Elder Law and Estate Planning
Girvin & Ferlazzo provides our clients with the expertise and experience necessary to develop and execute comprehensive wealth transfer programs as well as handle issues of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Taxation, Estate and Trust Administration, and Estate Litigation.
Our attorneys offer extensive knowledge and experience in all areas related to Elder Law, including:
Estates and wills
Estate Planning
Estate planning is the process of protecting, preserving and distributing your assets both during your lifetime and after your death. This process provides an opportunity for you to make your wishes known and take comfort in the ability to control your decisions and independence. Through the use of wills, trusts, sophisticated estate freezing and discounting strategies, we can help you achieve your objectives. This may include minimizing estate taxes or reducing expenses associated with estate administration. It may also include making sure that your family has sufficient assets to meet their needs after you are gone. Failing to plan means that your assets will pass according to the laws of intestacy rather than according to your desires and may also delay or decrease the amounts received by your family.
Problems often arise when your investment, legal, insurance and tax plans are not well coordinated. We work with your financial advisor, your insurance agent and your accountant to make sure that you are able to maximize the benefits of your comprehensive financial plan. It is critical for the success of your estate plan that your assets are correctly owned and that your beneficiary designations be correctly completed.
Business Succession
We can assist you with business succession planning. This is a unique area where thorough discussions will lead to a planning process that will allow you to pass on your legacy to future generations in a tax efficient manner.
Charitable Planning
Many clients want to transfer assets to charitable organizations either during their lives or through their estates. We can provide recommendations as to how these transfers should be structured in order to capture the maximum benefit from an income tax and estate tax perspective.
Elder Law
Government benefits including Medicaid are complex and constantly changing. Studies show that a person at age 65 faces a 40 percent chance that they will require long term care services at some point during their lifetime. We can assist you with determining what options are best for you and your family. We examine your eligibility of these benefits and determine the optimum time for filing Medicaid applications, as well as implementing strategies to protect assets both before and after the application is filed. We also consider the merits of long term care insurance and your eligibility for Veteran’s benefits as a means for paying for long term care expenses. The key to successful long term care planning is to act now.
Planning for Individuals with Special Needs
Individuals with special needs must plan for their future very carefully. It is often the responsibility of family members to establish and execute those plans. We can help you understand which benefits and programs the special needs person may be eligible for and how to best pay for these programs. We can also help you preserve your family’s assets without disqualifying the individual’s eligibility for these programs. Our objective is to preserve the quality of life for persons with special needs and their families. A Special Needs Trust (SNT) allows a family member to provide funds for those with special needs without disrupting the person’s eligibility for government aid and is an important planning option for providing comfort.
Trust Administration & Probate
We can assist you with the legal process that occurs when a loved one passes away. Our objective is to provide families with high quality and cost-effective trust administration and probate services tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals.
If your loved one died with a will in place, the estate will go through a process called probate. Our attorneys are experienced in representing families and guiding them through the probate process, from filing the last will and testament with the Surrogate’s Court to obtaining valuations of estate assets to preparing estate tax returns. In addition, we can assist with notifying the beneficiaries under the will and with the distribution of assets.
When there is a living trust in place, among other responsibilities, the trustee must manage assets inside the trust, file tax returns, allocated receipts and disbursements between income and principal, and make distributions to the beneficiaries.
If the decedent did not have a will, we can work with you to petition Surrogate’s Court for letters of administration in order to obtain the authority to collect the estate assets and distribute them in accordance with the New York State laws of intestacy.
Litigation
Unfortunately, disputes among family members can and do occur during the disposition of an estate. While the process can be highly charged and emotional, we can protect your interests in an inheritance while, at the same time, keeping in mind the emotional nature of the action.
Guardianships
In the event a family member becomes unable to make personal and/or financial decisions due to incapacity, and he or she has not executed a durable power of attorney, we can commence a guardianship proceeding. These proceedings are brought under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law, and may be either contested or uncontested, for the purpose of having a trusted family member, advisor or friend appointed as guardian for the person and/or for his or her property.
For more information on our Elder Law and Estate Planning contact one the following attorneys: