News by Nancy Burner, Esq
News by Nancy Burner, Esq on South Shore Press
What is the Corporate Transparency Act?
A: Yes, The Corporate Transparency Act or CTA is something you should be aware of as you will need to comply with its terms. CTA is a federal law that went into effect on January 1, 2024, requiring most entities, including LLCs, to report "beneficial owners" and individuals who exercise substantial control or decision-making authority to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also known as FinCEN.
How a Trustee Can Use Assets from a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
A: No, the assets of the trust are not available to your mom. The irrevocable trust was created to protect assets from being counted for eligibility purposes when applying for Medicaid services. If the principal is available to her, then it is available to pay for her care.
IRS Issues Notice Regarding 2024 IRA Required Minimum Distributions
A: Since your mother died after December 31, 2019, your distribution rules are governed by the SECURE ACT. You are considered a designated beneficiary of an inherited IRA and the 10-year rule applies.
National Healthcare Decisions Day
While the day was started by lawyers, advanced directives need not be signed in the presence of a doctor or a lawyer. Both of these documents must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who are over the age of 18. However, they are often signed with an attorney when completing the other parts of an estate plan.
Tax Day is Here… What About My Medicaid Trust?
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust ("MAPT") is a type of irrevocable trust. The purpose is to remove assets from your name so they are not counted as an asset when applying for Medicaid eligibility to assist with the costs associated with a long term stay in a nursing facility or for a caregiver in the home. Assets that are commonly placed into a MAPT include a primary residence, rental properties, shares of a LLC or corporate entity, and non-qualified investments, to name a few.
Spring Cleaning for Estate Planning
When reviewing your plan, here are some things to consider: Do you remember who you named as your healthcare proxy? Is that person still the best person to serve in this role? Are successors named? Every new health care proxy supersedes the prior one. How many powers of attorney do you have? Are they all consistent? It is not uncommon for individuals to execute new powers of attorney without revoking the prior ones. This can create a huge amount of confusion amongst multiple agents. For instance, mom creates a power of attorney in 2015 naming her son as agent. A few years later, she sells her house and gives her daughter a power of attorney. Now there are two documents that are not consistent and this can be a recipe for disaster. We call this the "dueling" powers of attorney.
What You Should Know About Estate Taxes
First, any amounts to spouses or charities are tax free. Any amount under the above thresholds is also tax free. Nevertheless, for estates over the exemption amounts, either the New York or federal, additional planning is necessary. The balance of this article is for estates that exceed these threshold amounts.
The Benefits of a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
With a MAPT, you can protect your assets from the cost of long-term care. But there is a hitch: The trust must be created sixty (60) months before nursing home care is necessary. Currently, in New York, there is no lookback for transfers made before you apply for home care or Community Medicaid. However, this may change. In 2020, regulations were changed to apply a thirty (30) month lookback for Community Medicaid for any transfers made after October 1, 2020. However, the State has not imposed that lookback and have delayed applying it until at least 2025. At the writing of this article, we are unsure if this will ever be implemented. To be safe, planning early is imperative and the key to asset protection and preservation.
Convenience Accounts or Joint Accounts; When do Joint Accounts Lead to Litigation?
When naming a child as a joint account holder on your bank account, be sure that it makes sense in the context of your estate plan. Banking Law Section 675 provides that, absent fraud or undue influence, when two or more people open a bank account and deposit cash or securities, a presumption of joint tenancy with rights of survivorship arises. For the presumption to apply, words of survivorship must appear on the signature card or ledger that creates the account.
Mediators: Navigating Family Dynamics and Promoting Harmonious Estate Planning Outcomes
In a perfect world, all of our children would be successful enough in their own lives so that they needn't depend on an inheritance to maintain or advance their economic status. The reality of the situation is that even in the perfect world, most children develop a certain expectation of what they are entitled to after their parents pass away.
2024 Community Medicaid Update
For 2024, an individual applying for Community Medicaid can have no more than $31,175 in assets, excluding the home if the equity is less than $1,071,000. Tax-deferred assets, otherwise known as qualified accounts, such as IRAs or 401(K)s, are exempt, so long as the applicant is taking minimum distributions. The amount of the distribution required by Medicaid will vary based on the applicant's county of residence. Regardless, the full amount of the distribution will be counted towards the monthly income. The 2024 Community Medicaid monthly income allowance is $1,732 per month (plus an additional $20 for being blind, aged, or disabled). However, do not be discouraged from applying from the program if you have excess income as applicants with income that exceeds this limit can still be eligible.
Estate Planning for the Modern Family: The Intricacies of Estate Planning as Family Structures Evolve
Before the growth of the modern family, estate planning was relatively simple. Couples would create "sweetheart wills," which leave assets to each other, and after the death of the surviving spouse, to their children. However, a sweetheart will does not adequately provide for individuals who have children from previous relationships or want to provide for beneficiaries besides the spouse.
Sweetheart Wills
In our practice, we see a lot of Last Will & Testaments that were executed when a couple was younger that were appropriate when drafted but outdated. Your Last Will & Testament probably leaves everything to each other and then to your children. This is referred to as a "Sweetheart Will." While this was appropriate when you were younger, it is not the best estate plan for you and your husband now. As you get older, there is more of a need to do additional planning in order to protect your assets in the event that you or your husband require long term care, either at home or in a nursing facility.
Championing Justice: Britt Burner's Recognition for Advocating for the Elderly and Disabled
As part of the New York State Bar Association's Annual Meeting on Tuesday, January 16th, Britt Burner, Esq. was honored with the prestigious 'Advocate for the Elderly Award.' The New York State Bar Association, through its Elder Law and Special Needs Section, bestowed this honor and recognition upon Britt for her unwavering commitment to the advancement of the rights of the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Insights into Elder Law: Strategies for Long-Term Care Planning and Asset Protection in New York
With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, long-term care planning has become an increasingly important issue across the United States, including in New York. As the population ages, more individuals will require long-term care services and supports, highlighting the need for prudent planning to cover future care costs. There have been recent developments in New York on Medicaid eligibility rules and asset protection strategies.
Estate Planning for Artists
Establishing a clear and thorough estate plan is essential for artists to maintain control over their artwork and preserve their legacy. An artist's estate not only includes physical art, but a bundle of intellectual property rights, including copyrights. Additionally many artists have art collections that include others artists' works as well as their own. The artist's own art work is generally treated differently than their art collection, but both can be hard to value at death.
What is Estate Planning?
A: While people are aware of the importance to execute a Last Will & Testament, they are often of the mindset that it is something to be done as they get older and as a result it gets put off. For the same reason, the value of a establishing a comprehensive Estate Plan is often overlooked.
Community Medicaid v. Chronic Medicaid
A: No, Community Medicaid will not pay for long term-care in a nursing home. Community Medicaid is the program that covers care at home, such as a personal care aide. Chronic Medicaid is the program that covers nursing home care.
Can You Be Removed from a Deed Without Your Consent?
A: In general, a person cannot be removed from a deed without his or her consent and signature on a deed. Absent legal action with a court order, such as a foreclosure or a partition action, the only way an owner's interest in real property can be transferred is by a properly executed, acknowledged and recorded deed conveying that owner's interest to a new party. If two or more people own real property jointly as tenants in common, a co-owner is unable to remove the other co-owner by executing a new deed - a person can only convey what they own. A title company will search all transfers to certify the record owners and those with an interest in the property will be required to execute the deed to the purchaser.
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