Message From the Incoming Section Chair

I am truly honored to begin my term as the incoming chair of the Elder Law and Special Needs Section this coming June. Having been an active member of this section for many years, I have had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with so many wonderful colleagues. The camaraderie between the members of our section is invaluable, allowing us to learn and grow from each other’s experiences, and adding to our collective knowledge for the benefit of all our clients. It is my privilege to take this leadership role, and I am fully committed to leading our section during these changing times.

I would first like to thank my predecessor, Christopher Bray, for leading us as we were emerging from the throes of the pandemic. Chris’ term included our first in-person Annual Meeting since before the pandemic, which was held at the New York Hilton Midtown and was chaired by Martin Hirsch, Sarah Steckler and Samantha Lyons. This followed the fall meeting in Cooperstown which was successfully chaired by Tara Anne Pleat and Ellyn S. Kravitz, and the summer meeting in Washington D.C., chaired by David Goldfarb, Lauren Enea, and Yolanda Rios. Chris navigated the “new normal” of our hybrid system of Zoom and in-person Executive Committee meetings, and addressed the technological challenges in addition to the regular obstacles involved when leading a large section of practitioners with divergent views not only on substantive topics, but on logistics as well: in-person vs. Zoom meetings, the cost practicality of offering hybrid CLEs, and how to plan meetings in our changing health environment.

Chris’ term saw significant legislative and policy changes. When Governor Hochul signed the Supported Decision Making Agreement Act into law, our section’s opposition to the statute as written was submitted for consideration under Chris’ leadership. On the Medicaid front, the significant increase in the income level to equal the MAGI level, and nearly doubling of the resource level, was welcomed by all. With the continual postponements of the 30-month lookback for Community Medicaid, and earliest anticipated implementation date of April 1, 2024, our section is busy at work trying to have this 30-month Community Medicaid lookback period repealed. On the Power of Attorney front, Chris’ term saw enactment of the amendment clarifying that Powers of Attorney are required only to have been validly executed by the principal in conformity with the law in effect at the time of the principal’s execution, and not by the agent(s), to remain valid and enforceable under the June 13, 2021 General Obligations Law POA updates. A huge shoutout to our Legislation Committee, and in particular David Goldfarb and Ellen Makofsky, for their hard work on this issue. Our section lobbied to veto a proposed amendment to the General Obligations Law which would impose a new requirement on trustees and/or beneficiaries of a trust to notify their co-trustees and/or co-beneficiaries when they sign a Power of Attorney appointing an agent with authority to affect the trust. This amendment was vetoed in December 2022, and we anticipate that it will be reintroduced during this legislative term. We will continue our advocacy and efforts in this important endeavor to prevent this from becoming law.

I look forward to a productive term with my fellow incoming officers: Chair-Elect Britt Burner, Vice-Chair Rick Marchese, Secretary Tammy Lawlor, Treasurer Lindsay Heckler, Financial Officer Salvatore Di Costanzo, and soon-to-be Immediate Past Chair Christopher Bray. I plan to continue our section’s lobbying initiatives to repeal the Community Medicaid lookback, face the impact of the ending of the Public Health Emergency and the unwinding of the link between the Public Health Emergency and the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement, voice our concerns and report on Medicaid changes not yet implemented, weigh in on the implementation of the pooled trust spending rules, and on the requirements for notarization of documents, whether in-person or remotely, as a result of the passage of New York Executive Law Section 135-c. We will work to coalesce with NYSBA’s other sections on concerns mutually affecting our clients and members.

We are looking forward to an exciting and engaging summer meeting in Philadelphia, to be held July 19 – July 22, 2023, at the Logan Hotel. Co-Chairs Tammy Lawlor and Rick Marchese are hard at work putting together a fabulous program, with fun activities for attendees and their families. Looking further ahead, the fall 2023 meeting dates are not yet finalized, but this meeting is traditionally held during the last weekend in October, and we are working on appointing co-chairs and beginning to put together the schedule, location, and program. I am certain that our NYSBA staff, designated co-chairs, and our section’s own Sponsorship Committee will help us to ensure success in all our programming for the coming year.

I am excited to see June 1 nearing. I invite you to reach out to me by phone (347-296-8200) or by email ([email protected]) if you would like to be considered for a leadership position on one of our committees, or are looking for ways to become more involved. Please look through our section committees listed at the end of this publication and see which might be of interest to you. I will be attending many of the upcoming committee meetings to familiarize myself with the chairs, attendees, and issues you are working on, and to get a feel for the workings of the committees. Come to our meetings and spend time getting to know your colleagues. Please let me know if you would like to lecture on a topic of interest to our section, or to co-chair a meeting. I will be compiling a list of interested section members not only for my term, but for the terms ahead. And please consider submitting an article on a relevant topic for our Journal. Our Publications Committee is seeking articles of interest.

I hope during my term to get to know many of you better, and to meet those of you I don’t know for the first time. Please don’t be shy. Whether you have participated for years or are newly admitted, I welcome you to become active and involved. I am committed to energizing the camaraderie and participation of the members of our section so we can together share our ideas, experiences, and goals and move forward for the advancement of our section and for the protection of our clients.

With gratitude, excitement, and anticipation for a successful year,

Fern J. Finkel