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Baby girl building from toy blocksWhen a marriage breaks up and there are children involved, the ideal situation is when both parents cooperate for the benefit of their children.

This is especially true for parents of a special needs child.

The very best time to start planning for a child with special needs
 is at the beginning of the divorce process.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

In best-case scenarios, the divorce attorney collaborates with an experienced special needs planning attorney to map out a plan that will provide maximum resources for the child. Otherwise, parents could unintentionally cause their child to forfeit valuable benefits they are entitled to. Continue reading

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Complex formula

By Kathleen Michalak

“Live long and prosper” is a blessing made famous by the TV series Star Trek.

But living a long life can be a mixed blessing, when care needs increase, and finances decrease.

When assets are depleted, Medicaid is a safety net you want to look into. It often covers the cost of long-term care either in nursing homes or in the community. Continue reading

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By Lara Schneider-Bomzer

usamap-jpg-1417432-mHave you ever been on the phone with a friend living in another state and the topic of long term care health needs comes up? 

  • Your friend in New York tells you that she has a neighbor who immediately received Medicaid home care benefits after transferring all her assets out of her name. She says that her neighbor created no penalty period of ineligibility by doing this.

 

  • When you get off the phone, you think that you should speak with your daughter about transferring your assets since you could use some help paying for the home care that you need.  After all, Connecticut law must be the same as New York law, right? Continue reading

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AdobeStock_56261944-300x253
The worst estate planning mistake you can make is failing to have a plan.

The second worst mistake is assuming that if you have a plan, you’re done.

The truth is that regularly reviewing and updating your estate plan is an absolutely critical part of responsible estate planning. Defining your wishes about what happens to your money and property after you die is not, unfortunately, a set-it-and-forget-it task. Life changes can render various parts of your Will and other estate planning documents out of date, and that can lead to some serious consequences.

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Hands holding out a jar for donation. Money inside the jar.When medical tragedy strikes, family and friends may rally around an injured person. In the most serious instances – especially those that result in catastrophic injury or illness – the friend you were laughing with just yesterday may now be compromised for life.

And, if the injured party was the primary bread winner of the family, what happens now and how will the family be sustained? The exorbitant costs of long-term care become a reality, leaving questions for the family such as:

  • How will a mortgage payment be made?
  • How will health insurance be maintained?
  • How will the injured person cover basic necessities for his or her family?

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woman confused and uncertain about solving a problemModern law offers a variety of ways for individuals to manage, distribute, and protect their property, whether it be for their own benefit or for that of a loved one.  A well-known, and yet seemingly complex, mechanism for doing so is a trust. 

But what does this mean for you, the beneficiary? 

Do you think you are a beneficiary of a trust but have never been contacted by the trustee?  

Continue reading

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Tree with elaborate root system on white backtgroundSome words in your Last Will and Testament may seem like a foreign language to you, but they could have significant impact on your beneficiaries.

Per stirpes, a Latin phrase that means “by the roots,” is used in many Wills to define how your estate is divided upon your death.

But what does it mean?

Per Capita vs Per Stirpes

A more common phrase, per capita, may help you understand the meaning of per stirpes. Per capita means “by the head.”

Here’s a situation to illustrate the difference between per capita and per stirpes.

Say you’re a widow. The value of your estate at the time of your death is $1 million. You have two children, Jennifer and Ryan. Jennifer has two children, and Ryan has one. Continue reading

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A teen boy leans over to hug his father, who to be smiling at him.

Family members of individuals with intellectual disabilities go to extraordinary lengths to provide their loved ones with proper supports, services, and care.  Establishing guardianship is often a necessary part of protecting the health and safety of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Yet, while many people are generally familiar with the concept of guardianship, few know what guardianship of an individual with an intellectual disability actually entails. Continue reading

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By Carmine Perri

Cartoon man lugging oversized dollar signAbout once a week the topic of spousal liability creeps its way into a client meeting or a telephone conference.  Despite the question being posed to me in various different ways, the issue simply boils down to whether one spouse is liable for another spouse’s debt.  I, oftentimes, respond to the question with a question of my own, “what is the debt for?”

Our law provides that, “any purchase made by either a husband or wife in his or her own name shall be presumed, in the absence of notice to the contrary, to be made by him or her as an individual and he or she shall be liable for the purchase.”

So, the general rule is that when one spouse purchases something, only he or she is liable for that purchase.

Exceptions to the rule

There are, not surprisingly, exceptions to the general rule.  There is a Connecticut General Statute providing that spouses are jointly liable for the following: Continue reading

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Thinking of creating your own Will or other estate planning documents? After all, there are lots of web sites with legal document templates available – they make it sound easy.

And of course there’s the cost savings. Why pay a Connecticut estate planning lawyer for something you can do on your own?

The answer is simple: There’s a darn good chance that do-it-yourself legal documents might end up costing you, and your loved ones, more than you think.

If it’s not tailored to where you live…

…then there’s a chance that the document template language isn’t relevant for the state or county you live in. Each jurisdiction has its own laws and regulations – and they change. Filing a document that isn’t appropriate for your state could render your papers null and void.

Think about how that could impact your loved ones after you die.

Continue reading

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