Author Archives: Friedman & Ranzenhofer

Can Your POA Save Your Home From Medicaid?

If you require nursing home care, your home can be transferred to certain relatives without disqualifying you from Medicaid. The New York five-year look-back period does not apply to transfers of your primary residence to: (1) your spouse and minor, disabled or blind children; (2) your sibling with an equity interest who has resided in […]

The Advantages of New York LLCs

The New York Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a hybrid business entity which combines the best features of partnerships with corporations. LLCs are commonly used for real estate ventures and family partnerships because of their tax advantages. The LLC is formed by the filing of Articles of Organization with the New York Secretary of State […]

New York Court Bars Alcoholic Wife From Her Home

A Nassau County, New York Supreme Court Justice has barred a woman from the Long Island, NY home she jointly owns with her husband, saying that she had abandoned her residence during her unexplained absences while she was struggling with alcoholism. He granted exclusive occupancy to the husband pending the resolution of a divorce action, […]

Bank Trespasses On New York Borrower's Property

Wells Fargo commenced a foreclosure action on a New York Homeowner. The homeowner notified Wells Fargo that, although he had discontinued utility services and winterized and secured the dwelling, he had not abandoned it. He visited the property regularly and had a neighbor watch it in his absence.After Wells Fargo found the front door of […]

Niagara Falls, NY Landlord Registration Ordinance

The Niagara Falls, NY Landlord Rental Registration Ordinance went into effect May 1, 2010.  Its purpose is to establish a procedure and standards for the identification and registration of rental properties, to ensure that the City has a meaningful, efficient and effective means of communicating with those persons and companies who own rental properties. All […]

Deed to Living Trust Avoids Probate

A New York resident executed a living trust agreement that  simply recited that his house belonged to and had been assigned to it. However, at the time of his death, no deed had actually been executed. Assets that are in a living or “intervivos” trust avoid probate only if they have actually been transferred to […]

Abusers of NY Nursing Home Patients Prosecuted

The NY State Attorney General’s prosecution of patient abuse in nursing homes resulted in the following criminal sentences: Fairport, NY LPN slapped a 90-year-old wheelchair bound woman with dementia and then wheeled her into an activities room and barricaded the door so that she could not get out of the room. One-year conditional discharge with […]

New York Daughter Can’t Evict Father Who Has an Oral Life Estate

A daughter served her father with a 30-day notice terminating his tenancy in the second-floor apartment in her New York home. Four years earlier, the father had promised to assist his daughter and son-in-law to purchase the home. In return, she agreed that her father and late mother would be permitted to reside, for the […]

IRS Filing Relief Program For Preserving Tax-Exempt Status

Small New York nonprofit organizations which are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they failed to file required returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009 can preserve their status by filing returns by Oct. 15, 2010, under a one-time relief program. The IRS posted a special page listing the names and last-known addresses of […]