Learn the Ins and Outs of Being an Executor or Trustee

Taking on the job of executor or trustee is not a role to be taken lightly. If you ignore certain problem signs, you could be setting yourself up for ...   more »

Earlier this year (March 13, 2008), the Senate voted on four amendments to the estate tax that were filed as a part of the budget resolution debate. As background, the budget resolution gives Congress non-binding fiscal guidelines for the upcoming ...   more »

Recently, Medicaid announced that they are raising the Resource Level to $13,050 for a single individual and to $19,200 for a couple on Medicaid.

The increase of the Medicaid resource allowance from $4,350 to $13,050 for a single individual (and ...   more »

Deduction for Dependents. The most common, and often the most important, income tax benefit is the deduction provided for an individual who is dependent on you for support. Of course minor children, whether suffering from a disability or not, provide ...   more »

Governor David A. Paterson announced the signing of legislation to help
curb predatory attacks on New York's elderly. Governor Paterson was joined for the bill signing at St. Margaret’s House on Fulton Street by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and several ...   more »

Two U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would end the practice of nursing home residents signing away their right to a trial before any actual dispute with the facility has arisen.
Nursing homes are increasingly asking -- or forcing -- ...   more »

Widows and widowers who don't want to sell their house right away will get a tax break under a new law. The law gives surviving spouses two years to sell their house and receive the full $500,000 capital gains exclusion ...   more »

Introduction: Families with special needs children must exercise extra care in making their estate plans. This is true whether their special needs child is still a minor or now an adult, and particularly so when the child is – or ...   more »

A durable power of attorney is one of the most important estate planning documents you can have. It allows you to appoint someone to act for you (your "agent" or "attorney-in-fact") if you become incapacitated. Without a power of attorney, ...   more »

Paul’s son Mark has cerebral palsy. When Mark turned 18 he was approved for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments and Medicaid, with Paul as the representative payee for his son’s benefits. When Paul applied for Mark’s SSI he disclosed to ...   more »

Released by the Office of Health Insurance Programs,
Division of Coverage and Enrollment

Due to a 2.3% cost of living adjustment for SSA payments effective January 1, 2008, several figures used in determining Medicaid eligibility must be updated. Effective January ...   more »

The same-sex partner of a man who died following an on-the-job accident is not entitled to the Workers’ Compensation death benefit a surviving spouse in a traditional marriage would receive, a divided upstate appeals panel ruled yesterday.

The civil union ...   more »

Billionaire Warren Buffett urged Congress to preserve the estate tax, saying that plans to repeal it would benefit a handful of the richest American families and turn the country into a "plutocracy."
Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and the ...   more »

On September 24, 2007, the New York Office of Health Insurance Programs issued a directive stating that the penalty period for gifts will no longer apply to applicants for the Lombardi program. "Effective immediately: if an individual applies for Medicaid ...   more »

Genworth Financial, Inc. convened a national symposium of noted experts from the healthcare industry, seniors organizations, government and academia on Capitol Hill to discuss the future of long term care in America. It also released the results of a new ...   more »