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Question: My mother has a trust that protects her house in case she needs long term care in a nursing home. Is this legal? Also, when she dies the trust is paid to another trust for me. Do I need this? I am only 53 and my mother is 75.

You can change your Will or Trust at any time, even in the middle of a divorce. However, once a divorce proceeding is commenced, both spouses are restricted from transferring assets or changing the designated beneficiary on retirement accounts.

For a traditional married couple, the estate planning has become simpler in many ways. Before the estate tax was increased on both the State and Federal level, we were fixated on saving estate taxes.

Question: I was named as an agent on my mother’s Durable Power of Attorney which included a “statutory gifts rider.” What is this document and what responsibilities will I have?

In order for a person to contest a last will and testament (“will”) in New York, he or she must have legal grounds. This means a reason based in the law that the will is invalid and should not be admitted to probate.

While the best elder law and estate plan is to have a valid health care proxy naming agents and a valid durable power of attorney naming an agent to make financial decisions, not everyone has done the proper planning. It is not uncommon for an elderly person to fall ill, be hospitalized and then need nursing home care with no time to plan.

It is imperative that every parent with young children create an estate plan that includes a trust for any minor children.

Question: The last time I was in the hospital I signed a DNR. Do I still need a health care proxy and living will?

If you are thinking of changing your Last Will and Testament, do not do so yourself. Although any adult with mental competency can change his or her last will and testament at any time, it cannot be amended by simply writing the changes onto the document.

You may have heard in the news that Joan Rivers and Lauren Bacall left a portion of their estates for the care of their beloved pets. Anyone who had an animal understands exactly what Rivers and Bacall were doing, ensuring that pets would be properly cared for after they were gone.