Articles

Useful Articles for Seniors and Caregivers

Halston Media Columns

• Anthony J. Enea Columns
• Lauren Enea Columns

2023

• Aging In Place: How can I pay for the cost of a Home Care Aid?
• Planning for your Loved One with Special Needs
• Why Do I need a Revocable Living Trust?
• Protecting your home for the cost of Long-Term Care
• Tis the Season to Consider Gifting
• Have You Kept Your Loved Ones in the Dark?
• The Era of No Lookback Periods for Medicaid Homecare Is Finally Coming to an End In New York!
• The Importance Of A Third Party SNT For A Disabled Loved One
• Aging Alone Does Not Need To Be Lonely: Estate Planning Tips For “Solo-Seniors”
• Single Parents: Protect your children with a proper estate plan
• Avoid These Common Estate Planning Mistakes
• Issues Small Business Owners Need to Address When Implementing an Estate Plan
• What Is a QPRT and How Can I Utilize It to My Advantage?
• 2023 Brings Changes to Medicaid Eligibility Requirements & Estate/Gift Tax Exemption
• Which is Best for Me: A Revocable or Irrevocable Trust?
• First Steps to Take when a Loved One Passes Away

2022

• How to Avoid the “Double Whammy”
• Merely Creating an LLC Doesn’t Automatically Give You Personal Protection Against Potential Claims and Creditors of the LLC
• How to Stay in Control of your Affairs after an Alzheimer’s or Dementia Diagnosis
• How Can I Protect My Home with Minimal Impact on My Life?
• Estate Planning for Digital Assets
• Making Sense of the 2022 Changes to the Medicaid Home Care Program
• Can New Yorkers Afford Medicaid Homecare & Nursing Home For All?
• Brady Bunch Marriage? Estate Planning Basics for Blended Families and Second Marriages
• The “Last Call” for Medicaid Homecare Without a Look-Back Period for Transfers has Perhaps Arrived!

2021

• Understanding the Consequences of not having a Last Will and Testament
• Top Lawyers: Anthony J Enea of Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano On The 5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Elder Law
• Factors that Help Determine Whether a Senior Is a Victim of Elder Abuse
• How Silver Divorce adds a Wrinkle to your Estate Plan
• The Decision to Transfer One’s Residence to Loved Ones or a Trust Requires Consideration of Many Factors
• The Consequences of Being in Denial About a Loved One’s Deteriorating Condition
• Heightened Anxiety for Parents of Children with Disabilities
• Time to Re-focus on Protecting One’s Home From the Cost of Long Term Care
• Probate and Its Problems
• Is This an Opportune Time to Gift Your Commercial Real Estate Holdings for Estate and Gift Tax Planning Purposes?
• You Don’t Have to be Rich to Have a Trust!
• If Covid-19 Is Not Enough to Motivate You to Get Your Estate and Elder Law Planning and Affairs in Order, What Is?

2020

• To Gift or Not to Gift? Tis the Question for the Season!
• Seniors and the Disabled Get a Needed Reprieve from the Imposition of the new Penalty and Lookback Period for Community Medicaid
• What Impact Will the Pandemic and The Presidential Election Have on Federal and New York Estate Tax Exemptions? 
• Don’t Worry Honey, You Will Get My Diamond Ring When I Die: Steps you can take to Ensure it Actually Happens!
• If I Want to Protect My Home For Long Term Care Purposes What Are My Options?
• The Importance of a Proactive Approach to Estate Planning
• New Medicaid Eligibility Rules Make Asset Protection Planning an Urgent Need!
• The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Long Term Impact on Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes
• Pandemics and Planning: Lessons Learned
• What is an “ADL” and Why is it so Important to Medicaid Home Care Applicants?
• Why the Secure Act of 2019 May Not Make You Feel Very Secure
• Can I still Protect My Assets If I Need Long Term Care in the Immediate Future?

2019

• When Am I Going Home?
• What is a Pooled Community Trust and How Does it Help Keep New Yorkers in Their Homes? 
• Is it Time for You to Have the Long-Term Care Planning Talk with Your Parents? 
• The Basics of Hospice Care
• 2019 Elder Law and Trusts & Estates Update
• Factors to Consider When Naming a Health Care Agent
• Four New Year’s Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

2018 and Earlier

• Owning Bitcoin May Complicate Your Estate Plan and Income Taxes
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a Will
• Think Twice Before Shredding Your Account Statements
• How the Use of a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust Can Simplify the Conveyance of a Second Home Located in Another State Upon Death 
• Am I Too Young to Have a Last Will and Testament?
• Should You Consider a Hybrid Long-Term Care Policy as Part of Your Long-Term Planning? 
• Is Medicaid Home Care an Option Available to Me or My Loved Ones? 
• Honey, I Want You to Have My Rolex When I Die: What Steps Can You Take To Ensure It Actually Happens 
• Is it Too Late for Me to Protect My Life Savings from the Cost of Long Term Care?
• Why Tax Reform Makes Long Term Care Planning Even More Important 
• Is this the Season for Gifting?
• The Importance of Beneficiary and Contingent Beneficiary Designations for IRAs, 401ks, Life Insurance Policies and Annuities
• Death During a Car Lease Can be Very Expensive!
• How to Prevent Family Conflicts in the Event of Incapacity 
• Transfer of a Primary Residence: The Tax and Long Term Care Consequences
• Protecting Your Loved Ones and Friends from Elder Abuse
• The Rights of a Nursing Home Resident
• To UMTA or Not to UMTA?
• Factors to Consider When Selecting an Executor, Trustee, or Agent Under a Power of Attorney
• Think Twice Before Discarding Those Account Statements
• What is an Assisted Living Facility and is it the Right Place for You?
• How To Avoid Five Common Estate and Elder Law Planning Mistakes
• How Will a Trump Administration Impact Estate Taxes and Medicaid Benefits for Long Term Care?
• The Problems with Probate
• The NY ABLE ACT: A Primer 
• Peter Falk’s Law Becomes a Reality in New York
• Should You Have a Third Party SNT for a Disabled Loved One?
• Is a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR) Appropriate for You?
• Is a Trust for my Pet a Viable Option?
• Update – New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act: What You Should Know
• Does a Joint Bank Account Automatically Contain a Right of Survivorship?
• When is a Crisis a Medicaid Crisis?
• New York’s Proposed Aid-in-Dying Bill: What You Should Know
• A New Chapter In Health Care Decision Making
• Home Is Where the Heart Is: The Medicaid Home Care Alternative
• Is America Prepared for an Alzheimer’s Crisis?
• Separated But Not Divorced: The Long Term Care Planning Implications
• Not all Powers of Attorney are Created Equally
• Revocable or Irrevocable Trust
• Why the Failure to Plan for Your Long Term Care Can Have Devastating Consequences
• The Cost of Long Term Care Remains the Greatest Threat to the Financial Well Being of New York Seniors
• Why Being Classified Under “Observation” While in a Hospital Means Seniors Pay Thousands More
• To Love, Honor And Cherish Until Medicaid Is Needed
• The Repeal of DOMA Makes Estate and Long Term Care Planning Critical for Same Sex Married Couples
• Protecting Your Home From The Costs Of Long Term Care
• Finally Some Estate Tax Relief for New Yorkers
• Factors To Consider When transferring A Residence For Elder Law And Estate Planning Purposes: A Primer
• Are You Absolutely Sure You Want to Get Married/Re-Married?
• Life insurance can be an underused part of estate planning
• Revocable Living Trusts: The Facts and Fiction
• Are You Ready for the Elder Years?
• The Basics of Business Succession Planning
• Utilizing Article 81 Guardianship in New York for Those Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder 
• The Basics of Business Succession Planning
• The Importance of Knowing the Rights of a Nursing Home Resident 
• How to Prevent Family Conflicts in the Event of Incapacity
• Mom and Dad (Grandparents), Can you Please Lend Me Some Money ?: The Unintended Consequences.
• Protecting Your Home From The Costs Of A Nursing Home
• Two Years of Estate and Gift Tax Nirvana!
• The Family Health Care Decision Act: A New Chapter in Health Care Decision Making
• The Do’s and Dont’s of Administering a Special Needs Trust
• Protecting the Primary Residence From The Cost Of a Nursing Home In A Post-DRA World
• The ABCs of SNTs
• Will the Economic Recovery Act Help Protect Your Home From The Cost of Long Term Care?
• New Transfer Of Asset Rules Makes Advanced Planning For Medicaid Eligibility Imperative!
• Ladies and Gentlemen Please Start Expressing Your Burial Wishes!
• Why Mom And Dad May Be Coming To Dinner And Not Leaving
• Medicaid Planning in an Article 81 Proceeding
• The Use of Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law as an Effective Medicaid and Estate Planning Tool: A Primer
• Clients’ Rights And Responsibilities
• Planning For Families With Disabled Loved Ones
• The Revocable Living Trust: The Facts And The Fiction
• Planning To Protect Real Property From The Cost Of Long Term Care
• To Deed Or Not To Deed: Revisited
• What Financial and Insurance Professionals Should Know About Elder Law: A Primer

Useful Articles for Attorneys

2021

• ​The Long-Awaited Modifications to the Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney Have Been Enacted

2020 and Earlier

• Separated But Not Divorced: The Long Term Care Planning Implications
• Medicaid Expands Definition of Estate
• Review and Analysis of the AIP’s Real and Personal Property
• Is the Commencement of a Guardianship Proceeding Necessary?
• How to Distinguish Yourself From Those Dabbling in Elder Law
• The Case for Making Home Care the First Option for Seniors
• Have Your DRA Proofed Your Power of Attorney
• The Devils is in the Details: How the Legal Title of Assets can Sabotage One’s Inter Vivos and Testamentary Estate Plans
• Definition of “Estate” Expanded for Medicaid Recovery Purposes
• The New York Court of Appeals Rules Personal Representative of and Estate May Sue Estate Planners for Malpractice: The Practice Management Issues
• What Is An Estate Planner To Do Without The Protections Of Strict Privity?
• Seven Factors to Consider Prior to Commencing a Guardianship Proceeding Under Article 81 of the MHL
• Court of Appeals Rules Personal Representative of an Estate May Sue Estate Planners for Malpractice
• Mom and Dad (Grandparents) Can you Please Lend Me Some Money? The Unintended Consequences
• Special Needs trust – A Primer
• When Is A Gift Not A Gift For Medicaid Eligibility Purposes?
• The Treatment of Joint Accounts In An Article 81 Guardianship Proceeding
• What Every Attorney Should Know About the New Durable Power of Attorney Form
• Will the Economic Recovery Act Help Protect Your Home From The Cost of Long Term Care?
• Ladies and Gentlemen Please Start Expressing Your Burial Wishes!
• The Deficit Reduction Act Of 2005 And Its Effect Upon Medicaid Eligibility
• New Transfer Of Asset Rules Makes Advanced Planning For Medicaid Eligibility Imperative!
• Punishment For The Procrastinators: The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
• The Deficit Reduction Act Of 2005 and Its Effect Upon Transfers Of Real Property For Long Term Care Planning Purposes
• Utilizing Article 81 For Medicaid And Estate Planning Purposes After The Deficit Reduction Act Of 2005
• Why Mom And Dad May Be Coming To Dinner And Not Leaving
• The Use of Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law as an Effective Medicaid and Estate Planning Tool: A Primer
• Article 81 Of The Mental Hygiene Law Amended Effective December 2004
• Basics of Medicaid Eligibility
• A Summary Of The Birnbaum Commission’s Report On Fiduciary Appointments
• Medicaid Planning in an Article 81 Proceeding
• Estate Tax and Business Succession Planning
• Network of Bar Leaders Legislative Breakfast
• Is It Ever Too Late To Do Medicaid Planning?
• What All Attorneys Should Know About Elder Law
• Tips for Working with Attorneys
• Avoid these four common estate planning mistakes
• Is Your Power of Attorney Ready for the Digital Era?