Management of Your AffairsPower of AttorneyA Power of Attorney is an important legal document where you give a person the legal authority to handle your finances and make other business decisions on your behalf. If you become incapacitated in the future and have not signed a Power of Attorney, then a Guardianship proceeding might become necessary. New York State has a "Statutory Form" which contains many important powers. This form was recently revised in January 1997. This new version contains many additional important powers, such as the power to file tax returns on your behalf. The Koldin Law Center, P.C. has prepared an enhanced version of the Statutory form which provides additional powers that we feel are important if a catastrophic illness occurs. The Koldin Law Center, P.C. is available to review your situation and make recommendations on the advisability of signing a Power of Attorney. What is A Living Trust?A Living Trust is created by a written agreement between you and the person you choose to manage the assets in the Trust. The Trust AgreementThe terms of the Trust Agreement should be tailored to meet your specific needs. A Trust Avoids ProbateOn your death, your trust assets will be distributed directly to your named beneficiaries without the costs, problems, publicity, or delays of Probate. Revocable Versus Irrevocable Living TrustsA Revocable Trust does not protect a person's assets in the event of a catastrophic illness. Since you can revoke the Trust, Medicaid can force you to revoke the Trust and withdraw all the Trust assets and use those assets towards the cost of care. The only type of Trust that will truly protect resources in the event of a catastrophic illness is an Irrevocable Trust where the language of the Trust Agreement appropriately complies with the federal and state Medicaid requirements. Health Care ProxyNew York State now has a website with detailed information about the Health Care Proxy. This site also includes a free form. Please click on the link below to go to this website. |
