This April, members of the Special Needs Alliance (SNA) traveled to Washington D.C. for their annual spring meeting and a “Day on the Hill.” During their visit to Capitol Hill, SNA members briefed their local members in the Congress and Senate on issues regarding public policy, advocacy and special needs trusts (SNTs). Littman Krooks attorney and SNA member Amy C. O’Hara, Esq., spoke with aides of Rep. Eliot Engel (NY) and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (NY) to discuss and act on what appears to be a simple drafting error in the writing of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993…

The New York State Court of Appeals decided two cases recently regarding consideration in option contracts. The two cases, which involved many of the same parties, hinged on the granting of an option in exchange for consideration. In both cases, the court reiterated principles of contract law. The court ruled that when the cases involve sophisticated parties represented by counsel, the court will not examine the sufficiency of the consideration and will not permit extrinsic evidence to determine what “other good and valuable consideration” might be. If a party wishes to condition its contractual obligations on a particular performance by the other party, it should make that condition part of the written agreement.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) allows recipients of Social Security benefits to check their benefits information online, change their information for direct deposit, and accomplish other tasks. To create an account, you must be at least 18 years of age, and have a Social Security number, a U.S. mailing address and a valid email address. The process of creating an account is straightforward and involves submitting personal information and choosing a username and password…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides low-income Americans with financial assistance to buy groceries, and many older Americans rely on it. However, only about a third of eligible seniors participate in the program, perhaps from a mistaken understanding of who is eligible and how much assistance is available. Seniors need to know about SNAP’s deductions for medical expenses. SNAP makes sense for many New York seniors, especially because the state allows individuals to have savings and still qualify for benefits.

More women tend to need long-term care coverage, and they will be paying more for it.

Prices for long-term care insurance will soon reflect the reality that women live longer and file more claims than men. That change could mean significant upheaval in an already confusing and unpredictable market—and for some women who have been on the fence about buying such coverage, it creates a new decision-making deadline. Gender-based long-term care policies are beginning to be offered to women who apply for individual coverage…

Women coming home from military service are joining the ranks of the homeless in the U.S. The male former service members who become homeless after returning to the States largely do so when battling mental illness and/or substance abuse issues.  Female vets come home with those issues as well as a tougher time finding gainful employment and housing. Even more often, these women come home with issues stemming from military sexual trauma, or MST, which can cause or exacerbate post-traumatic stress disorder…

Please join us for an informative webinar designed for parents and grandparents of children with special needs. Sheryl and Amy, two prominent Special Needs Planning attorneys, will discuss a variety of topics including: why planning for the future is necessary, when to plan, planning tools available, the role of public benefits..

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new rules for broker-dealers requiring them to search for securities holders if they lose contact with them.  The rules require for the first time that broker-dealers attempt to find securities holders that they have lost touch with.  Broker-dealers and other participants in the securities market must also notify people who have not processed checks that were issued to them in association with their securities.

A report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has confirmed that disabled veterans continue to face unreasonable delays in receiving benefits.  According to the report, the average time to process a veteran’s disability claim is 272 days, an increase of 40 percent since 2011.

Every day approximately 53 veterans die while waiting for their benefits.  The VA has a backlog of about 900,000 claims.  Eric Shinseki, the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, has said that the claims system will be improved significantly by 2015.

Congress has renewed a charitable rollover provision for individual retirement accounts (IRAs) that applies to people age 70-and-a-half and older.  The provision had expired and has now been renewed through the end of 2013.  The provision has several tax benefits.

IRA owners who meet the minimum age requirement can donate up to $100,000 directly from their retirement account to charities such as churches, schools and other nonprofit organizations – although not most private foundations.