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Many people are surprised to hear that a person’s debt does not simply go away upon his death. When someone passes away, his debts are typically owed by, and paid out of, his estate.

I read Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own at an impressionable age. It was the 1980s, and women were grappling with issues of economic independence and freedom. I came away from that book believing, perhaps too simply, that economic independence was the key to every other kind of independence.

Business owners spend years building their companies, but too often they fail to plan for what happens when they are no longer able to run the business.

Retirement accounts come in different shapes and sizes. Estate planning for retirement accounts varies depending on the type of account. The most common kinds of retirement accounts include 401(k)s, pensions, and Individual Retirement Accounts, or “IRAs.” 

The "Pied-à-Terre Tax" is also known as the "Non-Primary Residence Property Surcharge." It is an annual tax imposed by the New York City Department of Finance on secondary residential properties, or a property within the five boroughs which is not a primary residence.

My husband Michael is not here, but forty-six years ago today we were married and began a life together. That life happened. That love happened. It was not always easy.

Ideally, estate planning is completed before a health crisis or dementia diagnosis. But a diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean it's too late. If a loved one has recently been diagnosed, it's important to find out what can still be done before those options become more limited.

In New York, a proposed fiduciary may apply for Preliminary Letters, which allow them preliminary authority to make decisions on behalf of an estate. 

When a recipient of homecare or nursing home Medicaid passes away, a state agency will send a letter to the recipient’s estate with the value of the services it rendered for the last ten years preceding the recipient’s death. However, recovery only applies to recipients who were aged fifty-five or older.

Many families assume that if an older adult's monthly income exceeds Medicaid's income limit, they are automatically disqualified from receiving Medicaid home care. In reality, that is one of the most common misconceptions in elder law.