New York has revolutionized its medicaid laws and we all have to go back to school! Lawyers and financial planners have always operated upon the assumption that only testamentary assets are subject to claims by medicaid. That is no longer true. The medicaid law revisions now  go beyond the probate and intestate estate to include “any other property in which the individual has any legal title or interest at the time of death, including jointly held property, retained life estates, and interests in trusts, to the extent of such interests.” . No longer can assets be easily shielded by a trust, or by deeding the house to a family member and reserving a life estate. Joint bank accounts appear to be fair game for recovery efforts by the state.Continue Reading New Medicaid Regulations Create Confusion And Require Revision Of Financial Plans In New York

The interrorem clause –also known as the "no contest" clause –is not favored in many states. It is not enforceable everywhere. But in New York, it is an often- utilized poison pill used to discourage disgruntled relatives from challenging grandpa’s Will. Continue Reading A Humerous Twist On An Interrorem Clause (With A Not So Humerous Downside)

Writing for the Appellate Division’s Third Department, Justice E. Michael Kavanagh has ruled that the Albany County Surrogate erroneously approved an attorney’s fee of $58,000 in the Estate of Iris H. Benware reported at  927N.Y.S.2d 173. Although the Surrogate has found the fee to be reasonable, the Appellate Division noted that the amount exceeded the amount agreed to by the parties in the retainer agreement. The Court further observed that there were "no extenuating circumstances in providing legal services to the estate"Continue Reading Appellate Court Rules That Legal Fee Is Excessive

For years, you have contributed to your IRA and your 401k with the intention of reaping the benefits of these tax-deferred savings. In doing so, it is easy to lose sight of your designated beneficiaries who will inherit these funds should you not live long enough to spend them. Here is an article in the Metro West Daily News that provides important information so that you can keep these important keystones of both your retirement and your estate in order.Continue Reading Time To Review Your IRA And 401k Designations

The F.T.C.  has laid down some new restrictions on the bill collectors who often hound the families of deceased relatives soon after their deaths, according to this article on  CreditCards.com (an unlikely source for this lawblogger, but interesting nonetheless). It is important to keep in mind that there are not many reasons why one is required…

The complexities of New York City real estate rules and regulations found their way into a recent decision by the Appellate Division ,First Department  in In re Joy Trezza reported at 923 N.Y.S.2d 108. Here, the court upheld the decision of Surrogate Troy Weber which denied the turnover petition of  Francine Horowitz, a landlord attempting to gain possession of a coop apartment occupied by  the alleged common law spouse of the decedent.Continue Reading Surrogate Denies Landlord’s Turnover Proceeding

Today’s New York Law Journal  reports that Nassau County Surrogate Edward J McCarty has found an interesting solution to an interesting problem in the Will of Jean Santoro, 2011-363-36488(May3.Apparently, there were no affidavits given by the witnesses to Ms. Santoro’s will when she executed it 19 years ago. To make things worse, one witness had disappeared and the other had died. While the old common  law rule  permits the admission of a will to probate where it is an "ancient " document of more than 30 years, this will hardly qualifies as ancient. It even falls a year short under the federal rule which provides for 20 years.Continue Reading Surrogate Admits 19 Year Old Will To Probate Without Witness Affidavits –Sometimes You Can Bend The Rules (A Little)

The late and great comedian George Carlin had a hilarious routine about "stuff". He would expound upon the way in which we continue to accumulate possessions as we go through life and the problems of storing (sometimes you have to buy a bigger house) or traveling with an ever-expanding collection of "stuff". On that dark, dark day when one can no longer fog a mirror with one’s breath, it becomes necessary to make a final disposition of all of that "stuff". In a nutshell, that is what the probate process is basically about.Continue Reading A Dissertation On “Stuff” –The Probate Procedure Simplified