Living Wills

A client came to my office asking for me to draft a Last Will and Testament, power of attorney and living will. It was very simple, until we got to the living will/health care proxy document. He paused a long time and really was not sure what he wanted to do with this.

He thought that if he did not sign the living will, he would just let a doctor decide what to do with him. I told him that a doctor can not decide what to do with him if he falls into a permanent state of unconsciousness or have an irreversible illness. no one really would have a clear say what to do with him without a living will.

A living will is a document that lets you plan for your medical situations. It is a great opportunity to allow you to advise your doctor your medical wishes and types of treatment you want. A living will only takes effect when you have been medically determined to be in a permanent vegetative state or terminally ill.

One of the most importnant things that a document like this does, also, is take away the guilt from the family members if they question "is this enough medical care?" or "Would he want this."

I think it is a very important document. The good thing- after he went home and thought about it, he came back and signed it.

Retaining a Lawyer

“Can you just call the court and tell them that I need a postponement? “ It sounds so easy and quick. Unfortunately, if you are just calling a lawyer for the first time, attorneys cannot just call the court and ask them to postpone a matter. The lawyer must be retained first. Often, clients think that they can retainer a lawyer to just write a letter or call the court to postpone a motion or even trial. Unfortunately, once a lawyer submits a letter to the court, the lawyer has been retained for the entire matter. You will, therefore, be hard pressed to find a lawyer who will just call the court to postpone a matter.

Announcement: Matus and Connell, L.L.C.

Christine L. Matus, Esq. L.L.C. and Joseph A. Connell, Sr., J.D., PhD.,L.L.C.

are pleased to announce the formation of

Matus and Connell, L.L.C.,

a partnership of Limited Liability Companies.

With combined LegalExperience of 36 years, this new partnerhsip will be able to provide even more personalized attention to your legal needs.

Including, but not limited to:

Residential & Commercial Real Estate

Immigration & Nationality Law

Short Sales

Green Cards - Naturalization (Citizenship) -

Foreclosures

Visas for Non-Immigrant Professional Workers

Loan Modifications

Seasonal Workers - Religious Workers

Consumer Fraud

Visas for Medical Treatment

Name Changes

Medical Workers - Deportation Defense

Divorce and Child Support

Outbound Immigration - Employer Regulatory

Compliance

Employment Law - Representing Employers

Training - Policy & Procedures

Civil Litigation (Defense)

Small Business - Formation - Strategic Planning

Loan Modifications

In the last several months, I have come across clients who have fallen behind on their mortgage and are now faced with some options, like whether to obtain a loan modification.

These are difficult times, and often during times of pressure, rash decisions are made without fully understanding the consequences of our choices. There's a great blog by Mandelman about this subject.
Bascially, Mortgage loan modifications assist home owners stay in their properties by restructuring present mortgages to minimize month-to-month payments. Even though mortgage modification loans are beneficial to debtors, loan providers take advantage from them as well.

Some Basics for a loan Modification are :
Start the loan modification procedure early. Your lender doesn't want to foreclose on your house, but it will follow common protocol after you default on your mortgage loan installments. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development states that borrowers should speak to their mortgage loan companies and request modification of their residence loans as soon as house loan payments become a dilemma .
-- Avoid loan modification scams. Be cautious of any business or individual that offers to help "streamline" your home loan modification process. Even though reputable organizations exist that can offer you assistance, con artists abound that are much more than prepared to take your money, or worse, your property.
-- Have proof of your monetary scenario.
-- Stay in contact with your loan company. If you submit your Loan Modification application and monetary paperwork however do not hear something from your loan company for several weeks, call the bank and inquire about the status of your application.
-- Get it in writing. If a bank representative called to inform you that your loan modification request was accepted, hold off on celebrating until you receive the information in writing . Your loan company isn't required to honor any statements produced by its representatives over the telephone. Continue making your previous mortgage payment until the financial institution sends you something in writing notifying you of your new loan terms.

Should you hire a lawyer to help you with this?
"When a homeowner hires an attorney to help negotiate a loan modification, that attorney is not going to being made to feel ashamed, guilty, or afraid… the borrower can be made to feel all of those things and more, but the lawyer, not so much. He or she is a hired gun, if you will. That’s why the banks don’t want homeowners to be represented, and why they want homeowners to call them directly." Well, said, Mandelman.

CALCULATING CAPITAL GAIN

CALCULATING CAPITAL GAIN

"Analyze the Benefits of an Exchange before You Sell"

1. CALCULATE NET ADJUSTED BASIS Original Purchase Price __________
+ Improvements __________
- Depreciation __________
= NET ADJUSTED BASIS __________

2. CALCULATE CAPITAL GAIN Sales Price __________
- Net Adjusted Basis __________
- Cost of Sale __________
= CAPITAL GAIN __________

3. CALCULATE CAPITAL GAIN TAX DUE Recaptured Deprection (25% ) __________
+ Federal Capital Gain (15%) __________
+ State Tax (when applicable) __________
= TOTAL TAX DUE __________

4. ANALYZE PURCHASE-NO EXCHANGE Sales Price __________
- Cost of Sale __________
- Loan Balances __________
= GROSS EQUITY __________
- Capital Gain Taxes Due __________
= NET EQUITY __________

Net Equity X 4 = __________

5. ANALYZE PURCHASE-EXCHANGE Capital Gain Taxes Due _____0____
Gross Equity = Net Equity __________
Gross Equity x 4 = __________

How to have United States documents recognized in the Philippines

I found this on the Philippine Embassy website:

If you are going to use in the Philippines any documents that are executed, signed or issued in the United States, these documents must bear a consular notarization or authentication so that they will be accorded legal effect in the Philippines.

Examples of these documents are Special Powers of Attorney, General Powers of Attorney, Affidavits, Deeds, Contracts, Assignments, Letters of Patent, Articles of Incorporation, Certificates of Birth, Marriage or Death and other official documents issued by U.S. authorities within the Consulate's jurisdiction.

It is important to note that the Philippine Consulate General in New York only performs consular notarization or authentication for documents that are issued or executed within Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Consulate does not notarize or authenticate documents that are executed or issued in other States or Counties. Also, the Consulate does not perform notarial services for documents that are intended to be presented or submitted to non-Philippine government or private entities, such as Affidavits of Support for U.S. immigration purposes and other documents of similar nature.

All documents presented for consular notarization or authentication must comply with the procedures and requirements set forth below to avoid unnecessary delay in the notarization/authentication process.




AUTHENTICATION

The authentication of a document is made when the party or parties executing a legal document could not appear in person before a Consular officer at the Consulate.

Under this procedure, the person who is executing the document must ensure that the said document(s) is sworn to before a local Notary Public. The duly-notarized document must thereafter be submitted to the local County Clerk of Court or the Secretary of State in the State where the applicant resides. The local County Clerk or the Secretary of State will issue a Certification attesting to the official authority of the Notary Public to perform notarial functions.

After the local County Clerk or the Secretary of State shall have issued a Certification, the document should then be forwarded to the Consulate for authentication.
The Consulate also authenticates official documents issued by government offices of the U.S. Government, such as Certificates of Birth, Marriage, Death, that are intended to be submitted to government offices in the Philippines.

Requirements:

• The original copy of each document must be presented. Each original copy must be accompanied by one (1) photocopy for the Consulate's records.
• The fee each set of document is $25.00 in cash, cashier's check or postal money order made payable to the Philippine Consulate General. Personal checks, personal money orders, ATMs or credit cards are not accepted as modes of payment. Do not send payments in cash if applying by mail.
• If filed in person, documents received before 3:00 pm are normally released within the same day.
• If filed by mail, in addition to the above documents, include a self-addressed pre-paid stamped envelope (preferably PRIORITY MAIL with TRACKING NUMBER) in your packet destined for the Consulate.
• The processing time normally takes three (3) working days from the date the completely accomplished packet is received by the Consulate. Only applications compliant with the requirements and procedures listed above can be accepted for processing.
• If you have not received your processed document/s two (2) weeks from mailing your application to the Consulate General within the United States, please email us at legal@pcgny.net with the following subject line: Subject: (Insert Name of Applicant) – Authentication Sent on (Insert Date of Mailing of Application)

Consulate is NOT RESPONSIBLE for delay or loss in mail or any other uncontrollable circumstances surrounding acknowledgment or authentication of your documents.


LEGALIZATION/NOTARIZATION BY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, JURAT OR CERTIFICATION

When the individual executing the document appears in person before a Consular officer at the Consulate, the document will be notarized by the Consular Officer in the form of an Acknowledgment, Jurat or Certification, as the case may be. The Consular officer in this case performs the functions of a Notary Public. Hence, individuals personally appearing before a Consular officer are no longer required to have their documents notarized by a Notary Public before submitting the same for notarization.

Five Tips to protect Your Child with Special Needs

Protecting a child with special needs may lead families to make common mistakes. Here are a few examples:

1. Custodial Accounts. Commonly, there are custodial accounts in the name of a child with special needs. Such an account, however, will affect the child’s availability for government assistance. Custodial accounts are often established long before the child’s special needs are recognized. If the account has an excess of $2,000.00, parents must deplete any such accounts for the care of their child to qualify for Medicaid assistance or allocate the assets to a pooled trust or first party special needs trust. If parents choose to provide assets to or for the benefit of that special needs child, a special needs trust may be established by parents or other family members and gifts can be made directly to this trust account.

2. 529 Plan. There also may be a 529 Plan in the name of a special needs child. This account in the child’s name may affect the child’s ability to receive government assistance. The 529 plan is considered an available asset of the child’s when determining his or her eligibility following the death of the individual who established the plan for such child. The best solution would be to change the designated beneficiary under the 529 Plan to name another child, if that is an option.

3. Retirement Plan and Insurance Policy Beneficiaries. Often times, parents may have worked to develop a special needs trust to which their estate plan is tied, however they forget one critical issue. Life insurance policies and retirement plan accounts pay to designated beneficiaries and do not pass under an individual’s Will. It is vital that parents tie these assets with the special needs trust. If a life insurance policy or retirement plan account are paid directly to a special needs child, the receipt of the assets will affect the child’s ability to receive government assistance.

4. Extended Family conference. Although talking with extended family members eager to benefit a special needs child may be awkward and difficult, the discussion is important. Well intentioned grandparents may allocate a portion of their estate to the special needs grandchild to make sure there are monies available to benefit their special needs grandchild and while intentions are good, the receipt of these monies could affect the grandchild’s ability to receive government benefits. Alternatively, a grandparent’s Will could leave assets to his or her children and if a child predeceases him or her, to the deceased Child’s issue (which could include a special needs grandchild). A bequest by grandparents to a special needs grandchild should be made to a special needs trust. If the parents of a special needs child feel there are family members who might make gifts or bequests to his or her special needs child, the parents should discuss with family members this issue to make sure that they understand that to the extent that they do want to leave assets to a special needs child, the assets should be left to the special needs trust created for the benefit of that child.

5. Use a Specialist. It is important that parents use an attorney who specializes in special needs planning instead of a general practitioner since there are specific issues which must be incorporated in a special needs plan.