When you have a child that may require a lifetime of assistance and care, extra attention must be given to planning their future.    Our Stratford special needs planning lawyers work with parents every day to ensure their children with disabilities have the necessary estate and transition plans in place for total peace of mind. A...

You have worked hard to leave a financial legacy for your children., One of the most asked questions I get is how to prevent the inheritance from going to a child’s spouse if they get divorced.  After all, who wants a child’s ex spouse to walk around with their legacy? But, under current law, that...

As a Stratford special needs lawyer, I often receive questions about whether a disabled individual can continue to receive public benefits after receiving an inheritance. The answer is that it really depends on the type of benefit that is being collected, the age of the beneficiary, and what other planning options are available. Social Security...

One of the many questions Trumbull estate planning lawyers get asked is how long is a Power of Attorney in effect. The answer to that question is complicated in the beginning, but very simple at the end: depending on what type of Power of Attorney you have, it may be in effect as soon as...

When making an estate plan and Last Will and Testament, many people have a difficult time deciding who should be the Executor of their estate. One consideration is naming Co-Executors – two or more people who serve as executor of the estate. Each Co-Executor named in your Last Will and Testament will have authority over...

Recent studies have shown that only slightly more than half of all Americans have a Will or Trust document in place to direct their estate after they pass away, and that the vast majority of those documents have not been updated in the last five years. Even worse, it’s been reported that most adult children...

In late September, as part of the first major overhaul of federal nursing home regulations in a quarter-century, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule prohibiting binding pre-dispute arbitration agreements in facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. Attorney Franklin Drazen explains what this means for families. Families often turn …

At Drazen Law Group, we’re often asked why anyone would need an attorney to help put a loved one in a nursing home. After all, the admission process seems like it should be a simple matter, something that family members could easily handle—like going to the DMV to change your vehicle’s license plates. Unfortunately, the...

For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about ABLE accounts. In this final installment of our three-part series, Attorney Franklin Drazen talks about the importance of developing an overall strategy for funding the living expenses of a person with special needs, and shares links to online resources that will be helpful to any family...

In Part 1, Attorney Steven Rubin explained the basics of Pooled Trusts. This week, Attorney Franklin Drazen, certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, explains the options available to Connecticut residents who want to participate in a Pooled Trust. In August 2016, the “What the Hell is a Pooled Trust”...

Last week, we looked at the problems and challenges faced by people with disabilities, discussed how ABLE accounts address those problems, and explained how ABLE accounts differ from Special Needs Trusts and Pooled Trusts. This week, Attorney Franklin Drazen discusses the mechanics of ABLE accounts including eligibility criteria, contribution limits, allowable expenses, and how to...

If you’ve just inherited an IRA, annuity, stocks, bonds, or other assets from your parents, minimizing your tax obligation needs to be addressed. What do you need to know to keep Uncle Sam from taking more than his share when you file your tax return? In this three-part series, Attorney Franklin Drazen covers a few...

If you’ve just inherited an IRA, annuity, stocks, bonds, or other assets from your parents, minimizing your tax obligation is critical. What do you need to know to keep Uncle Sam from taking more than his share when you file your tax return? In this three-part series, Attorney Franklin Drazen covers a few of the...

If you’ve just inherited an IRA, annuity, stocks, bonds, or other assets from your parents, minimizing your tax obligation is paramount. What do you need to know to keep Uncle Sam from taking more than his share when you file your tax return? In this three-part series, Attorney Franklin Drazen covers a few of the...

Every once in a while, someone will ask me how I got in to elder law. Like many things in life, it wasn’t planned. It was more like a fortunate wandering into a wonderful career. I didn’t set out to become a lawyer. After college, the plan was for me to work in the family...

I’ve worked with a lot of family caregivers over the years. Most burn the candle at both ends to take care of their elderly loved ones while tending to families and careers of their own. In many cases, family caregivers become so focused on the tasks at hand that they don’t even know they need...

I’m often asked whether a person who inherits property has to pay income taxes on that property. In most cases, the answer is no. However, there is one exception: Income in respect of a decedent, also known as IRD. All income the decedent would have received had death not occurred that was not properly includible...

Do trusts pay taxes? It depends.  Generally speaking, the IRS divides trusts in two broad categories when it comes to the issue of taxation: In a grantor trust, the owner (the “grantor” in tax lingo) is treated as an individual taxpayer. All income generated by the grantor trust is reported by the trust owner’s on …

Irrevocable Trusts are an integral part of most asset protection planning strategies. They are used to protect property and assets from nursing homes and other predators and, depending on your individual situation, can end up saving you thousands of dollars. Milford Trusts attorneys have put together some of the basics to give you everything you...

Many people are familiar with this common horror story: a parent remarries later in life to a person with a family of his or her own. When the parent passes away, their estate goes entirely to their new spouse through the laws of intestacy. When the new spouse then dies, the cumulative estate goes to …

The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences to deal with in life. What makes the situation even harder is the financial aspect that accompanies funeral and burial expenses. Money is often the last thing grieving families want to think about but, unfortunately, expenses related to death must be paid...

If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you are undoubtedly going through an emotionally-draining and tumultuous time. One thing that could help you is to plan ahead and develop your own care team. This is a group of support people that will help you through the different stages of...

Elder lawyers in Milford are well-versed on the ins-and-outs of nursing home expenses and they continually work with seniors to determine how best to lower costs and protect assets.  One recommendation that does not always get enough attention is to spend a little on remodeling your home to save big on nursing home costs down...

Identity theft is the fastest rising crime in America today. Criminal syndicates located overseas are gaining access to your personal information through a variety of tactics and using that information to open credit cards and bank accounts to buy products that they are then selling for profit. Due to complex international laws most of these...

Estate planning lawyers in Milford are typically tasked with the job of helping clients determine what to do with their assets after death.  There are other important aspects to estate planning, and one that can be overlooked is the need for disability insurance.  Those who are in good health and looking forward to retirement in...