By Roman Aminov, For most families, a child's 18th birthday is a celebration. For parents of a son or daughter with an intellectual or developmental disability, it often arrives with a jolt of legal reality. The day your child becomes a legal adult is the day your parental authority effectively disappears, even if nothing about […]

By Roman Aminov, There is a question families across New York City quietly wrestle with, often for months before they say it out loud: Mom keeps forgetting to take her medication. Dad gave his credit card number to a stranger on the phone. The bills are piling up. At what point does concern become a […]

By Roman Aminov For many New York families, the family home represents decades of hard work, stability, and memory. So when a parent begins to need nursing home care, the question of what happens to that home can feel just as urgent as the care itself. As an elder law attorney in New York, I […]

Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts—often called “MAPTs”—are popular in New York because they can help protect a family home and other assets from nursing home costs. But a MAPT isn’t always the right fit. Before you sign anything, it’s important to understand the trade-offs. This article explains the main downsides in plain English so you can […]

In New York, a nursing-home Medicaid applicant may transfer their primary residence to a sibling without a transfer penalty if (1) the sibling already has an equity (ownership) interest in the home and (2) the sibling lived in the home for at least one year immediately before the applicant became institutionalized (entered a nursing facility […]

For most seniors, the ability to live independently in the comfort of their own home is priceless. But as needs change, the cost of a home health aide can quickly become a major financial strain. Fortunately, New York's Community Medicaid program can cover these costs, providing the support necessary to "age in place" safely and […]

For many New York residents seeking long-term care through Medicaid, preserving their home while qualifying for Medicaid benefits is a major concern. The caregiver exemption, also known as the "child caregiver exception" or "two-year care exception," provides an important pathway for protecting this valuable asset. This article explores Medicaid eligibility requirements in New York and […]

Medicaid is a federally funded program in which the government helps pay for the cost of medical care for disabled and elderly individuals.  To recoup some of the cost of this enormously expensive program, the federal government has created the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (“Estate Recovery”) in which states are required to pursue reimbursement from […]

As we age, we may begin to consider ways of protecting our assets from long term care costs by transferring them to our children. It is important not to rush into any decision without speaking to an estate planning attorney because the legal and tax consequences of doing so are profound.  As we discussed in […]

Clients often call me asking whether transferring their home to their children is a good idea. Their goal is to make sure their house is protected in the event they need long-term care Medicaid, whether that be home care or nursing home care. Among the different options, including irrevocable trust, is a life estate deed. For […]