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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.

When a person passes away, no matter how much estate planning they accomplished, probate to some degree will be necessary to sort through their assets and interpret their will or trust. In most cases, somewhere in their estate plan, there is named an estate administrator. This person is now formally in charge of overseeing the management of the estate as it moves through probate.

For many estate administrators, they have no idea what their newfound duties entail, probably because they never knew they had been given the title in the first place. If you are in the same situation and scratching your head about what to do next, check out this list of some of the basic duties of an estate administrator.

1. Notify others: If you didn’t know you were going to be an estate administrator for your loved one’s estate, probably no one else did, either. You will need to notify interested parties that you are now the administrator, as appointed by the estate and confirmed by the court. Heirs, beneficiaries, family members, and creditors should be told first and foremost.
2. Arrange the funeral: It is not uncommon for an estate administrator to be tasked with arranging the funeral and burial of the decedent. Sometimes close family members are willing to assume this duty, so it might be worth checking with them if you feel your plate is already full enough.
3. Catalogue assets: Before an estate can be distributed, you need to know what’s in it. The estate administrator has to collect and inventory all assets of the estate. Additionally, appraisals should be completed while the catalogue is created so the true value of items can also be known.
4. Repay debts: It might seem fairly harsh but creditors often get first dibs to estate assets before friends and family members do. An estate administrator has to identify all valid debts and sell off appropriate pieces of the estate to satisfy those debts as much as possible. If your loved one passed away with a considerable amount of debt, it could be likely that no one but creditors get anything.
5. Distribute inheritances: When the debts are paid and the estate is completely catalogue, beneficiaries can start collecting their inheritances. The estate administrator oversees this process to make certain no one is cheated by another, or that nothing is left in the end without an inheritor.

Your Fiduciary Duty & Legal Assistance

In addition to the aforementioned checklist of tasks, an estate administrator automatically has a fiduciary duty to the estate. In basic legal terms, the fiduciary duty is the administrator’s duty to always act with honesty and good intentions, and to always do what they can within reason to follow the estate plan as close as possible. Do you promise to do your best and be a good person? Perfect – you have accomplished your fiduciary duty.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by all of the duties of an estate administrator, know that there is no law that says you have to go through this on your own. You always have the option of hiring legal help, and it is recommended that you do so as soon as you know you’re an administrator. If you live in New York, contact our Nassau County estate planning attorneys from Davidov Law Group for all the assistance you need. We have more than 25 years of total legal experience we can put to use for you, providing the know-how and comfort you require.

If you are considering creating an estate plan or are already knee-deep in the estate planning process, you have likely heard of both a “living will” and a “living trust” as two essential documents that you should include in your comprehensive plan. Despite their similar names, these two very important legal tools are quite different from one another and serve different purposes.

A living will is not actually a will at all, but rather a legal document that allows you to provide doctors with medical instructions regarding the care you would like to receive in the event that an injury or illness should leave you incapacitated. It allows you to approve or deny certain types of medical treatments in advance, even if it means that you will die as a result. Living wills both supersede and work alongside a durable power of attorney for health care or a health-care proxy, which allow you to name another person to make medical decisions on your behalf.

Conversely, a living trust is a revocable trust that you create while you are still alive that is used to facilitate the smooth transfer of assets to your beneficiaries without the need for probate. Creating a living trust involves transferring your property to the trust, which will then “own” it. You then name yourself as the primary trustee and a person of your choice as a secondary trustee, allowing you to manage the property as you please during your lifetime. In the event of your incapacity or death, your successor trustee will automatically step in to continue to manage the property on your behalf or distribute it to your beneficiaries according to the terms of the trust.

Consult with a Nassau County Estate Planning Lawyer

While nobody wants to entertain the thought of their own death, it is an inevitability and must be properly planned for ahead of time. If you are unsure which documents you should include in your estate plan, contact the knowledgeable estate planning attorneys at Davidov Law Group. Having served clients throughout Nassau County, Queens County and the Surrounding Areas for more than 25 years, our team of advocates can help you prepare for life’s “what if” scenarios and allow you to continue forward with peace of mind.

Call (516) 806-4414 or schedule a personal consultation online today to review your legal options.

When a person passes away, their assets are ordinarily collected and distributed according to the terms of their will (or to their closest living relatives if no will is present) through a process known as probate. This process is notorious for being lengthy, costly, and confusing, especially in the event that a dispute should arise among beneficiaries. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do during your lifetime to ensure a smooth transfer of your assets at the time of your death and save your loved ones from the hassle and expense of probate.

The following options can all be used to eliminate the need for probate in New York:

• Living trusts: New York allows individuals to transfer ownership of nearly any asset they own to a trustee upon their death through an estate planning tool known as a “living trust.” Real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and other assets that are listed in a trust document can be transferred to a trust which you control during your lifetime. At the time of your death, a named successor trustee will take over control of the trust and its assets and distribute it to beneficiaries without the need for probate involvement.
• Joint ownership: Any property that you own jointly with someone else which includes the “right of survivorship” will be directly transferred to the other owner at the time of your death. Forms of joint ownership allowed in New York include joint tenancy and tenancy by the entirety.
• Payable-on-death accounts: You can add a “payable-on-death” (POD) designation to any bank account which names a beneficiary to inherit the monies within at the time of your death. POD beneficiaries have no right to the funds in a POD account during your lifetime, and you may spend the funds as you please.
• Transfer-on-death registrations: Similar to POD accounts, securities, stocks, and bonds can be directly transferred to a beneficiary by registering them in transfer-on-death (TOD) form. At the time of your death, your beneficiary will deal directly with the brokerage company and automatically inherit the account. While some other states allow TOD to be used for the transfer of vehicles or real estate, New York restricts TOD registration to be used for brokerage accounts only.

Estate Planning Lawyer in Nassau County

Planning for the future is something everyone should do sooner rather than later. At Davidov Law Group, our Nassau County estate planning attorneys can help evaluate you situation and guide you towards a solution that best fits your needs. To find out more about how our knowledgeable advocates can help you find peace of mind, call our office at (516) 587-5555 or contact us online today.

Many people believe that having an estate plan means simply having a last will and testament or trust. While these documents are indeed important, they are only a few of the many tools necessary in creating a comprehensive estate plan. If you are looking to create an estate plan or are reviewing your existing plan, it is important you make sure to have the following documents.

1. Last Will and Testament: Possibly the most well-known estate planning tool, a person’s will is the backbone of their estate plan. With this document, you can provide instructions to your family on how you want your assets distributed upon your death, designate beneficiaries, and choose guardians for your minor children to care for them in your absence.
2. Living Trust: While a will designates who will receive your assets, it doesn’t make the transfer of these assets to them very smooth. In fact, when you pass away, your assets will be distributed to your beneficiaries through probate – a notoriously complicated and expensive process. Fortunately, a living trust can allow you to avoid probate and transfer real estate, savings accounts, mutual funds, and other investments to your beneficiaries with ease.
3. Durable Power of Attorney: A durable power of attorney is a legal document that gives another person the authority to act on your behalf in the event that you should become incapacitated. This person can be given the power to make financial and legal decisions when you cannot make them yourself. A durable power of attorney can also be given the power to make health decisions on your behalf, though many of these decisions can be made by yourself ahead of time in a living will.
4. Living Will: In the event that you should become unresponsive due to injury or illness, do you want to be kept alive on life support? A living will allows you to express your preferences ahead of time and give doctors instructions on how you want to be cared for in your final days.
5. Funeral Instructions: You can save your family a considerable burden and heartache by making your own funeral and burial arrangements ahead of time. Many states typically provide that a deceased person’s “next of kin” have the authority to make funeral and burial arrangements. If your next of kin is not the party that you would choose to arrange your funeral and burial, creating your own funeral arrangements can help to ensure that your wishes are honored.

Create Your Estate Plan with Davidov Law Group

At Davidov Law Group, our Nassau County estate planning lawyers have been helping individuals and families secure their futures for more than 25 years. If you are looking to create a legally sound estate plan, our highly-trained attorneys can provide the steadfast guidance you need to help you prepare for many of life’s “what if” scenarios.

To get started, call (516) 806-4414 or schedule a personal case review today.

People who are in their gray years will naturally and gradually lose the abilities to take care of themselves and manage their finances or estate. Rather than allow this process to slowly damage their wellbeing, it is important to establish a legal guardian ahead of time that will be tasked to control and care for their estate, as well as making important health related decisions for them. Sometimes called a conservator for a ward, a guardian fulfills a crucial role and can be assigned different responsibilities depending on the needs of their ward.

Some roles of a legal guardian can include:

• Allocating funds to pay monthly bills.
• Selecting medical processes to protect ward’s health.
• Ensuring their ward does not neglect their own health.
• Planning tax procedures for their ward.
• Completing monetary transactions for their ward.

Two Guardianship Roles & How to Get Them

In New York, there are two types of guardians: A-81 and 17-A guardianships. In an A-81 guardianship, the conservator “cares for” an elderly person who cannot care for themselves or their estate due to mental or physical debilitations. In a 17-A guardianship, the conservator is assigned to a special needs child near adulthood who will soon need to make difficult decisions but requires the help of their guardian.

In either situation, the responsibilities and how to gain them are similar. It often begins by asking the court through a petition to grant guardianship, citing why it is necessary. There are few restrictions to who can create a petition in New York but the court often favors close friends and family members when there is more than one petitioner. An evaluator will then look into the private life of the potential conservator, determining if they have the capability of representing their ward and that their guardianship is even necessary.

If the evaluator approves of the petitioner, a hearing will be set with the same court that accepted the petition. At this hearing, the petitioner will need to bring an argument as to why they are seeking guardianship of an individual and why it is necessary. Although this process has already been somewhat completed by the evaluator, it is important that the potential conservator be able to explain it back to the court. Depending on what the court hears, and if there are no official opposition papers filed against the petitioner, a decision will be rendered the same day.

Legal Help for Guardians in New York & Long Island

Sometimes the people who want to help others need help themselves. If you are seeking guardianship over a loved one but do not know where to begin, Davidov Law Group can be your guide. Our Nassau County guardianship attorneys can put 25+ years of experience to work for you, ensuring that both yourself and your ward are set for a comfortable and beneficial future. Contact us today for more information.

Mixing up Medicare and Medicaid is pretty simple to do, thanks to their incredibly similar names. Despite how frequently Medicare and Medicaid are switched around inadvertently in conversation, the two government-sponsored programs are not all that similar to one another at all. If you are thinking you need government assistance to afford your healthcare costs, knowing the differences and details between the two could save you major frustrations.

What is Medicare?

Using Social Security as a sort of catalogue, Medicare is a federal program that is available to anyone over 65 years of age; in some situations, it is available to younger people with severe disabilities. There is no income requirement to qualify for Medicare, making it a widely popular coverage option for people from all walks of life.

There are four parts to the overall Medicare program:

• A: Coverage to help pay for hospitalization
• B: Medical insurance coverage for miscellaneous medical expenses
• C: Additional insurance coverage for most services not covered in A or B
• D: Coverage to help pay for prescription drugs

Both A and B are funded by payroll taxes and Social Security income deductions – you have surely seen mention of this somewhere on your paychecks throughout your life – so all Medicare participants will be granted them. C and D, however, are optional and available only to people who choose to opt into them. Some costs related to C and D coverage will come out of the participants own pocket, often capped to 20% of total fee but it all varies depending on each circumstance and necessity.

What is Medicaid?

Medicaid is a program consisting of federal and state rules and regulations. Due to this division of responsibility and funding, a Medicaid program in one state will have slight or significant differences compared to that of another state. Overall, however, Medicaid was created to provide healthcare, medical, and nursing home care coverage, at least in part, to low income families and individuals. Thus, there are strict guidelines regarding how much a participant owns and makes in an average month.

Some of the services covered by the typical Medicaid program include:

• Hospitalization
• Lab tests and diagnosis procedures
• Nursing services
• Family planning
• General doctor services
• Clinical treatments

Medicaid is also dissimilar from Medicare in the way that it can provide long-term care coverage. It is rare to even find a health insurance company that offers this sort of coverage. Due to this unique offering, Medicaid and its 50 unique variations have become the number one source for long-term care funding in the country.

For more information regarding Medicaid, Medicare, and how elder law and estate planning can both be used to create a more comfortable future for yourself, contact Davidov Law Group. Our Nassau County estate planning attorneys have more been serving the people of New York and Long Island for more than 25 years. Schedule your personal consultation today to learn more.