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Elder Law & Estate Planning
Legislation Empowers Families to Support Charitable Organizations Providing Essential Services for Loved Ones
By Amy C. O’Hara, CELA The Special Needs Alliance commends the Senate Finance Committee for unanimously approving legislation that would give families greater flexibility in choosing the remainder beneficiary of trusts established for a loved one who has a disability or chronic illness. Partners Bernard A. Krooks, a past president of the Special Needs Alliance,…
Significant Changes To The New York State Medicaid Programs
By Brian L. Miller, Esq. Recently, there have been significant changes to the New York State Medicaid programs for New Yorkers who are age 65+, blind or disabled. As discussed in our prior blogs, New York passed a law in April 2020 to implement a 30-month (two and a half year) lookback period for all…
Estate Planning For Your Pet
By Amy C. O’Hara, CELA When clients hire our firm to put their estate planning in order, they start the process with thoughts regarding their assets, planning for their spouse and children and sometimes who they want to receive their tangible personal property, including jewelry, furnishings, and art. However, rarely do clients incorporate their furry…
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…
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…
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…
Who Me? Do I Really Need to Plan?
By Bernard A. Krooks, Certified Elder Law Attorney It is not uncommon for younger family members to accompany a parent or other relative to an estate planning or elder law consultation with one of our attorneys at the firm. I have often observed that many of our clients are motivated to take action due to a family…
Getting the Most from Your Long-Term Care Insurance Policy
During a new estate planning consultation, I will always ask my client whether they own a long-term care (LTC) insurance policy. Whether a client has funds set aside through such policy to offset their long-term care needs is an important part of creating an appropriate and sound estate plan. It is our practice to review any policies our clients…
