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Tara Pleat

Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC

Tara Pleat

Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC

Tara Pleat

Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC

Tara Anne Pleat, Esq., is a co-owner and co-manager of the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC. She practices in the areas of Special Needs Estate Planning and Administration, Trust and Estate Administration, Estate and Trust Planning for residents of New York and Florida, Long Term Care Planning and Elder Law. Tara is a cum laude graduate of Albany Law School, with honors in the Estate Planning concentration. She earned her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Albany. During law school Tara worked full-time as a trusts and estates paralegal in an Albany Law Firm.

Tara is admitted to practice in New York, Florida and Massachusetts, the United States Tax Court and the United States Federal District Court in the Northern District of New York.

Tara is a co-vice Chair of the Special Needs Planning Committee of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and a Member of the Taxation Committee of the Trusts & Estates Section. In addition, Tara is a Member of the Special Needs Alliance, an invitation only, national network of leading disability attorneys who practice in the areas of Special Needs Trusts and public benefits.

Tara is the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York and sits on the Board of the Childrens Museum at Saratoga and Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County. She is a graduate of the 2006 class of Leadership Saratoga, sponsored by the Saratoga Springs Chamber of Commerce, and currently is a Member of the Leadership Saratoga Advisory Board.

Tara frequently speaks on Estate Planning and Administration, Special Needs Planning and related disability issues for state and local bar associations, community organizations and parent groups.

Recent Presentations

  • Fundamentals of Estate Administration, National Business Institute Continuing Legal Education Programs for Attorneys, November 2011, Albany, New York Introduction to Estate Planning, October 2011, Albany Law School Continuing Legal
  • Education Program for Graduates, Albany, New York Special Needs Planning for Families of Children with Disabilities, New York State Bar
  • Association Continuing Legal Education Program from Attorneys, Latham, New York
  • Charitable Giving Basics, New York State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education
  • Program for Attorneys, October 2011, Latham, New York
    Resolving Legal and Financial Issues in Elder Law, National Business Institute
  • Continuing Legal Education Program for Attorneys, May 2011, Latham, New York
    Drafting Supplemental Needs Trusts, New York State Bar Association Continuing Legal
  • Education Program for Attorneys, June 2010, Latham, New York
    Supplemental Needs Trusts, New York State Bar Association Elder Law Section Fall
  • Meeting, October 2009, Bolton Landing, New York
    Current Developments in Elder Law and Long Term Care Planning, New York State
  • Association of Resident Service Coordinators Statewide Training Conference, June 2008, Saratoga Springs, New York.
    Planning for Snowbirds - What New York Attorneys should know about Florida:
    Schenectady County Bar Association Program for Attorneys, March 2008, Schenectady, New York
    Supplemental Needs Trusts - Taxation of Supplemental Needs Trusts: New York State
    Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Program for Attorneys September 2007, Albany, New York.


    Research & Publications
  • A Summary of Medicaid Waiver Programs Available for Individuals with Special Needs and Their Families in New York State, New York State Bar Association Elder Law Section, January 2010
  • Special Needs Trusts and Retirement Benefits: Compromises and Opportunities When Disability and Distributions Collide, Estate Planning Magazine, February 2009, coauthored with Edward V. Wilcenski, Esq.
    Snowbird News: Repeal of the Florida Intangible Tax, New York State Bar Association
  • Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Winter 2006
    Circular 230: What the Trusts and Estates Practitioner Should Know, New York State
  • Bar Association Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Fall 2005
    Tax and Estate Planning Opportunities under the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (Trusts and Estates Section eNews, co-author) Taxation of Regular Corporations, appearing in New York State Bar Associations
  • Taxation for the General Practitioner

Firm Description

Law partners Edward V. Wilcenski and Tara Anne Pleat practice in the areas of special needs estate planning and trust and estate administration, traditional estate planning and trust and estate administration, and elder law.  Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC has two offices located near the scenic Adirondack Mountains. The main office is located  in southern Saratoga County, just north of Albany.  The second office is located in the Town of Queensbury in southern Warren County, just south of Lake George.

Ed and Tara both have family members with disabilities and they designed Wilcenski & Pleat around three core concepts: competence in their chosen areas of practice; credibility among their peers and within the communities they serve; and continuity-clients rest assured that attorneys and staff will be here to provide expertise and service throughout the years ahead.   

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What Is an Elder Law Attorney?

Main Office

5 Emma Lane
Clifton Park, NY 12065

Empire Theatre Plaza
11 South Street, Suite 202
Glens Falls, NY 12801

On the web

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Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

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How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

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Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

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Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

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Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

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Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

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Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

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ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

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Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

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Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

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Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

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Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

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Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

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Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

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