Rodge Cohen: Dodd-Frank Fixes "Too Big To Fail"
A comprehensive estate plan provides how your estate is handled in the event of death or incapacitation. It also establishes your desires for how medical and life-sustaining treatments are communicated and administered. ...more
As your child approaches their milestone 18th birthday, it's crucial to understand the changes and responsibilities that accompany reaching the age of majority in the eyes of the law. This moment marks their transition into...more
Reaching the age of majority is a critical milestone in a young person’s life. It brings with it important changes and new freedoms. The newly minted adult may now vote, enter into contracts, join the military and marry....more
Our attorneys field questions every day about the nuanced estate planning issues that arise due to a client's unique circumstances, but there also are many fundamental estate planning considerations that apply "across the...more
A sensitive and often complicated conversation that individuals have with their aging parents relates to protective measures in the event of the parents’ incapacity. A power of attorney and the variations of such concerning...more
Small but significant changes are coming soon to the New York State statutory power of attorney form effective June 13, 2021. By legislation passed on December 13, 2020 and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, all powers...more
Estate planning experts usually cite the need to include advance health care directives in a comprehensive estate plan. But there’s often disagreement about the legal names given to those directives and their optimal use,...more
Any complete estate plan should include a medical directive. This term may encompass a number of different documents, including a health care proxy, a durable power of attorney for health care, a living will, and medical...more
Facing mortality does not come easily to anyone, but particularly not for college-aged students or young adults. As a result, many young people, to the extent they think about estate planning at all, mistakenly assume that...more
Many people think they don’t need “estate planning” because they don’t have enough assets to generate an estate tax; however, there are four basic estate planning documents everyone should have regardless of net worth. 1....more
By unexpectedly raising apprehensions regarding mortality and quality of life issues that many Individuals were not addressing prior to the pandemic, the Covid-19 pandemic is provoking individuals to think about their...more
Naturally, COVID-19 has led to a large degree of uncertainty, which emphasizes the importance of having your estate plan in place – or establishing one if you have not done so already. ...more
Believe it or not, as of your child's 18th birthday, your child is an "adult" in the eyes of the law. With colleges and many businesses shut down due to COVID-19, your adult child might be living back under your roof and...more
In uncertain times like these, COVID-19 reminds us to be prepared for the unexpected. Do you have an estate plan in place? If so, now is the time to review those plans and make any necessary updates. If not, consider...more
We hope this Alert finds you and your family healthy and safe during these unsettling times. COVID-19 has interrupted all of our normal routines but has provided many of our clients with a unique opportunity to take a...more
Friends and colleagues- My thoughts are with you during these uncertain times. First and foremost, I want you and your family to stay safe and healthy. Social distancing is a small price to pay for guarding the wellness...more
No one likes to think about being incapacitated, but the threat is real. This raises some troubling thoughts about how one’s personal and financial affairs will be handled in the event they’re incapacitated. This article...more
Advance directives are written documents that tell your doctors what kind of treatment you'd like to have if you become unable to make medical decisions (e.g., if you're in surgery, or in a coma, or you have a progressive...more
We’re coming to the end of the school year and into the days of summer and no one wants to think about anything too “heavy”. It is, however, important to have advance directives in place. All adults (including kids over 18...more
The best-laid plans can go astray. For estate planning purposes, the main complication as a person grows older may be the condition of his or her health. This brief article details two health care directives and explains why...more
National Health Care Decisions Day, for its 10th anniversary, is being “celebrated” all week – April 16 – 22, 2017. The event focuses on making health care planning, including healthcare proxies and advance directives/ living...more
What are the “ABC’s” of estate planning? Over the next few weeks we will discuss some simple but important concepts as we discuss the “ABCs” of estate planning. Today we will discuss “A” and “B”....more
Most estate plans focus on what happens after death — but a plan is incomplete if arrangements haven’t been made in the event of mental incapacity. If the plan doesn’t specify how these decisions will be made, and by whom, a...more
With the introduction of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Act), the world of estate planning has been injected with a dose of certainty after more than 10 years of uncertainty as to federal estate, gift and...more