Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.East Aurora Lawyers | Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.2023-08-07T19:37:13Zhttps://www.ealawyers.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1402362/2023/05/cropped-Favicon-Icon-32x32.pngOn Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=477422021-09-20T15:42:52Z2021-09-20T15:42:52ZBeneficiaries and financial changes
Forbes discusses some of the points of your estate plan that you should review immediately, which often include the parts that go through the most change: i.e., matters regarding your beneficiaries and assets.
You will likely list beneficiaries in your will or trust if you have one, and they may also hold joint accounts or have a mention on any life insurance policy you may have. Any beneficiary will have something to gain after your death.
However, beneficiaries can change numerous times over your life. You want to update your plan any time you see life events like divorce, marriage, death in the family, estrangement of family members, birth, adoption and other major changes. Likewise, when it comes to finances, you want to review your plan any time you gain or lose significant assets. This can also include transferring one type of asset into another, such as selling property.
Updating your plan even without changes
Generally speaking, experts suggest you review your estate plan once every three to five years even if you undergo no changes in this time period. You should also review it any time you see changes in the aforementioned areas. This keeps your plan reflecting your current life situation and desires for how your loved ones handle things after your death.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=477392021-09-17T15:14:15Z2021-09-17T15:14:15ZSeveral factors make the Medicaid application complex
As many residents of East Aurora and eastern New York have discovered, the process of documenting your application without assistance is quite complicated. This is especially true given some of the required information:
You must document your citizenship, age and any infirmity
You must document 5 years of your financial accounts in some cases
You must document your eligibility based upon your income
You must file the application within an established window of time
Many people require Medicaid in order to subsist
One of the most amazing things about Medicaid in New York is how many people it helps. By 2020, almost 3,400,000 New Yorkers had enrolled in Medicaid. The benefits of Medicaid’s numerous plans are essential for the health, welfare and long-term housing of a great percentage of the state’s citizens who would have no other recourse if not for this program.
Considering the size of New York’s Medicaid operation, it is remarkable to reflect on how many needy families and individuals it benefits. It also helps explain why the process can be so difficult for an individual to navigate alone.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=477362021-09-13T17:55:00Z2021-09-13T17:55:00Zestate plan, you need to think about their guardianship and how you want to distribute your assets.
Using trusts or your retirement plan can solve estate planning issues.
Trusts
Trusts allow you to transfer assets to your children how you want. The trust not only reduces estate taxes but allows you to choose when your children receive the assets and how much at any given time they may receive. When using a trust, you assign a trustee to control and make decisions on your behalf and your beneficiaries.
If you have a special needs child, you may need to think about any arrangements he or she may need. For example, some children may need a guardian as adults and others may need to live in a care facility. Others may have independence but need help supplementing their income. Trusts and life insurance policies can ensure children have funds later.
Retirement plans
Your child cannot roll your retirement plan into his or her IRA. When someone dies, the beneficiaries take required distributions after death based on age. When you name a child as beneficiary, you can name the child individually or name all of your children. Likewise, you can name your children as contingent beneficiaries. For example, if you want your spouse to be beneficiary, but he or she passes away, the IRA transfers to your children.
You may need to consider minor and adult children when drafting your estate plan. For children, you need to prepare them for a future without you.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=477312021-08-31T18:31:34Z2021-08-31T18:30:52Zcar crashes from 2012 to 2014 was 136,913. If you want to stay out of the hospital, you should always drive defensively and be aware of the following risks.
Distracted driving
Distracted driving is probably the most common cause of car accidents. When a driver is not paying attention to the road, he or she is much more likely to get in a wreck. Texting, talking on the phone, reading, putting on makeup and fatigue are often the culprit of distracted driving.
Speeding
Drivers who exceed the speed limit are all too often the offender in motor vehicle accidents that result in injuries. Speeding makes it more difficult to stop or change direction when necessary to avoid hitting another car or obstacle.
Intoxication
Unfortunately, some drivers choose to operate their vehicles when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In these cases, the intoxicated driver is rarely the person who gets hurt. It is almost always the other drivers or passengers.
No one wants to think about getting in a motor vehicle accident, but it does happen. You can keep yourself and your passengers safe by being aware of the risks that accompany driving.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=477042021-08-30T15:26:18Z2021-08-30T15:26:18Zuse of x-rays, CT scans and MRI scans. Next, the physicians will decide what type of treatment fits the severity of your condition.
Treatment for spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis occurs when a vertebra slips. In an accident, a fracture of one or both wing-shaped parts of your vertebra can cause vertebral slipping. The main symptoms of spondylolisthesis include muscle tightness, lower back pain, pain radiating down your legs and muscle weakness.
For treatment, you may require physical therapy to strengthen your back and abdominal muscles. While pain medication and steroid injections may help, you may require a decompressive laminectomy if you have severe pain and disability.
In a decompressive laminectomy, surgeons widen your spinal canal to provide room for nerves. Then, the surgeon does a spinal fusion to stabilize your spine. You may require an implanted device to permit more movement.
Treatment for cervical radiculopathy
Cervical radiculopathy occurs if you suffer injuries that put pressure on your nerve roots. Often a ruptured disc will compress the nerve root and lead to chronic pain.
You may experience muscle weakness, numbness and pain through your chest, shoulder, arm and neck. To treat the pain, physicians may treat you with pain medication and physical therapy. In some cases, you may have to orally take steroids or have injections into the space around your spinal cord. If you suffer from motor weakness, you may need surgical intervention to relieve the pressure.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=476792021-08-10T17:27:38Z2021-08-10T17:27:38Ztypes of trusts. However, all trusts are either revocable or irrevocable.
Revocable vs. irrevocable
A revocable trust is one that you can change after you create it. You may hear it called a living trust because as long as you are alive, you can alter the terms. Once you die, it becomes locked and will distribute assets however you had it set up at that time.
An irrevocable trust is one you cannot change after you create it. There is the ability to make limited changes with the approval of the beneficiaries of the trust, but this can be difficult to do.
In addition, with a revocable trust, you own the assets until you die. With an irrevocable trust, the ownership transfer to the trust as soon as you create it.
Types of trusts
One of the best things about trusts, whether revocable or irrevocable, is you can create them any way you want. You can choose the details and the requirements of the trust. You can shape it to be whatever you want.
For example, you can create a trust that an heir can only use for a specific purpose, such as education, or that will only disburse according to a schedule you set, such as giving half the money at the heir’s 30th birthday and the other half at the 40th birthday.
You can also create trusts for pets that ensure they receive proper care after your death. You can make a trust for charitable giving or for the care of a child with special needs.
Trusts allow you to have more control over what happens with the assets you worked so hard to get.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=476762021-07-27T19:18:12Z2021-07-27T19:18:12ZWhy SUVs are more dangerous for pedestrians
SUVs present more of a danger to pedestrians than traditional sedans mainly because of their size and front profiles. Sedans have low front profiles, so when sedans hit pedestrians, they may do the most damage to the pedestrian’s legs. SUVs have much higher front profiles. So, when SUVs hit pedestrians, they are more likely to result in damage to the upper body of the pedestrian, where they may cause harm to internal organs.
Why speed matters
The speed at which a car or SUV travels also determines how much of a danger it is to a pedestrian. When sedans and SUVs strike pedestrians while traveling at or above 19 mph, pedestrians struck by SUVs are far more likely to suffer serious injuries than those struck by sedans. Similarly, when sedans and SUVs travel at 40 mph and hit pedestrians, pedestrians struck by the SUVs die in 100% of instances. Pedestrians struck by sedans traveling at 40 mph died in 66% of cases.
So far, auto makers’ efforts to change their body styles and make them less dangerous for pedestrians have yet to make a measurable impact.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=476682021-07-16T23:14:39Z2021-07-16T23:14:39ZTypes of back pain
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke looks at the impact back pain can have on your life. People often associate the term "back pain" with all manners of injury, ranging from mild to severe. Some do not realize just how crippling back pain sometimes is for many sufferers.
The two primary types of back pain last for a long-term duration of months or years, or a short-term duration of days, weeks or months. Short-term back pain often resolves on its own, but sometimes lingers and progresses to severe long-lasting pain.
The impact on your work
Back pain alters the way you can do any sort of task, thanks to the fact that you rely on your back and spine for everything from sitting to running to laying down. You may find your range of motion severely limited to the point that you can no longer accomplish the physical requirements of your job. The pain sometimes gets bad enough that even pain medication cannot dampen it fully.
Some workers even end up addicted to pain medication due to the sheer amount they must rely on, and these are just a few of the problems you may face. It is also why many back injury sufferers end up seeking compensation.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=476652021-07-06T20:25:33Z2021-07-06T20:25:33ZMedicaid planning, according to the American Council on Aging.
Specifics
Medicaid planning involves ensuring your assets and income will be below the required limit so you qualify for the program when you need it. Planning is essential because you cannot simply get rid of assets to meet the limit.
There is a look-back period in which Medicaid can look back at assets you previously owned and count those towards your limit. If you do not plan, you may end up selling assets and still be over the income limits.
Other details
Medicaid planning also may involve figuring out the documents and other information you will need to apply to the program, along with getting help actually filing the application. To help handle your assets, planning may involve setting up trusts and other financial accounts.
Importance
Medicaid planning not only helps you to ensure you can afford your long-term care needs. It also helps to ensure you protect your family and ensure you can keep important assets within your family.]]>On Behalf of Hall Ricketts Gurbacki, P.C.https://www.ealawyers.com/?p=476622021-06-30T15:21:52Z2021-06-30T15:21:52Zvital document it is far from the only one you need to prepare.
If you have minor children, ensuring their care after your death in the event that you pass before they reach the age of majority requires extra thought. You have more considerations since they do not have the same wisdom and avenues as adults.
1. A trust
A trust is an option that protects your children's inheritance from scheming individuals. It also prevents said offspring from blowing through it from inexperience since you may set age and other kinds of limits and pick a trustee to manage any money and property you leave behind. If you want funds directed solely towards a specific use such as college, a trust also helps ensure the carrying out of your wishes. If your progeny have disabilities, a special needs trust allows you to leave them assets without disqualifying them from important government aid like Medicaid.
2. A guardian
You may also need to assign a guardian. This individual cares for your children if you depart while they are underage, preventing them from ending up in the foster system or with others you may not trust.
3. A power of attorney
Minor children lack both the experience and the legal right to manage your medical and financial affairs if you and your spouse become incapacitated and unable to handle them yourselves. It is imperative to appoint a person to make decisions in case you and your partner suffer an incident that leaves you both incapable of doing so for a period.
Planning ahead helps you protect your children even after you are gone.]]>