Asset Protection

3 Tips on Having Long-Term Care Discussions Now And Not Later

Published on: December 21, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It’s a common predicament. After the holidays have concluded, adult children are frequently left concerned about whether their parents can live safe independent lives. These adults often are left feeling uncertain about what the best decision is to make so that their parents remain safe but also do not have freedoms needlessly stripped. This year has made adult children more concerned than usual because with many people deciding to celebrate the holidays virtually, it’s becoming more difficult to recognize when someone can no longer live independently. Despite COVID-19, there are still several helpful strategies you can follow to have a conversation about long-term care with your parents now instead of later.

# 1 – Discuss Your Parent’s Daily Routine

Whether it’s in person, over the phone, or through video should, you should begin by chatting with your parents and discussing their lives as well as their routines. Some of the critical questions that you should ask include what are your parents’ daily habits and whether they find anything that limits their ability to live life as they once did. You should also inquire as to what modifications your parents have made to their daily lives as a result of the pandemic. Any clues that a parent’s basic daily living activities have ceased or are substantially limited should give rise to concern about the parent’s safety.

3 Ways Life Insurance Policies Play Vital Roles in Estate Plans

Published on: December 18, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The best types of estate planning involves a multi-faceted approach, which both addresses financial as well as health concerns. While many people are aware of the benefits provided by estate planning tools like wills and advance healthcare directives, one helpful but commonly overlooked estate planning tools are life insurance policies. As a result, to widen the types of estate planning tools that you can consider utilizing as you plan for your incapacity or death, this article reviews the role that life insurance policies can play in estate plans.

# 1 – The Primary Purpose of Life Insurance Policies

Life insurance is often viewed as an income replacement for dependants. For people who are the primary or significant income providers in households, income replacement is not optional. Similarly, if a person is a homemaker or the primary caregiver of a minor or disabled child, it is critical to remember that the cost associated with hiring a replacement caregiver is substantial.

4 Estate Planning Reminders During The COVID-19 Spike

Published on: December 17, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning does not always appear on people’s things to do. Living through the coronavirus pandemic as well as approaching the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, should change the urgency with which people approach estate planning. New York currently has the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases among the states with more than 650,000 confirmed cases. Inevitably, some families during the pandemic will only discover that they lack sufficient legal documents when a loved one dies. To avoid expensive court cases, remember that estate planning is one of the best ways to prepare for the unexpected. To help you begin considering what legal documents to include in your estate plan, this article reviews some of the most common tools that people utilize.

# 1 – Wills

A last will and testament informs the court of who you would like to receive your assets after you pass away. This document also informs the court who you would like to make responsible for ensuring that your bills are paid and that assets transfer to the correct people. If you do not create a will and have not established other ways for your assets to be handled after your death, your belongings will likely not pass to the desired people. Instead, courts will often intervene and decide about who should receive these assets.

A Quick Guide to Caregiver Assignments

Published on: December 6, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It’s a common occurrence for family and friends to be the caregiver for disabled and elderly loved ones. In these situations, it is critical to understand that caregiver assignments are legal documents that both define as well as describe how a loved one should be cared for by another individual, which often will include a family member or friend. These agreements play the critical role of making sure that family members and loved ones both agree and understand the labor and cost associated with caring for a loved one. To better help you understand the role that a caregiver agreement can play in your estate plan, this article reviews some critical issues that you should consider about such agreements.

Why Caregiver Assignments Are Important

Caregiver assignments are an invaluable tool for making sure that a loved one receives the best care possible from both family members as well as medical providers. These documents can also perform the invaluable role of protecting caregivers by performing the necessary task of describing how much a caregiver should receive as well as the plan of action for such care. Caregiver assignments also often perform a valuable role in avoiding family conflicts.

Who Can Be Held Liable for New York Nursing Home Deaths?

Published on: December 3, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Communities in New York are dedicated to stopping the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the state has declared various cautionary measures to control the spread of the disease throughout the state. Tragically, despite these measures, New York is still facing a substantially high number of deaths due to the illness. If your loved one passes away in a nursing home from covid-19, it’s common to be left with various questions. One of the most common questions that people ask is who should be held accountable following such a devastating loss. This article considers such an occurrence.

How Families Respond to the Loss of Loved Ones from COVID-19

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one, but COVID-19 tends to deprive individuals of the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved one in a face to face environment. Many times when a loved one passes away from COVID-19, good-bye’s must be made through digital means like Facetime. Due to this risk of transmission, family members and loved ones ultimately lose out on the closure of seeing a loved one for the last time. This closure can greatly help say goodbye to a loved one.

2020 Medicaid Rates for Community and Nursing Home Medicaid in New York

Published on: August 28, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Medicaid is state and federal funding that pays for long-term care costs, either at home, called “Community Medicaid,” or in a nursing home, called “Institutional” or “Nursing Home Medicaid.” The Medicaid rates change every year for income and asset requirements to determine eligibility for benefits. Following are the 2020 New York rates.

A single applicant for Community Medicaid may keep up to $15,750 in assets and $875 in income. If the applicant’s income is greater than the limit, a “Pooled Income Trust” created by a non-profit organization may shelter the excess income to make the applicant eligible for community Medicaid.

A married applicant for Community Medicaid may keep up to $15,750 in assets and $875 in monthly income. The non-applicant spouse may keep their own income and keep up to $128,640 in assets. The rules are different if one spouse is enrolled in a Managed Long Term Care Plan. The applicant spouse may keep $409 of monthly income and the other spouse may keep $3,216 of monthly income. The healthy spouse may keep between $74,820 and $128,640 in assets. “Spousal Refusal” is another option that may help the healthy spouse keep more income and assets. A review of the couple’s income and assets helps determine which approach is more favorable.

How much can you receive in divorce benefits?

Published on: April 15, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

If you’re eligible for divorce benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA), you can collect up to 50% of the amount your former spouse is eligible to receive by claiming your benefits at his or her full retirement age (FRA).

Your FRA is either 66, 66 plus a few months, or 67, depending on the year you were born. The earliest you can claim Social Security benefits is 62. If you claim benefits before your FRA, your Social Security benefits will be permanently reduced by as much as 30%. You can only receive your full Social Security benefit amount if you claim benefits at your FRA.

You cannot double dip

Back to Basics: Estate Planning 101, Part I

Published on: March 2, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Creating a thoughtful estate plan is one of the greatest gifts anyone can leave their loved ones. It is important to update your will when major changes occur. These might include marriage, divorce, opening or closing a business, buying or selling real estate, or birth or death of an heir.

Estate planning is a process that helps ensure that your desires for distribution of your property and assets at death are carried out. During life, to complete an estate plan, you should consider the following:

Will: A will is the primary document that should be prepared while living, to be effective at death. A will is a written document expressing how you would like your estate to be distributed after death. Usually a will must be executed in the presence of two disinterested witness and be notarized. You must also have testamentary capacity (over the age of 18, of sound mind, and competent).

Estate Planning Documents Every Young Child Needs

Published on: November 27, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Parents can make medical decisions for their children. After a child reaches the age of 18, however, and is viewed in the eyes of the law as an adult and a parent’s ability to make these decisions ends.

Fortunately, through the use of a few simple estate planning documents, young adults can avoid this situation as well as many others.

# 1 – Financial Power of Attorney

Important Estate Planning Steps to Take after a Parent’s Death

Published on: November 15, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Losing a parent is not easy. While being prepared for the event might not make the emotional aspect any easier, it can help to eliminate the potential for additional problems. As a result, this article reviews some of the important financial steps that you can take after a parent passes away.

# 1 – Determine if Your Parents Had an Estate Plan

The position of managing a parent’s estate after their death can be made much easier if a parent had an estate plan. Ideally, a parent will organize all of their estate documents in an easy to find but secured location. The best estate plans include wills that address how assets should be handled, dispositions of last remains regarding how a parent’s remains should be disposed of, and several other documents.