Requires the state office for the aging to publish a "Guide to Actions When Someone Close Dies", the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9484
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Aging
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  elder law, in relation to publishing a guide to
   actions when someone close dies
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 226 of the elder law, as added by a chapter of the
 laws of 2025, amending the elder law relating to publishing a  guide  to
 actions  when  someone  close  dies,  as  proposed  in legislative bills
 numbers S. 4351-A and A. 3939-A, is amended to read as follows:
   § 226. Guide to actions when someone close dies. 1. The  office  shall
 publish  a "Guide to Actions When Someone Close Dies". [This] WITHIN ONE
 YEAR OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THIS  guide  shall  be  made
 publicly  available on the official website of the office and the office
 may ALSO produce a paper format [within one year of the  effective  date
 of this section].
   2.  The  guide  shall  provide  information  in at least the following
 domains:
   (a) Economic security, including but not limited to, pensions,  social
 security,  life insurance, health insurance, AND death benefits [as well
 as tax implications of a death]. THIS INFORMATION SHALL  ALSO  REFER  TO
 THE RESOURCES PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE REGARD-
 ING ESTATE TAXES.
   (b)  Legal,  including  how to access death certificates, wills, trust
 documents and other legal information needed to plan for the future.
   (c) Mental health assistance, including information  on  the  grieving
 process,  triggers  and symptoms associated with grief, effective coping
 strategies, the impact on family dynamics in relation  to  the  loss  of
 someone close, and other mental health concerns correlated with grief.
   (d)  Disposition of remains including funeral and service arrangements
 and burials. This information shall [include  average  costs  by  region
 and]  refer  to  the  resources  provided  by the department of health's
 bureau of funeral directing.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04492-05-6
 A. 9484                             2
 
   (e) Other information as determined by  the  office  [in  consultation
 with  the  special  advisory  committee  established  pursuant  to  this
 section].
   3.  The [director shall establish a special advisory committee to help
 fulfill the requirements of this section. The committee shall be  tempo-
 rary and dissolve thirty days after the guide is posted and distributed.
 The  members  of the special advisory committee shall receive no compen-
 sation for their services but shall be reimbursed for actual and  neces-
 sary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, to the extent
 funds  are  appropriated for such purpose.  The committee shall contain]
 OFFICE MAY CHOOSE TO SEEK CONSULTATION WITH AND  ADVICE  FROM  represen-
 tatives  from  the  following  professions  as  well as any state agency
 representatives [that are needed at the  discretion  of  the  director],
 WHICH MAY INCLUDE:
   (a) Funeral directors;
   (b) Cemeteries;
   (c) Mental health professionals with specific knowledge of grief coun-
 seling;
   (d)  Attorneys  specialized in estate planning, including the New York
 state bar association; [and]
   (e) TAX PROFESSIONALS; AND
   (F) Clergy.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
 manner  as a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the elder law relating
 to publishing a guide to actions when someone close dies, as proposed in
 legislative bills numbers S. 4351-A and A. 3939-A, takes effect.