Preparing for your senior years is a complex process. Planning for retirement, addressing healthcare needs, and asset protection are concerns most of us will face one day, and none of these issues have universal solutions. A White Plains, NY, elder law attorney from Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can help you clarify these critical matters and develop a comprehensive estate plan that meets your and your family’s needs and goals.
With nearly 60 years of combined experience, attorneys Michael J. Amoruso and Sreelekha Chakrabarty Amoruso understand that elder law planning evolves over time. We can recommend strategies to preserve your wealth now and secure your future. Our firm can also help if a sudden crisis arises, ensuring you have legal support when you need it most.
Your peace of mind is our priority. Contact us today to speak with an experienced White Plains elder law lawyer.
What Is Elder Law?
Elder law focuses on assisting seniors and their families with the issues that arise as we age. From addressing concerns related to financial security and asset protection to developing a plan for long-term care, elder law attorneys help clients understand and pursue the best options for safeguarding their health, safety, resources, and rights.
A White Plains elder law attorney has two main categories of clients: seniors and their families. At Amoruso & Amoruso LLP, we help seniors take the necessary steps to ensure their end-of-life wishes are implemented. We also work with families who need to take steps to protect their older loved ones if they lack the capacity to make certain key life decisions.
What Services Does an Elder Law Lawyer in White Plains Provide?
Our elder law lawyers provide various services for protecting you and your assets as you age. Depending on your unique circumstances, this may include healthcare and long-term care planning, Medicaid planning, financial planning, guardianship matters, and much more.
Amoruso & Amoruso LLP incorporates elder law issues into our comprehensive estate planning service. We draw on strategies and tools associated with elder law, estate planning, Medicaid planning, long-term care planning, tax planning, and more so our clients can focus on enjoying their golden years with the confidence and freedom that comes with a robust plan. This forward-thinking approach includes being ready to swiftly adjust your plan as your wishes, your personal situation, or New York laws change.
I’m Not a Senior. Do I Need an Elder Law Lawyer Now?
Yes. The best time to meet with an elder law attorney is before a crisis happens. You may not be a senior yet, but establishing a plan now to handle any changes in your upcoming years is wise. If you have a parent over 65 who hasn’t made legal provisions for their future, reaching out to an experienced elder law attorney can help you understand how to protect them and ensure their well-being.
Decisions concerning healthcare, long-term care, and finances become more urgent as we age. If you or your parent have concerns about what might happen in the event of incapacitation or severe illness, an elder law attorney from Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can explain your options.
How Will Elder Law Planning Protect My Assets?
Elder law planning works in tandem with the other components of a comprehensive estate plan by preserving your assets during your lifetime. Key provisions of your estate plan, such as wills, trusts, tax planning, structured gifting, and durable powers of attorney can preserve your assets and shield them from potential hazards if you lose mental capacity or die.
As you age, one of the biggest concerns is the potential need for long-term care. Nursing homes, assisted living, and home health services are costly in White Plains. Effective elder law planning includes restructuring your assets so you qualify for Medicaid benefits to help cover those expenses without compromising your financial resources. Your elder law lawyer can help you explore options to prepare for the future and maximize the assets you leave to your heirs.
How Can Elder Law Help Me Avoid Probate?
Avoiding probate is an important consideration for many people who want to protect their assets and ensure they pass to their beneficiaries quickly and easily. An elder law attorney can utilize various tools, such as trusts, to bypass probate and allow for a smoother transition of your assets to designated beneficiaries. Avoiding probate spares your loved ones the hassle, expense, and time of the probate process during an already painful time.
What Is Long-Term Care Planning?
As we age, we must face the possibility that physical and cognitive challenges will make it harder, if not impossible, to care for ourselves.
This is where long-term care planning comes into the picture. An elder law lawyer from Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can develop a plan for long-term care that accounts for your wishes, needs, and finances. Long-term care is typically a significant expense, and it’s essential to ensure you can afford the care you need without worrying about how to pay for it. For example, your situation may be appropriate to consider Medicaid planning as a means to protect your assets from the cost of your long-term care at home or in a facility.
Having a long-term care plan also removes considerable stress from your life. It spares your family a series of complicated decisions that are incredibly challenging when they must be made quickly. While your potential long-term care needs depend on various factors — many of which you can’t control — you can make a plan that considers different possibilities. Long-term care planning ultimately provides you with a valuable sense of security as the years pass.
Should I Purchase Long-Term Care Insurance?
Possibly. Long-term care insurance can help reduce out-of-pocket costs and relieve some of your financial burden. However, it may not be an option for everyone. For example, the affordability of long-term care insurance premiums may be prohibitive for many people. In addition, you may have a pre-existing condition that affects your eligibility for a long-term care policy.
The right choice for you will depend on your finances, your anticipated care needs, and other factors. An elder law lawyer from Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can advise on whether purchasing long-term care insurance is in your best interest.
What Is Medicaid Planning?
Medicaid planning allows you to qualify for Medicaid benefits while protecting assets that you otherwise may be forced to spend down on your care. Through effective planning, a knowledgeable elder law attorney can use strategies such as trusts and asset transfers to restructure your wealth so that you may qualify for Medicaid.
As a nursing home Medicaid applicant, you cannot “give away” your property to qualify for benefits. Medicaid employs a five (5) year “lookback” rule to see if you made non-exempt transfers of assets. The lookback checks whether you have disposed of or transferred away assets without receiving adequate compensation for those assets. The Department of Social Services deems such transfers to have been made solely to qualify for Medicaid benefits. If so, a period of benefit ineligibility will be imposed based on the value of the transfer, which would require you to privately pay for all of your long-term care expenses during that timeframe.
It should be noted that while New York currently does not use a lookback period for home care Medicaid, the law provides for a thirty (30) month lookback period to begin in New York on March 31, 2024, unless that law is revised or repealed.
An elder law attorney can help you navigate New York’s Medicaid eligibility requirements to ensure that your Medicaid plan is positioned for success so you do not have to pay out-of-pocket for long-term care.
Is it Hard to Qualify for Medicaid in New York?
It depends. Each case is unique and requires its own strategies. However, with an experienced elder law attorney, an appropriate Medicaid plan can be put into action that will satisfy the Medicaid eligibility criteria while at the same time protecting your assets.
Is it Difficult to Apply for Medicaid in New York?
Yes, it can be. While your attorney can help you apply for Medicaid, the process still takes time and should be initiated as early as possible to avoid unnecessary delays.
It starts with actually completing a detailed Medicaid application form. Besides the application, New York also requires you to submit substantial personal information as well as five years of financial documentation if you seek Medicaid benefits for nursing home care. The supporting financial documentation is less onerous if you’re applying for in-home care. An incomplete application and missing supporting documentation can result in delay or outright denial of the Medicaid application.
What Can a White Plains Elder Law Attorney Do for Me?
The elder law attorneys at Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can help you develop a strategy to navigate the Medicaid, financial, healthcare, and estate planning concerns associated with aging. Our knowledge and understanding of these systems are based on years of working with clients going through similar experiences. You can feel confident that your future is thoughtfully secured through comprehensive estate planning.
As you begin learning about elder law’s place in estate planning, you may struggle to fully understand your options. Rest assured, we will answer your questions and address your concerns at every step. We are prepared to support you in all areas of planning for the future.
Contact a Skilled White Plains, NY, Elder Law Lawyer Today
Your choice of a White Plains elder law attorney can impact the overall quality of your plans for long-term care, asset preservation, estate planning, and the other critical aspects of aging. When you work with Amoruso & Amoruso LLP, you benefit from our attorneys’ nearly six decades of combined experience serving residents in White Plains, Scarsdale, Hartsdale, Mamaroneck, and the neighboring communities.
Our firm takes a holistic approach that combines elder law planning, estate planning, Medicaid planning, tax planning, and asset protection into a comprehensive estate plan that helps you feel reassured and confident as you move into your later years. We help you review your circumstances and explore options that get you where you want to be with a sense of security.
Questions about elder law matters? Contact us today to learn how Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can support you and your family.
