LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here are two more of your questions and my response. I am combining them into one response because they are interrelated. QUESTION ONE: I have a question for the ‘Ask Lawrence’ emails: during the lookback period to be eligible for Medicaid, how much …

Dear clients and friends, My initial research regarding the property tax due date was incorrect and I wanted to alert all of you as soon as possible. It was just brought to my attention that there IS an extended deadline in place. Here’s the exact announcement from Suffolk County: County …

Dear clients and friends, Here are more of your questions and my responses: QUESTION ONE: Is there any discussion about extending the due date of real estate taxes due? I know that the state can’t wait to get their hands on this revenue but I’m sure there are many families …

Dear clients and friends, Here are more of your questions and my responses: QUESTION ONE: I have (3) IRAs of which I had taken my RMDs from last year. Does this mean that I will not be seeing any money taken out this year for each of them? It appears …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, This article for The Voice was written by Richard A. Kroll, Esq. of Rochester, New York, a member of the Special Needs Alliance, which I am a founding member. The Special Needs Alliance provides various helpful resources and I thought you might find …

Dear clients and friends, Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I received the following question a few weeks ago about a nursing home resident’s visitation rights. Since I am not a nursing home rights litigator, I wanted to wait on answering to better collect my …

Dear clients and friends, Here are a couple more of your questions and my responses: QUESTION ONE: I never received a $1200 stimulus payment…maybe my wife and I make too much money between our pensions and two social security checks ? Never thought of myself as “well off”? RESPONSE: We …

Dear clients and friends, Here are a few more of your questions and my responses: QUESTION ONE: We met with Lawrence in November 2016 and created an Irrevocable Trust. My husband is seriously disabled and we have been using our long term care insurance to pay for caregivers for the …

Dear clients and friends, Here are a couple more of your questions and my responses: QUESTION: Does someone who has died qualify for the $1200 stimulus payment? ANSWER: It is bound to happen more often than we would like. With over 80,000 recent deaths from Covid 19, many of these …

Dear clients and friends, Here is another one of your questions and my response: QUESTION: Hello Lawrence- Thank you for the informative emails. I wanted to inquire…..We are considering returning my 89 year old mother who has dementia to her home in Queens after living in an assisted living community …

Dear clients and friends, Here is one of your questions and my response: QUESTION: I would like to know if a codicil can be done to expedite simple changes on an existing will? Please advise. Thank you. ANSWER: A codicil is essentially an amendment to your Last Will and Testament …

Dear clients and friends, HOT OFF THE PRESS Our Governor has just issued another Executive Order that you might find interesting. I am including the entire text but I want to highlight a few things. First, our ability to notarize and witness documents (including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health …

Dear clients and friends, The weeks seem to be flying by and each day gets us one day closer to the end of this pandemic. It makes it a bit easier to know that we are all going through this time together. Stay positive! Here are some more of your …

Dear clients and friends, Here are some more of your questions and my responses: QUESTION ONE: If I choose not to take my 2020 RMD, will there be a penalty in 2021? Is the 2020 amount added on to my 2021 responsibility? ANSWER: The answer is simple. ALL required minimum …

Dear clients and friends, I hope you all had a nice weekend. Here is another question and my answer: QUESTION: What kind of information should I prepare for my children in case something happens to me? RESPONSE: Generally, the more organized you are, the easier it will be for your …

Dear clients and friends, I am amazed at the reaction to a previous post. I usually get a lot of questions about my legal LISTEN TO LAWRENCE posts, but yesterday’s set new records. Everyone wanted to know about my new puppy. What’s her name? What kind of dog is she? …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here are three questions of yours: QUESTION ONE: If I go forward with remote witnessing and notarizing now, will I have to redo my documents after the crisis is over? ANSWER: As you know, we can now formally notarize and witness all your …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, Here are a few more of your comments/questions and my responses: COMMENT: “A possible future topic could be addressing the importance and timing of removing deceased parties from joint bank accounts and other legal documents. As a former banker, we often saw clients …

Dear clients and friends, I join all of you in mourning the deaths of so many around us from the Coronavirus. People ask me if I knew anyone that died? The answer is yes, many. Fortunately, my immediate family and friends remain healthy, but my heart goes out to my …

Dear clients and friends, Many of you will soon be receiving your stimulus checks, about $1200 per person, either electronically or in the mail. I know for many of you this cannot happen soon enough. However, we have many clients who are on Medicaid (older people receiving home care or …