What Happens When a Will is Missing?
Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter of “E.T.” and ex-wife of Harrison Ford, died from cancer in November, and her will has gone missing, leaving uncertainty over who will inherit her $22 million estate. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Mathison had written a will, but the original copy could not be located by her business…
Details Are Important With Required Minimum Distributions
If you have an IRA and you are age 70 1/2 or older, then you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from your account, or pay a penalty. While that may sound simple enough, there are important details to be aware of. RMDs are required for IRAs, SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees),…
Parenting a Disabled Adult Child
Listen to our podcast “Raising Children with Autism,” by clicking here. To download this podcast from iTunes, click here. Our guest blogger this week is Liane Kupferberg Carter. Recently I spent an entire day in an exhibitor’s booth at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. It was their annual Advances in Autism Conference, and…
New Proposed Regulations: The Use of 1:1 Aides in Pre-School and School-Aged Settings
By Sandi Rosenbaum, Special Education Advocate, Littman Krooks LLP The New York State Department of Education has issued new proposed regulations regarding the use of 1:1 aides in preschool and school aged settings. The regulations, which also address other areas of preschool special education, are expected to be considered by the Board of Regents at…
How To Make A Holiday Road Trip Fun For A Child With Special Needs
By Angela Tollersons Any parent who has ever taken a road trip with young children can tell you that several hours stuck in a car is no picnic for anyone and for families with a child with special needs, additional complexities are thrown into the mix and can make long road trips more taxing for…
The Community Spouse Resource Allowance for Medicaid
When seniors need long-term care in a skilled nursing facility, the cost can be significant, and many people rely on Medicaid to pay for it. However, Medicaid has income and asset limits, so applicants often must spend down their assets before they can be eligible. When a married person receives Medicaid benefits for long-term care,…
What an Estate Executor Must Do — And Not Do
A person named in a will as the executor of the estate has a significant responsibility. It is important for an executor to know what he or she must do, and – just as important – what not to do. In New York State, an executor’s fiduciary responsibility to: have the last Will and testament…
USDOE Endorses Specific Interventions For Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia
The United States Department of Education has taken a positive step toward recognition of dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. Many parents of students with dyslexia or with specific learning disabilities in math and writing know the difficulty of obtaining individualized services for their children– particularly if the children have average or above-average cognitive abilities. Some districts…
Estate and Gift Tax Limits in 2016
It is essential for families with significant wealth to be aware of estate and gift tax limits. An important part of estate planning is making sure that as much of your wealth as possible goes to your heirs rather than to pay taxes. The good news is that both the federal and New York State…
Neighbors Sue Family with Autism for Creating Public Nuisance
By Sandi Rosenbaum, Educational Advocate Families with a child with autism often face severe difficulties with misunderstandings in the community. A Sunnyvale, CA family is facing a lawsuit by their next-door neighbor families, which charges that the family’s 11 year old son with autism is a “public nuisance” and seeks unspecified monetary damages and a…
