Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid are means-tested benefits, so eligibility depends on how much a person owns and earns. When a person with a disability receives money directly, through an inheritance, a gift, or a lawsuit settlement, it can count against those limits and put existing benefits at risk. A special needs trust prevents that […]
An illness, an injury, or the effects of age can leave you unable to make your own decisions for a period of time, whether briefly or permanently. A set of documents, usually grouped under the term advanced directives, exists to handle exactly that situation. Fisher Stone prepares three of them for New York clients: a […]
A living will is a written statement of the medical treatment you do and do not want if you become seriously ill or injured and cannot speak for yourself. It typically addresses life-sustaining treatment such as resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, dialysis, and artificial nutrition and hydration, along with your wishes for pain relief and comfort care. […]
A health care proxy is the document New York law provides for naming someone else, called your health care agent, to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make or communicate them yourself. It is New York’s statutory instrument for this purpose, the document the state has specifically enacted a law […]
Medicaid planning is the process of arranging assets and income in advance, and lawfully, so that long-term care, whether at home or in a nursing home, can be paid for without a family spending down everything it owns first. It is one part of a broader estate plan, and for many New York families it […]
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold and manage your assets. You, as the grantor, transfer assets into the trust and typically serve as your own trustee while you are alive and able to manage your affairs, naming a successor trustee to take over if you become […]
An irrevocable trust is a trust that its creator, known as the grantor, generally cannot change or cancel once it has been signed and funded. Setting one up means giving up ownership and control over the assets placed inside it. In exchange, those assets may qualify for protections that are not available to assets the […]
A will is the document that says who receives your property, who raises your children if you cannot, and who is in charge of carrying that out. Without one, New York law makes those decisions for you, using a fixed formula that does not ask what you actually wanted. Fisher Stone prepares wills for individuals […]
A trust is one of the most flexible tools in estate planning, and one of the most misunderstood. Many people assume trusts are only for the very wealthy, or picture something so complicated it is not worth the trouble. In practice, a trust is a straightforward legal arrangement that can keep your affairs private, avoid […]
A power of attorney and a health care proxy answer a question most people would rather not think about: who handles things if you cannot handle them yourself for a while. An illness, an accident, or the effects of aging can leave you unable to manage your finances or make medical decisions, even temporarily. Without […]
