Wealth alone is no guarantee that older individuals will enjoy a safe and happy retirement. While Americans enjoy well-planned senior years, some older individuals live alone with no one to care for them. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 28 percent of people over age 65 live alone. This number is expected to increase in…

­Emergency first responders often possess little more than the information contained in a 911 call and a street address. While this might suffice for most situations, when the emergency involves a resident with special needs, customary rescue operations can be traumatic for the resident and challenging for emergency personnel. To solve this problem, city officials…

Annual nursing home costs in Westchester County are $149,136 on average, according to the most recent information published by the New York Department of Health. This is a significant expenditure, especially when multiplied for each year of nursing home care, well beyond the financial resources of most New York residents. Small wonder that 63 percent…

By Arshi Pal, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP In April 2018, H.R. 4547 was enacted to strengthen the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) oversight into the Representative Payee Program and protect Social Security beneficiaries. What is a Representative Payee? Representative payees can be either individuals or organizations who receive Social Security (SS) benefits for individuals who cannot…

By Marion M. Walsh, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP Imagine you have an illness that is invisible.  You look healthy and are functioning on the surface but are in pain all the time, both emotionally and physically.  The illness saps all your strength.   You cannot concentrate.   Many days, you cannot get out of bed.   You often…

By Bernard A. Krooks, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP We all remember the lyrics from that famous song:  “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage.”  While these words may be music to the ears of a young couple, folks who are considering getting married later in life have many issues…

For many seniors, their most important lifelines are their adult children and spouses. Seniors often rely on adult children to help research and secure health care, social services and housing. Those entering their golden years childless and single, divorced or widowed would be well-served to put in place alternatives to these lifelines. Doing so will…

By Sandi Rosenbaum, Special Education Advocate, Littman Krooks LLP On February 13, 2018, the OPWDD Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board (“the Board”) held an Upstate Forum, which included the Hudson Valley via video-conference.   The Board held a second forum in Manhattan on February 22, which included Long Island and Queens via video-conference. In November of…

by Arshi Pal, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP  Beginning April 30, 2018, the United States Department of Education has announced that the original “Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004“ website from 2004 will no longer be active. However, parents should not panic. Instead, any individual who visits the website will be redirected to the new Individuals with…

 By Erica M. Fitzgerald, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP On December 18, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Pooled Trust Notification Bill” into law. This law, which is set to take effect on June 18, 2018, requires plain language notification to Medicaid applicants and recipients of the availability of pooled trusts as a means of maintaining…