Four Costly Mistakes When Naming Beneficiaries

Posted on June 29, 2020

When you start a new job, your boss makes you fill out forms about your retirement account and any employer-provided life insurance. You write someone’s name in the “beneficiary” box, then forget about it. Years go by, and you do not think about revisiting those beneficiary selections. In that time, you might have opened...

Have You Had ‘The Talk’ With Your Children?

Posted on June 26, 2020

For many parents, talking with their children about money is as stress-provoking as talking with them about the birds and the bees. The parents procrastinate, and many never get around to talking with their kids about how to manage their money. As estate planning lawyers, we see people who reach adulthood and do...

The Importance of Having Advanced Directives in Pandemic Times

Posted on June 25, 2020

Q: What are advanced directives and why they are important in a pandemic? The global pandemic has caused a sense of urgency in people without a comprehensive estate plan. Many people know what a last will & testament is, even though less than one in three people have had one drawn up according to a...

Dividing Your Estate Among Your Children Fairly

Posted on May 31, 2020

Q: Should I divide my estate equally among my children? At one point or another during childhood – and even in adulthood – parents with multiple children have likely been accused of favoring one child over the other(s). While this kind of sibling rivalry is natural and generally harmless, how parents distribute an inheritance to...

Should You Loan Money to a Family Member?

Posted on May 29, 2020

Lending money to a family member could be a beneficial thing, or it could harm your relationship with that person for many years. The odds are that the relationship will get damaged permanently. Some financial experts advise that you should only lend money to a relative if you are willing to sue that person....

Estate Administration Attorneys Help Executors Avoid Pitfalls

Posted on May 29, 2020

Q: Can an Executor pay beneficiaries whenever he or she wants? When sitting down with a New York or New Jersey estate planning attorney to make a comprehensive estate plan, you’ll be deciding many important things that impact not only the end of your life and the financial future of your loved ones, but...

Plan Early for Possible Nursing Home Care

Posted on May 21, 2020

Q: How do I plan for nursing home care? New York and New Jersey elder law attorneys help the elderly and their adult children plan for how their golden years will be spent. While most people hope to avoid ending up in a nursing home, that is not always possible. So comprehensive estate planning should...

What Is Medicaid Planning?

Posted on April 30, 2020

The cost of long-term care in the United States is steep and continues to climb year after year. There are few that can afford long term nursing home or assisted living care for very long and even fewer that can do so without having assets rapidly depleted down to nothing. Medicaid is a program...

The Impact of Coronavirus Layoffs on the NYC Rental Market

Posted on April 28, 2020

Q: Can tenants in New York City defer rent payments due to coronavirus layoffs? The global pandemic surrounding the coronavirus (or COVID-19) is expected to deal a large blow to the economy as staggering numbers of Americans are losing their jobs and countless businesses are threatened by losses caused by the prolonged government lockdowns. Heavily-populated...

Doing Your Estate Plan During the Pandemic

Posted on April 23, 2020

Q: Can I make a will during the coronavirus pandemic? No one likes to think about dying. That’s one of the popular reasons people postpone having their last will and testament drawn up, according to New York and New Jersey estate planning attorneys. A global pandemic can change all that. The coronavirus, also known as COVID–19,...