A media wildfire spread this week after word got out about a particularly exotic estate planning strategy crafted on behalf of a Florida man. According to a report yesterday in The Huffington Post, the new estate planning strategy involved the man adopting his 42-year old girlfriend. Apparently this was done…
Our New York estate planning attorneys have decades of experience helping local families following the death of a loved one. We have come to appreciate the role that we play in this difficult time via the estate administration and probate settlement process. Financial uncertainty is the last thing that families…
Local residents usually take the time to craft a New York estate plan because they wish to prepare for disability, save estate taxes, and avoid the probate process. In most cases these goals are best met through the use of a living trust. The trend over the past several decades…
One of our New York estate planning attorneys, Bonnie Kraham, Esq., recently authored an article that shares information on the increasing use of trusts in the estate plan of many local middle class families. The story was published in this weekend’s Times Herald-Record, and explains the various types of trusts…
Local residents visit our New York estate planning attorneys for professional assistance to protect and pass on their assets. Many also expect guidance identifying the items that should be considered an asset and included in the planning. Most area families need to consider things beyond homes, cars, investment portfolios, and…
Proper New York estate planning has ramifications beyond the lives of the planners themselves. Whole families are impacted by these decisions. The far reaching consequences mean that it is often appropriate for concerned family members–like adult children–to remind parents of the value in proper estate preparations. An article yesterday in…
A common provision in wills and trusts, where one of the couple in a second marriage owns the marital home, goes something like this “My surviving spouse shall have the right to reside in the home for so long as he/she desires, provided he/she pays all taxes and insurance premiums…
by Michael Ettinger, Esq. A couple came in to see me today for the husband’s 88 year old father who is a nursing home in Florida. They now wish to bring him up to New York to be nearer to the family. He has about $600,000 in assets, including his…
by Michael Ettinger, Esq. Commonly used in estate planning today, disclaimer trusts allow the surviving spouse great flexibility in optimizing estate tax savings. Here’s how they work. Each spouse sets up their revocable living trust. Husband and wife are co-trustees of his trust, using his social security number and, similarly,…
by Michael Ettinger, Esq. The year 2001 was a space odyssey in more ways than one. It was also the last time we faced Federal estate tax rates as high as 55%, and exempt amounts as low as one million dollars. Nevertheless, this appears to be what we are going…