‘Tis the Season to be scary. Halloween was grafted onto the ancient Celtic pagan holiday of Samhain. There are said to be places and times when the barrier between this world and that “other world” is very thin. In fact, the Irish have a word the “thin places,” Caol Áit. The holiday of
For very wealthy individuals and families, the strong possibility of a change of administrations in Washington portends massive changes in tax policy and it is not too soon to consider the possible changes and to plan for them.
For example, on the estate tax side of the ledger, the current estate and gift tax exemption
A cousin is a solicitor in the U.K. He describes a Will as a ‘crisis purchase.’ In other words, it is decision frequently delayed until the end. Hence, our title is taken from Shakespeare (another Will) and his play Richard II when the king realizes he is close to his royal and violent end. Then
On Friday evening, September 18, 2020, along with countless millions of others, I was stunned to learn of the untimely passing of my legal hero, The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her death is a profound loss as our country suffers from intense division among party lines, unprecedented fires in the west, and the loss of
In the coming weeks we will be posting about elder abuse and the role of estate planning and guardianship proceedings in addressing a growing crisis. As an introduction to the novel legal and medical issues posed by living longer lives, we link to two public presentations that you might find interesting. The first is from
See our most recent post about important changes to Medicaid rules regarding eligibility for home care services.
The implementation of the thirty (30) month look-back period for Medicaid home care eligibility was originally scheduled to be effective as of October 1, 2020. Reportedly, it has just been postponed to January 1, 2021. It is somewhat
As our population ages, worries about caring for our parents (not to mention ourselves), grow in importance. On October 1, 2020, New York will impose new restrictions on the eligibility for community Medicaid. This is a major change in the law. Before October 1, eligibility for such home care services was not subject to restrictions
A Power of Attorney is a very important and useful estate planning tool. But it is also a very dangerous one. A Will is effective only upon your death and then only when approved by the Surrogate’s Court. But a power of attorney is effective upon proper completion. It enables the person to whom it
In our previous entry we discussed the various ways that we can give our property can pass to others outside the terms of a valid Will or even if there is no Will at all (intestacy). Once understood, you can next consider your testamentary wishes and how to best give them effect.
You must first
What is a lawyerly answer to this most basic of estate planning questions? Simple, “yes and no.”
Now that I hope to have amused you, allow me to explain the rationale behind the lawyerly answer of “yes and no.” All attorneys understand from experience that for every generalization he or she might make, there are
