New York City

Published on: December 19, 2012

Here is Why You Should Have a Living Will

by Stephen Bilkis

No one really wants to think about what is going to happen when they die. However, it is necessary to plan for this. There are several documents that should be part of your estate plan. The first is the will. This document provides information about what you wish to happen to your estate upon your death. An estate attorney can help you prepare a will that will meet the necessary requirements of the law.

Another document that should be part of your estate plan is an Advanced Health Care Directive (AHCD). The AHCD is a document that is written to express your wishes in regard to your health care needs should you become terminally ill, brain dead, or permanently unconscious. This document may also be referred to by an estate lawyer as a living will.

No matter how wealthy you are or what type of assets that you have in your estate; every person should have a living will. Here are several reasons why you should have a living will and discuss the document with your estate attorney.

Published on: June 22, 2012

Court Dicusses Rule of Perpetuities

by Stephen Bilkis

Issues of estate probate can be difficult to figure out. The wishes that a decedent places into their will should be considered as indelible in most cases. However, sometimes a will contains requirements that are not only difficult, but unreasonable for the decedent to place on their progeny. In one case that was heard in New York, Kings County Probate on December 23, 2008, conditions of this type were discussed.

In the incident case, the decedent left several pieces of property to different relatives. However, she placed numerous prerequisites on the acceptance of the property. She required that her family home be left to her niece and must not be sold. She stated that in that residence, the family was required to provide a room for an indigent friend of hers for free for the remainder of his life. She also left a property that was her family business to three members of her family. Two of these family members were people who lived in other countries.

A New York Probate Lawyer said the decedent’s niece filed a motion in probate that the requirements of the will were in violation of the rule against perpetuities. The rule against perpetuities was established to support the public policy of free transfer of property without restrictions on the living by the dead. It prevents an owner of property from putting limits on the power of future owners of the property. The rule against the restraint on alienation of property prevents an owner from creating requirements in their wills that block the recipient from selling or giving away the property as they see fit. In order to determine if the requirement of the will is reasonable, it must have limitations set forth in the document in reference to its duration, price and purpose.

Published on: September 19, 2011

Lawsuit against the federal government seeks better treatment for Medicare patients, according to New York Estate Planning Lawyers

by Stephen Bilkis

Five of thousands of Medicare patients with “chronic” medical conditions not receiving coverage, together with five national organizations serving patients with multiple illnesses, filed a lawsuit recently in an effort to provide better care for these patients, said a NY Probate Lawyer. Patients in New York City and Long Island have been made aware of these conditions and the efforts to change things.

“It is illegal and unfair and an inappropriate application of the Medicare law,” said the founder and executive director of the Medicare Advocacy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that filed the lawsuit in Vermont federal court. “It is a major barrier to access to medical care and access to necessary care.”

The lawsuit basically says that coverage is being denied because of “an improvement standard,” which basically means that patients are denied treatment for occupational therapy and other physical remedies in situations that seem helpless. Examples include debilitating conditions like Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Published on: July 24, 2011

Thoughts on the New Estate Tax

by Stephen Bilkis

Every good New York Estate Planning Lawyer knows that estate panning is about preparing for the unthinkable. They frequently work with people for whom the prognosis is poor, stepping in to facilitate estate planning, long-term care planning, or to establish and administrate the estate after the death of a loved one.

Unfortunately, even the most seasoned New York Estate Planning Lawyer cannot plan for the unexpected when the source of confusion is the federal government, as has been the case in recent years. Estate planning lawyers rely heavily on the ability to map out the future for the people they work with- to meet with a client, and give them a picture of what the taxation structure will be like for the next five or ten years. Attorneys in Queens and New York are aware of any changes which take place in these areas.

The estate planning community has been in a state of flux over the past year. Because Congress failed to make a prompt decision regarding estate tax legislation, no estate taxes were imposed by the internal revenue service for tax year 2010. Nearing the end of the congressional year, congress passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which contains significant cuts and changes to the current estate tax laws.