Family Law

• Guardianship
  I want to share with you a recent article from the front page of the New York Law Journal in which I was interviewed. The article was about a very interesting guardianship case in Nassau County in which I represented a neighbor who was appointed the guardian of a gentleman suffering from profound dementia over the objections of his family, Nassau County Adult Protective Services, the court–appointed Evaluator and the court-appointed temporary guardian. Objections to the neighbor’s appointment as guardian focused on the fact that the neighbor transferred funds from accounts co-owned by the gentleman and herself, that she was not initially receptive to obtaining full time care for the gentleman, and that the neighbor was the sole beneficiary of the gentlemen’s most current Will. But the gentleman was adamant that the neighbor handle his affairs, and was clear about his desire in spite of his severe condition.

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  "Medicaid for the Elderly, Blind and Disabled ". Mr. Chu is also a member of the PLI teaching faculty and current Chair of their Annual New York Elder Law Institute. Mr. Chu is a member of the New York State Bar Association Elder Law Section. He is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey (inactive) and Washington, D.C. (inactive) Before entering the field of Elder Law, Mr. Chu was an associate attorney at Dunnells, Duvall, Bennett & Porter in Washington, D.C. from 1987 to 1989 where he focused on White Collar Criminal defense work. Mr. Chu has been selected by his peers to be added the

Property Law

• Real Estate Transactions

Health Law

• Medicaid Planning
  Medicaid planning is used to prepare for or deal with the end of Medicare benefits. The information provided below will help you determine when or if your Medicare benefits will end and when you may need to look into the need for Medicaid coverage to help pay for the high cost of long term care.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  The firm of Hynes & Chu has extensive experience with assisting families as they confront the legal questions related to the financing of long-term care, applying for public benefits and preventing the costs of long-term care from depleting personal savings. We pay special attention to how making health care-related decisions will interact with your estate planning and taxation concerns.
• Wills
  July 20, 2022 - Morningside Retirement & Health Services. Subject - "Introduction to Estate Planning": power of attoney, health care proxy, living wills, Wills and Trust options. Speakers = Douglas Chu and Sherri Hughes. To be held at the MRHS Center at 100 LaSalle Street at 1 pm.
• Power of Attorney
  It is important to note that a power of attorney was executed by the gentleman a few years ago in which my client was named his agent. The entire proceeding could have been avoided, and significant costs could have been averted, if the power of attorney had not been lost, or if his attorney produced a copy, which he was ethically required to retain. It is important that we stress to the community the importance of executing a power of attorney, and to properly do so under the supervision of an attorney, particularly in light of the newly sanctioned forms that are far more complex than previous forms. It is equally important that we stress that originals or copies be retained by all interested parties, and secured in places where the forms can be easily obtained in a time of crisis.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Tax Law