Message From the Section Chair
What a start to the 2023-2024 NYSBA Elder and Special Needs Law term. Thank you to this wonderful section for this opportunity to serve as your chair.
We are gearing up for our fall meeting, which will be held October 19 and October 20 during the beautiful peak fall foliage season at the Gideon Putnam in Saratoga Springs. Program co-chairs Howie Krooks and Lou Pierro have put together a fabulous program focusing on the business of Elder Law on day one, and essential elements and clauses in drafting Elder Law documents and trusts on day two. Topics include practice management; the integration of technology into our practices; time management skills; the life cycle of the Elder Law firm; succession planning; ethics in marketing; artificial intelligence and retirement planning in light of the SECURE Act 2.0. There will also be discussions on essential language and provisions within Revocable Trusts; Irrevocable Trusts; Supplemental Needs Trusts; Secure Act language within each trust and more. Our members can look forward to a beautiful dinner reception after the conclusion of day one. All section members are invited to the committee breakfast meetings early in the morning on day two before the start of the program. We have chosen this stunning location and secured an affordable room block and priced the program to be more accessible to all. Our thanks to our Sponsorship Committee chair Samantha Lyons and co-vice chairs Abby Zampardi and Sarah Steckler for their dedication to securing sponsorships that help minimize the meeting and reception costs to our section members.
Looking further ahead, our Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the New York Hilton Midtown, with program co-chairs Judie Grimaldi and Mike Dezik, followed by our Spring 2024 UnProgram at the NYSBA Bar Center in Albany, with program co-chairs Tara Anne Pleat and Laura Brancato. Stay tuned for the program date and more details.
The summer meeting at The Logan Hotel in Philadelphia, led by program co-chairs Tammy Lawlor and Rick Marchese, was well-attended and engaging. My thanks to all who came, to our NYSBA Liaison Bridget Donlon, our program co-chairs, CLE presenters, panelists, sponsors, attendees, and supporting NYSBA staff. Our social events included a cocktail reception in the courtyard at the Logan, and cocktail hour and dinner at Harper’s Garden restaurant. Both events provided our section members time to socialize and get to know one another. The summer meeting is historically family-friendly, and as in past years, many participants brought their families along to Philadelphia. It felt especially celebratory to be together, given the limitations of in-person meetings over the past three years.
At the summer Executive Committee section meeting, we discussed at length whether as a section to support adding Section 675-A to the Banking Law, to require that bank account owners adding another to their account would need to affirmatively elect survivorship rights for the account to pass to the named person, without which the default would be a “convenience” account with no post-mortem distribution to that person. After much debate on the benefits and ramifications of each position, we established a subcommittee to report back to the Execution Committee this coming fall.
Highlights of our section’s Legislation Committee report included the following bills, which they continue to monitor and report on, and more.
Senate Bill S6414, introduced by Senator James Skoufis on April 18, 2023, would eliminate the lookback period for noninstitutional Medicaid applicants. There is currently no Assembly companion bill. Attendees heard from the Medicaid/Department of Social Services panelists during the summer meeting that the start date for the imposition of the lookback period is now anticipated to be in 2025, if not repealed. Our section, which is committed to supporting the repeal of the lookback period for Community/Home Care Medicaid, will continue to advocate and support legislation for its repeal, and plans to make this a section focus at our 2024 Lobby Day.
Senate Bill S2125, introduced by Senator Gustavo Rivera, passed the Senate on March 1, 2023 and was delivered to the Assembly later that day. There is currently no Assembly companion bill. This bill clarifies the definition of the “lookback period” to apply only to transfers made on or after October 1, 2020, as a technical amendment, expands the definition of transfers for fair market value and clarifies the start date of the penalty period for community care applicants. This bill also provides for immediate need applicants to attest that transfers have not been made while allowing 30 days for the submission of the supporting documentation.
Senate Bill S328, also introduced by Senator Gustavo Rivera, would amend §§ 365- a(2)(e)(i) and 365-f(2)(c) of the Social Services Law to lower the ADL requirements for personal care services from three ADLs to two ADLs, and to one ADL for persons with dementia. This bill was reported from the Health Committee and referred to the Finance Committee. The Assembly companion bill, A6346, was reported from the Health Committee and referred to the Ways and Means Committee.
Senate Bill S3503A was reintroduced by Senator James Skoufis following a December 2022 veto by Governor Hochul. This bill would require principals to notify the co-trustees and co-beneficiaries of a trust when they sign a Power of Attorney appointing an agent with authority to affect the trust. There has been no activity since its re-introduction, and our section’s Legislation Committee will continue to monitor and oppose this bill. There is currently no Assembly companion bill.
NYSBA President Richard Lewis has reached out to all section chairs, seeking our legislative priorities. This will be presented to the NYSBA leadership before the November 4 House of Delegates session in Albany. We are planning a Lobby Day for the next legislative session, anticipated to be in early 2024, where we will send some of our best advocates to Albany to present our position on our legislative issues of highest priority. Special thanks and recognition to our hard-working Legislation Committee co-chairs Deborah Ball and Jeff Asher, vice chairs Jaime Lewis, Mike Dezik, and Val Bogart, and to all of our section leadership.
Prior to making the committee leadership assignments, I spent time speaking to each potential incoming and continuing committee chair and vice chair, and discussing how each could contribute most productively to our section. I can already see that the result is a committed and robust roster of committee leaders, and I am thrilled to be at the helm. At the end of this Journal, our editors have listed the full leadership roster of our section co-chairs, vice-chairs, delegates and liaisons, with their contact information.
Please familiarize yourself with the leadership in your practice areas, join a committee (or more), come to Saratoga for the fall meeting and our other meetings and events. Reach out to the chairs or vice chairs of any committee you wish to join and get to know your fellow section members. It is heartening to see the collegiality, mentoring, referrals, collaboration, brainstorming, and friendships that have developed among our members. I am beyond proud to be the chair of this fabulous section.
My door, email, and phone remain open to each of you. Thank you for the good work you do for our elderly and special needs clients and their families and thank you for making our section what it is. Let’s continue to work and grow together for the betterment of our section and our clients.
