Style & Living

When people think about “estate planning,” they typically think that this simply entails executing a Last Will and Testament (“Will”) and Advance Directives (e.g., Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy). However, even “simple” estate planning (in which estate tax planning is a non-issue) involves so much more. It is not sufficient to simply write a will or trust and leave the rest to chance. The following are some examples of the items many people tend to forget or misunderstand in their own estate planning.

Recap: Bonnie tells Hope that Mrs. Bowers is not her mother. Hope isn’t sure what to think about that. Diana, the unfriendly older daughter, walks Hope to the Five and Dime store where she’ll be working.

NEW YORK NEWS

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams has once again called for federal assistance in dealing with the influx of tens of thousands of migrants arriving from the southern border, estimating a staggering cost of $12 billion over three years to house and care for them. The city anticipates spending around $5 billion this fiscal year alone on migrants, which equals the combined annual budgets of several major departments. The situation has prompted Mayor Adams to ask for a federal state of emergency declaration and a “decompression” strategy to slow the influx. Governor Kathy Hochul pledged $1 billion in state aid to address the issue, as the city’s shelter system struggles to accommodate the influx of migrants.

As elder law and estate planning attorneys, we often meet with individuals who are aged, or with family members related to them. Elder law covers a broad range of legal issues, including making sure the elderly and disabled have the proper documents in place, along with a plan to preserve their assets and to pay for unexpected long-term health care needs.

Recap: Hope is living in a dreary basement. She is in charge of taking care of the little girl. The supposed second cousin is not kind; she tells Hope that she will be starting a job the next day as she has to earn her keep.

NEW YORK NEWS

 The Brooklyn Democratic Party is set to endorse six candidates for Supreme Court judge positions through its official judicial convention, although the outcome was effectively determined in an informal backroom meeting of the party’s executive committee.