GOVERNMENT HAS BEST AT HAND – FOR FREE Whenever a taxpayer submits tax documents that deal with a work of art or of cultural significance that is valued at least $50,000, according to the taxpayer’s own estimate, the IRS goes through a process by which it independently evaluates the items.…
THE PROBLEM AND THE LAWS RESPONSE Sometimes when a person creates a trust they do not know all of the material facts, indeed cannot know all of the material facts regarding what is in the beneficiary’s best interest. Perhaps the trust expressly states that the beneficiaries cannot receive payment from…
PROBATE IS UNAVOIDABLE It is a fact of life that we can never plan for the worse case scenario and there is always risk in anything you do. The law recognizes this special risk, at least in part, in wrongful death lawsuits. In order for a wrongful death action to…
NEW YORK ANTI-LAPSE STATUTE This blog previously discussed what happens if an heir passes away simultaneous with a testator and how the property that would otherwise go to the person who simultaneously passed away with testator ends up getting transferred. An obvious related question is what happens if an heir…
NOT CUT OFF FROM BIOLOGICAL PARENTS IN EVERY CASE It is not unheard of for adoptive children to seek out their biological parents and reestablish contact once they are old enough and understand the world much better. The drive to understand who your biological ancestors are, to know where they…
CLOSING PERCEIVED LOOPHOLE Congress created the generation skipping tax almost 40 years ago in 1976 and ushered in an age of increasing complexity for the tax code, always complicated and cumbersome, to fix a problem perceived at the time (and since) of avoiding taxable events by transferring assets to “several…
GOOD FOR CERTAIN SUBSET OF POPULATION A health savings account is another way to save your money, tax free, for an inevitable expense that everyone will have to face and deal with eventually. Unfortunately one of the variables of retirement is that you will never know how much you will…
ROTH IRA ACCOUNTS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT This blog explored the topic of inheriting an individual retirement account (IRA) in a previous blog. It is necessary to explore the topic of inheriting a Roth IRA, as a Roth IRA is fundamentally different from a traditional IRA. Some of the differences between…
STILL TAXABLE Death and taxes, the old saying goes, are the only two things in life that are guaranteed. Taxes unlike passing away, can at least be deferred, mitigated and reduced. If your total estate is less than $5.45 million (2016), it is logical to believe that an individual retirement…
TRUST SETTLOR GIVES UP CONTROL When a settlor creates a trust, he/she passes title of the property or asset to the trust or gives cash money to the trust, wherein the trustee invests the money as a fiduciary or manages the asset or asset in issue for the best interest…