life have many issues to think about prior to tying the knot. In fact, many years ago, as a …
For many seniors, their most important lifelines are their adult children and spouses. Seniors often rely on adult children to help research and secure health care, social services and housing. Those entering their golden years childless and single, divorced or widowed would be well-served to put in place alternatives to these lifelines. Doing so will improve one’s physical and mental health, safety and longevity. The pointers described below are valuable …
By Erica M. Fitzgerald, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP On December 18, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Pooled Trust Notification Bill” into law. This law, which is set to take effect on June 18, 2018, requires plain language notification to Medicaid applicants and recipients of the availability of pooled trusts as a means of maintaining Medicaid eligibility while retaining access to the surplus monthly income. The notice must also include …
By Amy C. O’Hara, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP President Trump signed tax reform legislation, Public Law 115-97, generally referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, into law on December 22, 2017. The Act is the most sweeping tax legislation to be enacted in decades. It is broad in scope, complicated, and will impact almost every aspect of tax, legal, estate, retirement, business and other planning. While there has …
Our guest this week is Lou Giampa, President and Owner of Right at Home, a NYS Licensed Home Care Agency servicing Westchester County, NY. Lou joins Bernie to discuss home health care, aging parents, and having the conversation with parents about getting help in the home.
By Stacy Sadove, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP In a positive development for seniors and individuals with disabilities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has just approved the adoption of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults). Rule 2165 allows broker-dealers to place a temporary hold on disbursements of funds or securities from the accounts of specified customers if the broker-dealer has a …
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. The new law will have significant effects on estate planning. One major impact of the new law is on the gift and estate tax exemption. Previously, the exemption shielded the first $5 million in gifts during life or after death as part of one’s estate. The amount is indexed for inflation and …
