Blog
Over the years, I’ve experienced a couple of instances where a non-family member brings a client to me for estate planning who was estranged from his family. The client wants to leave a major part of his or her estate to the non-family member. Let’s consider a hypothetical example.
An... Read more.
A “Special Needs Trust” is designed to supplement a disabled person’s quality of life without affecting that person’s eligibility for means tested programs. There are two main types of Special Needs Trusts. A First-Party Special Needs Trust and a Third Party Supplemental Needs Trust. This... Read more.
In the 2015 legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the creation of a new type of investment account – the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account. An ABLE account allows family members to save funds for the care of a disabled individual without jeopardizing... Read more.
We recently closed an estate that had an issue surrounding the enforceability of a lien in favor of the State of Connecticut for Medicaid payments that were made on behalf of the decedent. The decedent spent her last days in a nursing home. Before she died, she applied for Medicaid to absorb... Read more.
What Is an LLC?
Effective July 1, 2017, Connecticut has a new law controlling limited liability companies. An LLC is a business entity like a corporation and one of its’ purposes is to insulate the member of the LLC from creditors. If you conduct business as an LLC, a lawsuit cannot... Read more.
In a previous blog, I wrote about whether a Will was valid if it was signed by someone with dementia. In that blog, I mentioned three generally accepted criteria that the proponent of the Will must prove for a court to determine whether the testator had the capacity to sign their will. In this... Read more.
Parents often come to us asking how they can protect an inheritance they want to give to a child who has a shaky marriage. A trust can provide protection if it is properly crafted and implemented. It all hinges on whether the child has the ability compel a distribution from the trust.
... Read more.
A “Special Needs Trust” is a type of trust structured to supplement a disabled person’s quality of life without affecting that person’s eligibility for means tested programs such as Medicaid. A Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust is just one subcategory of Special Needs Trusts, which I will... Read more.
When planning for the end of your life, it is only realistic to think about what would happen if you become physically or mentally incapacitated. Advance directives were created to enable you to give clear directions for what to do to ensure that your wishes are carried out if you become unable... Read more.
If a loved one has recently been diagnosed with dementia or another cognitive abnormality, it may not be too late for them to create a will. However, there are some potential problems with creating a will after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia. Signing a will now, even after diagnosis,... Read more.