When you begin estate planning, the professional with which you work will likely ask you to establish a financial power of attorney. A financial POA is a document that grants an individual the power to make financial decisions on your behalf in specific situations. Though financial powers of attorney must act in the principal’s best interests, they have considerable power.…
Relying on a nursing home facility in New York to care for your aging loved one can alleviate some of your caretaking responsibilities. However, you have to trust that caretakers will provide humane treatment. Abuse at the hands of caregivers can damage self-esteem, jeopardize physical safety and lower life expectancy. Knowing how to protect your family member from abuse can…
Stepparents in New York state do not have automatic parental rights to their stepchildren. Unfortunately, divorcing your spouse can lead to a painful end to the close bond you share with your stepchild. Fortunately, adoption is a way to ensure you remain in your stepchild’s life. What are the requirements for stepparent adoptions? Before pursuing adoption you must be legally…
Divorce is never a one-size-fits-all process. You might undergo a very different set of procedures depending on if your divorce is collaborative, contested or uncontested. Starting in March of 2022, the New York courts allow filing through the Uncontested Joint Divorce Pilot Project in certain counties. As this program expands to other New York counties, you can make the most…
Divorce may separate you from your spouse, but it does not have to cause a division between you and your children. Every family has a different approach to co-parenting. The most crucial aspect of any parenting plan, however, is to ensure the safety and stability of your children. Birdnesting, explains Psychology Today, is a co-parenting method that allows your children…
As a parent, keeping your child safe and secure is one of the top priorities. Naming a guardian to care for the child in the event both parents die should be part of every parent’s estate planning process. Considering someone else to care for your child is never easy, and many parents put this decision off. However, if you do…
Splitting from your spouse could completely change the dynamic of your family and disrupt the routine your children rely on. It could leave them feeling confused, angry and uncertain. Given the gravity of the situation, it is not unlikely that your children will react. Knowing some of the challenges they could face along the way may help you prepare to…
When you live in New York and have a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability, you may question that individual’s ability to make sound decisions regarding his or her own medical care, financial situation and other personal affairs. In some cases, you may question whether your loved one might need something called Article 17-A guardianship. This is a…
Many experts recommend starting your estate plan early in life, typically around the time you start thinking about marriage or children. This makes it easy to update your estate documents over the years as your asset profile changes and develops. You might therefore believe that starting an estate plan later in life is too big a job to handle. It…
Divorce is not an easy solution for relationship issues. Divorce is expensive, complicated and life-changing, not only for the couple involved but for friends and family as well. For this reason, many people hold out as long as they can before resorting to divorce. What drives the divorce decision? Deciding to divorce can feel like a slow burn; the decision…
Divorce can be a scary time because you do not know what you might lose because of the process. Many kinds of assets can fall under property division. You may have heard that retirement accounts are also eligible for division. Does this mean your Social Security is at risk? You deserve to have peace of mind concerning assets that you…
As people in New York become more involved in the estate planning process, they tend to quickly realize that a number of opportunities exist for them to preserve assets for future generations. Most, however, seem to accept that they cannot avoid one expense: estate taxes. This assumption may have a degree of merit; local residents face the potential of an…
