Sending your son or daughter off to college is an exciting milestone for both you and your child. There is so much to prepare during this time, from housing arrangements to class schedules to moving day. If estate planning for your child is not on the to do list, it should be. With certain estate planning documents in place,...
Continue ReadingWithout a doubt, if you own a business you have thought of when and how you might transfer the interest in your business. When anyone addresses estate planning issues, they have to make some decisions. But business owners have special considerations when it comes to their estate plans. If you are in this situation, you are likely wondering: Is...
Continue ReadingA common misconception is that estate planning is only for the wealthy, the elderly, and married couples with kids. In fact, estate planning is for everyone—even single people. Arguably, estate planning for a single person is more important because there is no spouse, the most natural inheritor of an estate. It is imperative that a single person specify who...
Continue ReadingIt is virtually impossible to overestimate the importance of estate planning, because estate planning is a family affair. The execution of your estate plan might begin while you are still living. You might become incapacitated (unable to make decisions or to communicate them) years before you die, for example. In any case, executing your estate plan is going to...
Continue ReadingOne of the most important rules of financial management is to pay yourself first. Likewise, while you are shopping for Christmas presents, you should buy a present for yourself first in the form of an investment in your retirement plan. With the old year coming to a close, the Christmas season is the perfect opportunity to start planning for...
Continue ReadingOne of the most challenging questions family members will find themselves asking as their loved one ages is whether or not to place that loved one in a nursing home. Every situation is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Instead, you must consider all of the factors and then decide if nursing home care is...
Continue ReadingYou trust that a nursing home will care for your loved one. After all, that is what you are not only paying them to do, but the entire reason you put them there in the first place. Amid a pandemic, you may wonder if you should remove your loved ones. The news stories about COVID-19 running amok in nursing...
Continue ReadingYou have done your due diligence and created an estate plan. So, you are protected for good, right? If that is your way of thinking, you may have critical gaps in protections for yourself and your loved ones. While you do not have to revisit your estate plan monthly (or sometimes even annually), there are reasons to revisit it...
Continue ReadingCOVID-19 testing sites are up and running across the state, but will the test be covered? Yes, Medicare and Medicaid both have expanded their coverage to include coronavirus testing. Because the Department of Health and Human Services designated this test a health necessity, both government insurance plans must pay for the test if the patient is suspected of having...
Continue ReadingIn addition to creating a will, you must designate beneficiaries to receive any assets that you owned. In the state of New York, the intestacy laws will apply if you do not designate a beneficiary. It is important that you name your beneficiaries, because without anyone named specifically, the state will dictate how your assets are distributed among surviving...
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