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Much discussion around the Windsor case that struck down DOMA dealt with the estate tax. As a result of the decision, married same sex will indeed be privy to the same federal estate tax exemptions as their heterosexual counterparts. But the effects will go well beyond taxes at death. In…
A non-profit group called “Families for Better Care” recently released a comprehensive report card that ranks the skilled nursing care in all 50 states. The report, one of the most comprehensive ever, was based on a mountain of data taken from federal reports from 2013. Every state received a letter…
Many New York families have vacation homes. While the reference often conjures up images of the super-wealthy wintering in palacial estates, the truth is that owning a second piece of real estate in a favorite location is not only for the elite. Middle class families who prudently save often decide…
A JDSupra post from last month offers a helpful reminder of the changing legal landscape for New York same sex couples who are married. As virtually everyone knows, in late June the U.S. Supreme Court declared the main portion of the federal law known as the “Defense of Marriage Act”…
The State recently reported on another “will contest” involving a well-known South Carolina family. The story is an example of a very common estate planning problem, disagreement between adult children and a second (or third) spouse. The basics of the family situation are well known. The patriarch, former University of…
Drastic revisions to the New York Medicaid system have been well documented in recent years. Most attention relates to a crackdown on fraud and similar cost-cutting measures. The spur for the alternations, as with so many government program decisions, is the hope of reigning in costs and ensuring the program’s…
How should you decide who you should name as beneficiaries in your estate planning documents? For many, the answer is not too complicated: leave it all to the children. However, just because that model is the most common form of passing on assets does not mean that there are not…
Planning for retirement is rarely a simple task. For one thing, a resident must carefully ask the basic question: How much do I need? Sophisticated models and projections exists to help make educated guesses about this answer. But it is never an exact science. That is because it is impossible…
A post over at Think Advisor last week provides some helpful insight into one financial and estate planning tool which might be appropriate for some New York residents. The tool is know as a GRAT – Grantor Retained Annuity Trust. As with many other trusts, one key purpose of the…
Most horror stories about poor nursing home care include tales of grotesque “bed sores,” broken bones gone undiagnosed, and similar cases of obvious caregiving lapses. But the best way to measure the quality of long-term care facilities may not be to see how many of these “big” mistakes are made.…