Estate planning is a key component of ensuring that your wealth passes to your loved ones with minimal interference from the IRS. There are as many approaches to estate planning as there estates, but in general, planning for your estate using wills and trusts gives you control over your assets and wealth while you’re alive, […]
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When a person dies in Buffalo without a will, they are said to be “intestate,” and their property will be allocated according to New York’s laws of succession. A spouse will be the legal successor, which is shared with children if the marriage yielded children. Without a spouse or children, any surviving parents are the […]
Medicaid has stringent rules for eligibility in Buffalo, and individuals and couples are well advised to begin Medicaid planning well in advance of any need they may have. Regardless of when you begin the process though, some assets are protected, or exempt, when it comes to determining net worth and income for the purposes of […]
While jointly owning all assets and wealth insures that things stay within the couple should one of you pass away, joint ownership is no substitute for a will or prudent financial planning. For instance, if both of you should die at the same time without a will, you have no control in how your assets […]
No, under the laws of the State of New York, a handwritten will (known as a “holographic” will) is only acceptable under very limited circumstances, such as military personnel or support staff who have been deployed during wartime, or mariners at sea. In both of these cases, holographic wills expire after a set period of […]
As with almost everything related to Medicaid planning, how your retirement accounts are handled will depend on several factors. If the account is currently paying out, then you may only be responsible for reporting it as income. On the other hand, some accounts may be tallied in total, so an account valued at $100,000 may […]
Medicaid’s “look back period” in Buffalo is a 60-month (five year) window during which financial transactions will be scrutinized in order to determine a person’s eligibility for benefits like nursing home care. Medicaid has strict income and asset requirements, and financial transfers made during the look back period may be considered as part of your […]
An Irrevocable Trust, also known as an income-only trust, is a financial instrument that can be established to “own” your assets, paying you income each month. For the purposes of Medicaid planning, an IT can be used to ensure that your assets are protected from nursing homes, should you require care. By adjusting the amount […]
Powers of attorney are agreements where a person is empowered to act on your behalf in matters of your estate, insurance, taxation, and other specified tasks. There are two types of power of attorney agreements, immediate powers of attorney and springing powers of attorney. With an immediate power of attorney, you give another person, often […]