When determining whether you can name a special needs trust (SNT) as the beneficiary of your retirement account and accomplish your intended result, you will quickly learn that the answer is “it depends.” It depends on the type of beneficiary designation and on tax laws regarding distribution of retirement account …

There are two types of Special Needs Trusts (SNTs), commonly designated as first-party and third-party SNTs. It is important to determine which type of SNT you have or need. This depends upon whose property is funding the SNT. If the property funding the SNT originates with the SNT beneficiary, then …

Showing up at the local stadium to support your favorite team and enjoy the atmosphere of a sporting event is one of the cornerstones of American life. In the past it was difficult for citizens needing special accommodations to attend but these days most facilities are in compliance with the …

No one wants to think about his or her death, but a little preparation in the form of a prepaid funeral contract can be useful. In addition to helping your family after your death, a prepaid funeral contract can be a good way to spend down assets in order to …

One of the biggest flash points in the debate over Republican legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is the future of Medicaid.  Here are some basic facts about the 52-year-old program.   What is Medicaid? It’s a public health insurance program largely for low-income people, though some …

Loud and Clear: A Special Needs Conversation   Retirement accounts are often among a family’s largest assets, so you may have thought about leaving a portion to your son or daughter with disabilities. But if they will ever need means-tested benefits, your good intentions could disqualify them for important programs …

Tax Benefit:   STAR – Enhanced   Tax Benefit Details: Reduces school tax liability by exempting a portion of the value of the home from school tax.   Based on the first $65,000 of full value of the home.   Special rules for NYC, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers and Syracuse.   …

Tax Benefit:   STAR – Basic (Basic School Tax Relief) Tax Benefit Details: Reduces school tax liability by exempting a portion of the value of home from school tax.  Based on first $30,000 of full value of home.  (Generally)  Special rules for New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers and Syracuse. …

For the next three weeks, in an effort to make sure you are properly updated, we will give you the specific details regarding this year’s Real Property Tax Exemptions.  The three we will outline are the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption (SCHE), Basic STAR and Enhanced STAR.   Tax Benefit:   …

A bill entitled, Disability Integration Act, is scheduled to be introduced in the Senate very soon.  Sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, the bill hopes to keep families together and make life accommodating and comfortable for disabled adults.  Basically, it would require health insurance companies to pay for services for disabled …

New York State legislature has passed the Caregiver Advice, Record and Enable (CARE) Act.  It was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on October 26, 2015 and will take effect in April, 2016.  The primary focus of this new law is to offer assistance to patients and their caregivers …

Medicare announced plans this month to reimburse doctors for talking with patients about what treatments they want — and don’t want — toward the end of life.  This sensible, long-overdue proposal is likely to have a very wide impact.  About 80 percent of people who die in the United States …

Almost everyone who has been divorced or is ending their marriage needs an estate planning checklist for divorce. It’s imperative they revisit their estate planning documents to avoid inadvertently giving their ex control over their estate. While the divorce process attempts to equitably divide assets, it usually falls short of …

Following years of national grassroots advocacy efforts, the community of individuals with special needs and their family members will have at their disposal a new tool with which to maintain a private fund of assets while preserving certain   government benefits. On December 19, 2014, the President   signed the Achieving Better Life …

Our clients often look over the piles of paper (old financial records, mostly) accumulating in their homes, and ask us whether they really need to keep all that stuff. Is it important to hold on to all those documents for legal, tax or other reasons? Sometimes, by the way, the …

Many people only find out when it’s too late that their estate plans contain costly errors. Mistakes aren’t necessarily limited to lay people using do-it-yourself kits; inexperienced estate planners make mistakes too. Here are some overlooked issues that may occur without the advice of a practiced estate planning attorney. Non-probate …

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The dysfunction and drama of the final months of Casey Kasem, a radio personality who died recently from complications of dementia, captured the interest of generations who listened over the years as he counted down the nation’s top pop. But what Kasem did for four …

Uncle Sam’s Tax Court just ruled that the one-rollover-per-yea​r rule applies to all of a taxpayer’s IRAs rather than to each IRA separately. And that ruling, experts say, is in direct conflict with IRS Publication 590, the bible for IRAs. “Industry leaders, financial advisers, and everyone else who handles IRAs are stunned,” said Denise …

WASHINGTON, DC – The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2014 was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). The bill, championed by the National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC),would fix key elements of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program that currently make …

Estate Administration Estate administration is the process of managing and distributing a person’s property (the “estate”) after death.  If the person had a will, the will goes through probate, which is the process by which the deceased person’s property is passed to his or her heirs and legatees (people named …