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 …

Dear clients and friends, I hope this post finds you and your family healthy and hopeful. We are doing well here (that is from our homes), and pleased that so many of you have reached out to update your estate plans. This is the time to do it, especially now …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, As you may know, for a long time we have been hosting mini-seminars in our conference room. While I sometimes speak myself, most of the speakers are from outside the law firm discussing many different subjects of interest for our clients. One of …

Dear clients and friends, As I sit here at home today thinking about how much I wish things were back to normal, I remind myself that usually today, April 15th, would be tax day. As many of you know, (and perhaps some of you do not), tax day has been …

Dear clients and friends, My partner, Larry Siegel, handles our corporate and high end estate planning practice. I asked him yesterday, “Taking into consideration the current exemptions for each, what advice would you give our more affluent clients who have taxable estates of over $5,850,000 in New York and over …

NEW YORK STATE IS NOW ALLOWING REMOTE WITNESSING OF ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS IN AN EFFORT TO GET YOUR DOCUMENTS DONE WITHOUT HAVING TO LEAVE YOUR HOME! Dear clients and friends, The ongoing pandemic continues to shine a spotlight on the need for proper estate planning documents to be put in …

Dear clients and friends, I am really enjoying receiving your questions and sharing the answers with all of you. It is important that we stay connected during this upsetting time. Pass this information to your family and friends and please keep sending me more questions! Dear Lawrence, My elderly aunt …

Here’s an answer to another client question: How are you conducting consults these days when we can’t come into your office? Good question. While a phone call can get the job done, nothing really beats a face to face meeting. Body language and eye contact improve communication greatly. Luckily, most …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, I hope everyone had a safe weekend. As I reported to you last week, starting October 1st, New York will now impose a 2 1/2 year look-back for Medicaid home care applications. What does that mean? You already know that you have to …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE Dear clients and friends, News Flash: I just learned that the New York Legislature and the Governor have settled on a budget and my predictions seemed to have been proven true. First the good news……SPOUSAL REFUSAL remains intact! Now, the bad news……the no look back for Medicaid …

LISTEN TO LAWRENCE… Dear clients and friends, When I put a call out yesterday for questions, I had no idea what I was tapping into! So many people responded either with questions or simply wanting to thank us for reaching out and helping during this unsettling time. I encourage you …

A MESSAGE TO OUR CLIENTS – SOME GOOD NEWS NEW YORK STATE ALLOWS REMOTE NOTARIZATION OF ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS IN AN EFFORT TO GET YOUR DOCUMENTS DONE AT HOME! This pandemic has made many of us aware of the crucial need to BE PREPARED by having the proper estate planning …

The SECURE ACT was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President on  December 20th,  2019, with an effective date of January 1, 2020.  The act makes significant changes to all retirement plan benefits, like 401ks, 403bs, all IRAs and all other retirement plans.  For the curious, the …

Davis resident John Rundin is outraged that his insurer wants to raise the premium for his long-term care coverage by 60 percent, and he’s convinced that this sharp increase, paired with the company’s admonition about more hikes in future, is a harbinger that long-term care insurance is on its last …