It 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 ReadingSince March 2020, probate courts across the United States have slowed down or even suspended probate cases out of concern for public health and safety. New York is no exception to this widespread trend. Even when courts resume their previous pace, however, a large backlog of cases will take quite some time to resolve. Fortunately, the Law Office of...
Continue ReadingThere are many reasons you might wish to keep your home in the family after you die—like an heirloom, for example, or to provide a fallback residence for your children in case of financial difficulties. Regardless of your reasons, there are a number of ways to protect your family’s home after you die. Although each method has its pros...
Continue ReadingThe ongoing retirement of the Baby Boomers is marking one of the greatest demographic transitions in US history. If you are looking toward retirement a few years down the road, or even longer than that, there are certain preparations you need to start making now. Some of these are obvious, while others are less so. Below is a general...
Continue ReadingThe digital revolution, by moving information from paper to digital form, has saved countless forests from destruction. It has also created quite a bit of wealth in the form of digital assets. Most people own some form of digital assets, even if their value is relatively difficult to quantify. Some common examples of digital assets include: Digital photographs, Videos,...
Continue ReadingProbate is the process of distributing your assets after you die. Depending on the details of the estate, the probate process will be relatively complex or relatively simple. In many cases, especially with large estates, the process is far too complex to manage without the assistance of an experienced probate legal practitioner. Following is an overview of the basic...
Continue ReadingMost people have a general idea of what estate planning is. Fewer, however, are familiar with the concept of elder planning. In a nutshell, estate planning is concerned with what happens to your assets after you die, while elder planning includes both estate planning and planning for what happens to your assets before you die. Ultimately, elder planning is...
Continue ReadingWhich court you must use to open probate depends on where the decedent lived and where their assets were located. Depending on the circumstances, you might not need to open probate at all. On the other end of the spectrum, you might need to institute probate proceedings in more than one jurisdiction. The larger and more complex the estate...
Continue ReadingA conservatorship is a type of guardianship. Guardianship is an arrangement whereby one person (the guardian) is empowered to make important life decisions on behalf of another person (the ward) who has lost the capacity to make these decisions themselves. The decision-making powers that the guardian can exercise might include the power to manage the ward’s finances or healthcare...
Continue ReadingAlthough parents generally retain their parental rights even after a guardian is appointed, the rights of a guardian can override the rights of the parents, to the extent ordered by the court that established the guardianship. Nevertheless, a parent may seek revocation of a guardianship. What Is a Guardianship? A guardianship is a legal arrangement that gives a guardian...
Continue ReadingThe Uniform Rules for New York State Trial Courts, Part 207 imposes no formal probate time limit on executors. Theoretically, you could wait for decades to apply for probate, and some people have. Once you begin the process, however, individual courts do set their own probate time limits for when various documents must be submitted. Although there is no...
Continue ReadingThe death of a loved one is always a difficult time – a time that few of us will be able to avoid during our lifetimes. The emotional turmoil that accompanies the death of a loved one is further intensified if the death was unexpected. Despite this turmoil, there are a number of steps that you need to take,...
Continue ReadingNew York state law provides numerous legal grounds for removing a trustee from a trust. These grounds apply to many different types of trusts, including family trusts. The trust document, created by the grantor of the trust, can specify additional grounds for removing the trustee of a family trust.If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the the...
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 ReadingOnce probate is granted, that is when an executor’s primary duties begin. Now it is time for the executor to start gathering assets, paying off any debts, and filing papers with the court to administer the estate and eventually close it out. The entire process begins with the executor requesting probate from the court, which usually requires a filing...
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 ReadingInheriting property out of state will require extra steps before you can take over that property – whether you plan to live in it, rent it, or just sell it. There are ways to help loved ones avoid these issues if you plan to give an inheritance to someone out of your state, and knowing your options can help...
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 ReadingThe latest budget changes in New York have created numerous changes to the state’s Medicaid program, but none are more impactful than those to home care services. The current system will make access to much-needed care limited and require you to jump through more hoops than previous systems to receive such care. If you are already receiving home care...
Continue ReadingYou only have so much time to probate a will after someone dies, and if you fail to do so, the will becomes invalid. Not only do you lose the chance to probate that will, which includes settling the estate and distributing assets, but if you were the executor of that estate, you open yourself up to numerous liability...
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