Davidov Law Group

There are various physical changes that happen as a person ages. Our hearing, vision, and reflexes worsen leading to an increased risk of injuries among the elderly. Not only are senior citizens more prone to injury, they are at higher risk of injury-related complications from which they will not recover.

Common Injury Scenarios

Slip and Falls are the most common injuries in people over the age of 65. They are the leading cause of hospitalizations among senior citizens. Over 90% of hip fractures are caused by a slip and fall accident whether at home or outside.

Motor Vehicle Accidents are the second most common among senior citizens. While all drivers and pedestrians are at risk of injury as a result of a motor vehicle, the percentage is significantly higher in those over 65 years of age. Motor Vehicle Accidents also come with a high risk of injury complications as older people react differently to accident trauma than a younger person.

Settlements

Plaintiffs over 65 years of age are typically receiving benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid Assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), Federally Assisted-Housing, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Low-Income Home Energy-Assistance. Large Personal Injury settlements can disqualify senior citizens from receiving such assistance and put a stop to Medicaid and SSI.

What Are the Options

Accept the Settlement – The quickest option is to accept the offered settlement and use that money to improve the quality of care above what Medicare would provide.

Spend Down – Rather than spend the settlement money on the quality of care, it could also be spent on goods and services that benefit the plaintiff. The funds may be put towards the purchase of a house, home improvements, a vehicle, a vacation, or pre-payment for funeral arrangements.

Set up a Trust – Having too many assets disqualifies a Medicaid applicant from receiving benefits. Another option when it comes to receiving an injury settlement is to put that money into a trust to ensure the applicant qualifies for Medicaid.

Contact our estate planning attorneys to determine your best course of action when it comes to your personal injury settlement.

The terms “estate plan” or “trust funding” are typically associated with wealthy families that own large homes and larger stock portfolios. The reality, however, is that estate planning is not just for the super wealthy. In fact, estate planning is an important part of anyone’s personal and financial plan, regardless of wealth or age.

So, why is it important to have an estate plan?

Each state has its own laws regarding how a person’s assets are distributed after their death. Still, it is often the case that a decedent’s family must go through the courts to gain access to their assets. Court proceedings are time consuming and likely will not have the same outcome as the decedent may have wanted for their family. Creating an estate plan provides the ability to be clear about how to distribute assets, finances, and personal belongings.

There are a variety of options when it comes to creating your estate plan. While trusts are not the only type of option, for many people it is the best course of action to best protect their assets. Estate plans typically include a durable power of attorney, a healthcare proxy, HIPAA authorizations, and a living will. These documents authorize a person of your choosing to make medical and financial decisions should you become unable to do so. Without such documents, the courts may become involved to appoint a legal guardian.

Having an estate plan also does not necessarily mean that nothing will change. We advise that our clients review their estate plans every three at least and when there has been a major life change.

What are some of the most common reasons to review your estate?

1. Is there a new member of the family that you want to add to your estate plan?
2. Is there someone you want to remove from the estate plan?
3. Have you received an inheritance?
4. Are there new tax laws in place?
5. Are they any changes in your health?
6. Have you recently gotten married or divorced?

Creating an estate plan with the right attorney is a worthwhile investment for the future.

Throughout the past year, there have been many discussions and numerous proposals released for review regarding potentially changing current Federal tax law. Recently, the House Ways and Means committee submitted a proposal that clarifies some of the content. The proposal submitted by the committee is still subject to change at any time but it gives us some indication as to what the final tax law may look like.

A new tax law means you might need to make some changes to your current estate planning documents. Some of the provisions put forth in the new proposal are set to take effect upon enactment should the bill be passed into law.

What can you do? Take action – review your situation and sit down with our attorneys to determine how these new laws may affect you and how you can stay protected for your future.

Here a few key points most relevant to estate planning:

1. The new proposal includes a reduction to the federal estate tax exemption from $11.7M back down to the 2010 level of $5M per individual, adjusted to inflation
2. With the new plan, any transfers to a “Grantor” trust that are designed to exclude assets from an estate at the time of death for tax purposes, would be included in the grantor’s taxable estate. Additionally, any “sales” to a grantor trust would trigger a capital gain that may have a dramatic effect on traditional estate tax freezing techniques.
3. Also included is a provision that would remove valuation discounts for transfer tax purposes for ‘passive assets’ held for the production of income and not used in any active trades or businesses.
4. Mega IRAs in the area of $10M and over will have limitations on Roth Conversions as well as required minimum distributions.
5. The highest federal income tax bracket will go back to 39.6% and there will be an increase of 25% for capital gain rates for high income individuals.

Missing from this bill, however, is the current administration’s proposal to get rid of step-up in basis on death and the realization of a capital gains tax on an inherited property.

We have already seen discussions for further clarification of the committee’s proposal. Though all of the provisions are subject to change, we have a better understanding of the updates we might see in the upcoming tax law.

These changes will affect you sooner than you think. In order to take advantage of the techniques used for estate planning over the past several decades, now is the time to call and schedule a consultation.

It could be only a matter of weeks before the new bill is passed. Act now to make sure these changes don’t affect your estate.

Already have an estate plan? Schedule a meeting with our attorneys to review your documents and make sure everything is up to date and in order. Don’t have an estate plan? Schedule a meeting with one of our attorneys to get your estate planning started.

Most people have the best of intentions; that includes establishing an estate plan. People seem to never have time to address this issue. The present situation has most of us working from home and, as a result, having more available time. Why not use the opportunity to set up a plan to protect your family, preserve your assets and ease your mind about the future?

During this unprecedented health crisis, it is essential to have an estate plan in place. Having a valid power of attorney, health care proxy, and a last will and testament ensures that you and your loved ones will be well prepared. A thorough estate plan may also include a trust to provide further protection.

If you have already planned your estate, it is important to review your plan documents to be certain they express your wishes and address your needs, as these may change over time, and conform to the current law.

Until recently, to prepare an estate plan, an attorney and client would meet in the traditional manner, face-to-face, for an initial consultation and again later for the document signing. Given the current circumstances, this is not advisable.

By executive order, New York has allowed estate planning attorneys to facilitate remote signing of all estate planning documents. Utilizing the latest technologies, consultations are being legally conducted by video conference, allowing us to virtually meet with our clients in their homes. Further, all estate planning documents, including powers of attorney, health care proxies, living wills, last wills and testaments, deeds, and trusts can be validly signed, witnessed, and notarized by video conference; all without ever meeting in person.

It is important to act now to ensure your important documents are in place to protect your family now and in the future. Don’t delay in ensuring your estate plan is up-to-date. The estate planning attorneys at Davidov Law Group are experienced in navigating the technical requirements of the remote signing of estate planning documents so you can be confident in their use. Call us at 516-587-5555 or click here to schedule your consultation.

Beginning October 1, 2020, New York will impose a new requirement regarding community Medicaid, those Medicaid services provided in an individual’s home such as homecare. The state will start to use a new “look-back” period of 30 months or 2 ½ years of an individual’s financial records. This means a person applying for community Medicaid must submit financial information for the 2 ½ years prior to their application. The current law has no such condition or a look-back period.

Under the present law, if you were to apply for community Medicaid today, your application would show your finances only as of today, like a snapshot of your present situation. There would be no examination by the Medicaid agency of any transfers of assets made up until that point. If you met the requirements for Medicaid, your application would be approved for those services.

Under the new law, your application must be submitted with your financial records of the preceding 30 months. If you were found to have gifted your assets or placed them into a trust, for example, to protect that property during the last 30 months prior to the filing of the Medicaid application, the value of those assets would start a penalty period which would delay coverage by Medicaid.

The need to protect your assets has never been greater. The new law does not go into effect until the fall, so there is still time to plan. Any arrangement to qualify for Medicaid services at home and retain your assets by placing them in a trust, should be made soon. Without it, under new law, long term health care services could cost you $60,000 per year or more. Planning now will bring you peace of mind.

For those who presently need home health care, it is especially important to apply before October when the “look-back” period will be implemented. It could mean the difference between qualifying immediately for Medicaid benefits or having to wait up to 2 ½ years.

If you have already established a Medicaid asset protection trust, a review of the trust and the assets it contains is in order. Any assets not in the trust are not protected.

You may already have a revocable living trust. A revocable trust does not offer protection from long term care expenses and may need to be restated to address long term care asset protection.

We can review your specific situation to determine if an asset protection trust is needed, or if your existing estate plan needs to be updated. While the State has issued directives for social distancing, we are making appointments available to new and old clients remotely by phone or video conference. Since New York allows for estate planning documents to be signed remotely, we can get this prepared and completed remotely.

To set up a consultation with one of our attorneys, please call us at 516-587-5555 or schedule a meeting through our website at www.davidovlaw.com.