New York Estate Planning & Elder Law BlogIn the fall of 1990, some thirty plus years ago, your writer first heard of the proposition that if you set up a living trust your estate doesn’t have to go to court to settle – the so-called probate court proceeding for wills. Having spent the previous eleven years as a litigation attorney, and having […]
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When Does a Trust Make Sense
By now most people know that trusts avoid probate which is required with a will — if there are “probatable” assets, in other words those in your name alone. While many assets can be set up to avoid probate by putting joint owners on or by naming beneficiaries, titles to real estate in New York […]
What You Need to Know about Living Trusts
If you’re creating a plan for what will happen to your estate after you pass away or become incapacitated, you’ve likely familiar with the advantages you can realize by creating a living trust. Items positioned in a trust do not pass through probate, which can be a costly and time-intensive process. Living trusts (also referred […]
Riverside v. Snukst: A Lesson on How to Avoid Trust Disputes
In the recent case of Riverside County Public Guardian v. Snukst, a California appellate Court resolved an issue involving the Medi-Cal program, which is California’s version of the federal Medicaid program. The program is overseen by the California Department of Health Services. In Riverside, the Department of Health Services pursued payment from a revocable inter […]
What You Should Know About Family Education Trusts
Planning for your children’s educational needs is a worthwhile goal. Fortunately, various options exist for satisfying this goal. A 529 plan can prove to be a powerful tool for paying tuition as well as paying for other education-related expenses while realizing tax advantages. Following your death, however, no certainty exists that later plan holders […]
Considering Using a Will vs. Trust in Your Estate Plan
Many people were forced to think about how to adequately manage their estates in 2020. While a will and last testament was for many years the most common estate planning, trusts have grown in popularity. As part of a will, a person must specify how his or her properties should be distributed after that individual […]
California Court Decides Sonoma Trust Case
A Court of Appeals in California recently affirmed a trial court’s award of attorney fees to a trust. This decision came after the trust tried to enforce a conservation easement. The defendants in the case owned land and were accused of intentionally violating an easement. This case raises an important lesson about the role that […]
Advice on Selecting a Professional Trustee to Manage Your Trust
If you decide to create a trust as part of your estate plan, there are various tasks that you must successfully navigate including appointing a trustee who can oversee the trust. A trustee performs the critical task of both managing the trust and distributing assets in a manner that conforms to the trust’s terms. […]
Factors to Consider When Deciding Whether a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust Is Right for You
If you’ve been considering making a gift to take advantage of the current lifetime federal estate tax emotions, you’ve likely considered the role that a spousal lifetime access trust could play in your trust. A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) is an irrevocable trust that is created for the benefit of your spouse. These […]
Maxey v. Maxey: 3 Takeaways about Placing Real Estate in Trusts
In the recent Texas appellate case of Maxey v. Maxey, a dispute occurred involving the probate of an estate in which two sisters mediated and reached a settlement agreement addressing the division of real property. The two sisters disagreed on how to divide property among several trusts and as a result initiated legal action against […]