Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Guardianship For Elderly Relatives In New York State
Watching your loved ones age and become elderly can cause anxiety for everyone, especially if they are becoming less able to take care of themselves. It can feel as though there is no right answer for this problem, or at least no answer that allows them autonomy in their lives. However, in the right… Read More »
Proper Planning To Avoid A Health Crisis
It is too common for an elderly person to not have a proper estate plan in place. The worst-case scenario for an elderly person is finding out that they need nursing home care immediately – or very soon – and then realizing that they are not eligible for Medicaid to fund that care. Given… Read More »
What Is A New York Healthcare Proxy?
When a person is not in a place to make their own healthcare decisions, the law allows them to designate a person to make those decisions instead. New York and all other U.S. states allow a person to name a healthcare proxy, and invest them with the power to make those difficult choices. However,… Read More »
Will A Supplemental Needs Trust Affect Medicaid Eligibility?
A trust, in Westchester County, is a legal instrument that grants control over certain assets belonging to one person to a trustee, to use or distribute according to the owner’s instructions. A supplemental or “special” needs trust (SNT) is one that is created for the benefit of a disabled person, while being structured in… Read More »
New York’s Medicaid Look-Back Period
Most people in Westchester County and Putnam County tend to think that they will not qualify for Medicaid because they have too many assets; Medicaid is usually seen as a program for lower-income households. In reality, when a person comes to a point where they need long-term care, they will almost certainly have to… Read More »
Is It Legal To Disinherit A Family Member?
No one likes to contemplate leaving a family member out of their estate planning if there is an alternative. Sadly, sometimes there is not. There are several reasons why a person may want to disinherit someone who was once a potential heir. The majority of those reasons will not be against the law in… Read More »
Having The Difficult Conversations About Asset Protection
No matter what type of relationship a person has with their parents, facing their aging and eventual passing can be difficult for all the parties involved. However, having those conversations about asset protection and estate planning are crucial – after all, it is a good idea to try and protect the assets they worked… Read More »
Explaining New York Estate Taxes
For many people, one of the most disagreeable elements of handling an elderly loved one’s affairs is the thought of dealing with estate taxes, particularly in dealing with inheritance. While New York does not have an inheritance tax, it does have estate taxes, levied upon a person’s estate once they have passed away. It… Read More »
How Easy Is It To Change Your New York Will?
As one moves into the part of life where estate planning becomes more important, making a will becomes one of the most crucial things many can do. A will is one of the foundational documents of estate planning. Despite this fact, many older people do not want to make one for fear that they… Read More »
“Spending Down” To Qualify For Medicaid Legally
When an elderly person is at a point in their life where they may require nursing home care, they may simply have too many assets in their possession to qualify for Medicaid. However, they cannot simply give assets away all at once in order to meet the Medicaid means test – doing so is… Read More »