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Michael D. Dezik

Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC

Michael D. Dezik

Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC

Michael D. Dezik

Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC

Michael Dezik practices in the areas of special needs estate planning and administration, traditional estate planning and administration, long-term care planning, and elder law.

Mike is a graduate of Albany Law School after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from State University of New York at Buffalo’s Media Studies Program. Mike moved to Glens Falls after law school where he resides with his wife and daughter.

"As natives of Western New York, my wife and I were turned on to the Adirondacks after I graduated Law School. Now, having lived here for nearly 10-years we couldn't imagine a better place to call home."

Mike practices primarily out of the firm’s Glens Falls office, located in the Empire Theatre Plaza at 11 South Street, Suite 202 but is available at the firm’s main office in Clifton Park where meeting in Southern Saratoga is more convenient.

Mike donates a great deal of his time to his community through a wide array of local and state organizations. Mike is the Past President of Caritas, Inc. a local not-for-profit entity that provides respite care for family care givers and those in need of care themselves; Co-Vice Chair of the Medicaid Committee of the of the New York State Bar Association’s Elder Law and Special Needs Section; Chair of the Warren County Bar Association’s Elder Law and Special Needs Committee; Secretary of the Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York; and serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern Adirondack Independent Living Center (SAIL).

Michael frequently presents on topics relevant to his field and is "AV" rated by Martindale Hubbell - the highest rating for expertise and ethics given by the independent rating service of the legal profession.

“Elder and special need issues are an underserved area in the Adirondacks and it is important that individuals know their rights in an ever increasingly complex system. I am proud to be a part of a practice that devotes itself to providing these services.”

Mike is also the Treasurer of the Warren County Bar Association, a member of the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation’s Planned Giving Council and a graduate of Leadership Adirondack, class of 2008. 

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 City of Glens Falls 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

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

5 Emma Lane
Clifton Park, NY 12065

On the web

View Firm Website


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.

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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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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.

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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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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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