Young people, including the author, tend to think they are invincible. They don’t plan on getting sick or even worse, dying. Why, then, do they need an estate plan? For the same reason that older people create them: we are all mortals with a finite lifespan and no guarantee of good health. Young families do, […]

I often receive phone calls from potential clients asking whether, as an estate planning and elder attorney, I recommend that they add their children as co-owners to the deed of their house, co-op, or condominium. The callers are usually concerned with avoiding probate or protecting their home from Medicaid if they need long term care. […]

My dream to build an estate planning practice was born early in my law school career. My first trusts and estates class introduced me to a legal world where the most important and sensitive parts of our lives, our mortality, were front and center. I was excited about the prospect of working with families and […]

So you’ve done the responsible thing. You’ve prepared a last will to protect your family when you die. Great – now where do you keep it? For starters, somewhere your loved ones can find it. But which place is most safe yet accessible, convenient yet confidential? This article will discuss a few options clients have […]

As we had discussed in a prior article, a statutory short form durable power of attorney (“POA”) is an important document which every New Yorker should consider. To recap, a POA allows any agents you select, typically your spouse and/or children, to make financial decisions for you. This can be crucial if you are sick […]

In addition to the emotional and financial ramifications of a divorce, there are important estate planning implications for clients contemplating divorce or separation. Along with selling, dividing, and re-titling assets comes the necessity to reevaluate your estate plan. "Why?" you might ask. Here are a few important reasons to sit down with an estate planning […]

A significant portion of the assets we own are held jointly with another person. Almost anything, including real property, bank accounts, and investment accounts, can be, and often is, owned jointly. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to understand the various joint tenancies and their consequences. This article will deal with the three joint ownership […]

Almost everyone can draft their own will – just like most people can give themselves a haircut – but the question is should they. There are many websites and form books offering a do-it-yourself service, but should you use them? In this article, I will try to show what can (and did) go wrong with […]

A person who dies without a will in New York is said to have died intestate. If a person owned assets, they either pass automatically, such a joint accounts and accounts with beneficiary designations, or through a court process known as estate administration which is governed by New York's laws of intestacy, which are codified […]

As we discussed in the previous article, in order to avoid Medicaid liens and estate recovery, elder law clients would be well advised to learn about their rights to protect their homes. This is true whether they need Medicaid home care and wish to avoid estate recovery, or whether they are planning for nursing home […]