New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Bucking Trends: Age is Just a Number and More Seniors are Renting Rather Than Owning Their Homes

Published on: April 10, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Words have meanings. They can quickly build-up or knock-down its recipients. One word emitting a great deal of comment is elderly. My father, an 82-year-old retiree, refuses to be identified as a senior. He prefers grey panther. He tells me that he wishes to be identified by the color of his hair, not his age.

Identity in the 50 plus range is a hot potato. People are living much longer than prior generations. 50 as the fashion magazines love to exclaim is the new 40. Is age a number or a feeling?

Is calling someone elderly or senior ageist?

What Does It Meant to Decant a Trust?

Published on: April 10, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It is important to parents and grandparents who are engaged in estate planning to consider the various challenges that can arise. Failure to properly take these issues into consideration can result in estate plans being jeopardized. Fortunately, in these situations, it is possible to decant a trust. This article explores exactly what decanting is and some of the reasons why people to decide to decant a trust.

Decanting a Trust in New York

For many years, estate planning involved irrevocable trusts which mean that even if a trust creator’s situation changed, it was still impossible to modify the trust. In recent years, however, many states have created “decanting” statutes that allow broken trusts to be modified. During the “decanting” process, a person laces assets in an inadequate irrevocable trust into a new irrevocable trust that has more adequate provisions. The nature of decanting statutes changes between changes. In accordance with New York law, an authorized trustee who has unlimited discretion over principal located in trust has the ability to appoint these assets into another trust. To move trusts in this manner, a person is not required to obtain consent of the beneficiaries and can do so without a court order.

Healthy Vision: Taking Care of Your Eyes as You Age

Published on: April 8, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The Roman statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero once said, “the eyes are the window to the soul.” In reality however, the eyes are the window to hidden health conditions. A dilated eye exam can detect diabetes, hypertension, auto-immune disorders, like Lupus, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, certain cancers, like skin cancer, and tumors, before these medical conditions are confirmed with blood tests or other diagnostic testing.

Individuals with “good” eyes should have their eyes examined once every two years. Other folks should consult with their eye doctor to determine how often to follow-up for chronic conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, nearsightedness, and farsightedness.

Protecting your vision

Important Things to Remember about Estate Plans

Published on: April 7, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning has the potential to be a very complex process. As a result, it can be difficult to asset what estate planning terms a person needs. By focusing on some critical issues in estate planning topics, you will be able to create as strong an estate plan as possible. As a result, this article focuses on three of the most important issues that you should take into consideration when performing estate planning. It is also worth understanding the assistance of an experienced estate planning lawyer can be particularly valuable no matter what your estate planning goals are.

# 1 – Beneficiaries

A large number of estate disputes arise because there are arguments about who is entitled to be a beneficiary or who should obtain assets. In addition to wills or trusts that are used to transfer assets to beneficiaries, it is also important to create a number of other supporting documents including living wills, financial power of attorneys, and healthcare power of attorneys. These additional documents can answer important questions about beneficiaries including who will control how assets are received in case a person becomes incapacitated. To make sure that assets are properly transferred to beneficiaries, it is also often important to make sure that other estate planning documents are written including brokerage accounts, joint accounts, and individual accounts.

Estate Planning Advice when You Dislike an In-Law

Published on: April 5, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It is an unfortunate truth that not all in-laws enjoy positive relationships with one another. In fact, a number of people experience hostile or acrimonious relationships with their relatives. While there is no requirement that you like your in-laws or treat them well, this situation can be made much more complex if you have a good relationship with your child and want to make sure that this child receives something through your estate plan. Additionally, if you decide to completely exclude a child from an estate plan, it is likely that a court of law will focus on whether you lawfully removed your child from receiving any assets.

Deciding whether to Disinherit a Child

It can be difficult to decide whether to exclude a child from receiving assets through an estate plan if a problematic in-law is involved. In some situations, parents find it impossible to move past the in-law and resolve to disinherit the child as a punishment. If you are debating disinheriting a spouse, however, this decision should not be made lightly. Disinheriting a child frequently results in a number of complex emotions. If you decide to disinherit a child through a will rather than a trust, the words found in the will will be the controlling factor that prevents a child from receiving assets. To avoid the complications of disinheritance, it is often a much better decision to other options. For example, assets intended for a beneficiary can be held in a trust in such a way that a spouse is not able to access this amount. It is also possible to be assets to grandchildren instead of the child. While skipping a generation in this manner can be insulting, sometimes it is the best possible solution.

Understanding Family Foundations

Published on: April 5, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

“Wealth is not new. Neither is charity. But the idea of using private

wealth imaginatively, constructively, and systematically to attack

the fundamental problems of mankind is new.” John Gardner

Recognizing the Importance of Life Insurance

Published on: April 2, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The simple truth is that everyone dies. It is also true that many young people try to avoid this fact, which frequently means that they delay engaging in estate planning. Not only do many young people fail to engage in estate planning, however, statistics compiled by Budget Insurance reveal that 82% of young individuals are not aware of the purpose behind life insurance. As people age, it is absolutely critical to understand not just the purpose of estate planning but also understand what the individual elements of estate planning include. One of the most commonly misunderstood or not appreciated is life insurance, but is particularly important for all people including younger individuals.

Why Young Individuals Need Life Insurance

The reason why life insurance exists is to protect your family’s finances in case the primary supporter of the family dies. As a result, for young individuals who are beginning to create families, life insurance still plays an important role. Statistics compiled by Pew Research reveal that a large number of households in the United States depend on either both or one spouse to survive, which means that life insurance has the potential to play a very important role.

A Diabetes Home Test Can Be a Waste of Time and Money: What Lies Beneath FDA Approved Medical Testing and Devices

Published on: April 2, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Glucose powers the brain and is the organ’s main fuel source. According to the Mayo Clinic, diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases that affect how the body uses blood sugar, known as glucose. Too much sugar in the blood can cause serious health problems.

There are two main types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Other types of diabetes include gestational diabetes and prediabetes. Gestational diabetes typically goes away after the mother gives birth. Prediabetes is reversible in many circumstances with the proper diet. The most prevalent type of diabetes in the United States is type 2.

Diabetes is a chronic medical condition that is treated by carefully monitoring the level of sugar in the blood. The blood is tested through a standard venous draw in a laboratory or doctor’s office or at home using one of the popular home testing kits. The New York Times reports that the home tests are ineffective and in fact are a waste of money for individuals not on insulin.

The Difference between Roth and Traditional IRAs

Published on: March 30, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

After learning about IRAs, one of the most common questions that people ask is what is the difference between the various types. As a result, this article reviews some of the primary differences between Roth and traditional IRAs.

The Primary Difference between the Two Types of IRAs

With traditional IRA accounts, the money that a person contributes to their account is not considered part of their taxable income for that year. Instead, once money is placed into a traditional IRA account, the amount is capable of growing without being taxed in the way that other types of traditional income are. Instead, the amount that is placed in a traditional IRA is taxed when a person withdraws money from the account and is taxed at whatever your ordinary income tax rate is in that year. A person, however, does not receive a deduction for contributions to a Roth IRA. Instead, income tax is placed on money that is then placed into the account where the amount grows in a manner similar to traditional IRA accounts.

On Disability and Facebook: Uncle Sam Wants to Friend You

Published on: March 29, 2019 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The White House is working on a proposal to have Uncle Sam browse social media websites, like Twitter and Instagram, to help identify individuals who claim Social Security disability benefits without actually being disabled. They would like to browse your social media presence and determine if you are participating in activities you claim you can no longer do because of your disability.

An example is an individual who claims a back injury prevents him from working. In his trip to Hawaii photos, there is one posted where he is surfing during the period of disability. The government would like to use that evidence to deny the application or stop disability payments of someone already approved and receiving benefits.

Online investigations of people seeking government benefits is not a new practice. Such investigations are routinely conducted when the government conducts a marriage-based immigration petition investigation, for example, as part of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services review to confer lawful permanent residence status on a spouse of a U.S. citizen.