brooklyn estate planning

Choosing the Right Beneficiaries

Published on: June 28, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Typically, many people tend to think an estate plan only includes your Will. In today’s day and age, however, most people have a much more diversified estate plan than they realize. Your estate plan is far more than just your Will and includes things like trusts, investments, retirement accounts, and insurance policies. One of the challenges of comprehensive estate planning can be understanding how these assets work and to whom they should go to. Recently, Forbes explored the way several assets within a typical estate plan usually work and understanding this could be an important part of your estate planning decisions.

Wills and Trusts

Those selected to benefit from assets distributed through a Will may have to wait a little longer than if you were to use a trust or other vehicle to distribute such assets. Wills are required to go through the probate process to prove that they are valid and to make sure they comply with the law. Typically, assets within a Will cannot be touched until the probate process is complete. While the probate process in New York is easier than elsewhere, it can still be time-consuming especially for an individual that may need immediate access to the assets in your Will.

Empowering Your Power of Attorney

Published on: June 24, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Most individuals recognize the importance of comprehensive estate planning, although they may still choose to avoid it. One important part of your estate plan is your power of attorney (“POA”). Basically, a POA is a document that nominates an individual to make legal decisions for you in the event that you are unable to do so for yourself. You can choose the extent of the decision-making power you vest in the individual you have chosen by working together with an experienced estate planning attorney to determine how to best represent your goals. However, it is important to be aware of some of the pitfalls that could weaken your POA. According to a recent article from Forbes, the following tips may help you do just that.

Use an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney

Too many people decide to cut corners by using any number of online forms and legal information available for download. However, these forms are not tailored to a client’s individual needs, nor do they help you understand important aspects about making sure your POA and other estate planning documents meet the needs you have expressed. Designing your POA and other estate planning documents with an experienced estate planning attorney can help you make sure that your estate plan complies with the law. This can save you and your loved ones time, money, and stress down the line. With something as important as estate planning, you want to be sure that you

IRA Trusts as a Protective Measure

Published on: June 22, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Once an individual decides to engage in comprehensive estate planning, several concerns may arise. One of those concerns often involves leaving a large sum of money to an heir that may be facing financial difficulty or may not yet have the ability to budget in a responsible manner. In such cases, individuals likely still want to make sure that the heir in question is financially provided for, but may have serious concerns over whether or not the heir is able to utilize an inheritance in a reasonable manner. In such cases, CNBC notes that increasingly popular IRA trusts might be the solution to helping you make sure that an heir’s inheritance accomplishes the goal you want it to meet.

Basics of an IRA Trust

An IRA, or individual retirement account, typically comes in one of two forms: a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. There are different tax structures in place for both types of accounts, but regardless of the type you choose these retirement accounts can often grow to include sizeable amounts of money over time. As these accounts grow, it is increasingly important for you to ensure that your comprehensive estate planning strategy makes the best use of them.

Non-Spouse IRA Inheritance

Published on: June 20, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

We have written several aspects about the role IRAs can play in your comprehensive estate planning strategy, as well as several concerns that accompany them. Here, we will address the two common choices facing non-spousal individuals listed as heirs for an IRA account that is not slated to go to a trust for that individual heir. These two choices are to take a lump sum withdrawal or to keep the account invested. Each of these may have different consequences for an individual heir that are important for everyone to keep in mind.

Lump Sum Withdrawal

Non-spousal IRA heirs have the option to elect to make a lump sum withdrawal of the assets within the IRA. Choosing this option could be beneficial on several levels, such as enabling the heir to make use of a large sum of money for important large purchases like a house or renovations. It could also enable them to pay off otherwise crippling debts. However, inheriting a large sum of money all at once can carry complications, some of which are determined by the amount within the IRA as well as the type of IRA.

Company Claims to Sell Social Security Numbers

Published on: December 21, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Maintaining your Social Security number is something we have all been told to keep close, and to be wary of releasing to companies unless absolutely needed. Your Social Security number are a series of numbers that help identify individuals in the United States as either citizens, permanent residents, or temporary workers, for tax reporting purposes. If closely held, this series of numbers provides an easy way for you to identify yourself for various reasons including obtaining bills, loans, applying for jobs, and when attempting to contact any government agency.

While the internet has provided us with a vast amount of knowledge, it has also provided hackers with a way of obtaining our personal data once entered into a database, for credit card processing, or many of the other reasons we use personal information. A website is recently under scrutiny when they began selling Social Security Numbers for $250 dollars each. The website guarantees that as long as the seeker of the Social Security Number has the correct name, last known address, and date of birth of the person they are looking for, they will provide the correct Social Security Number.

The way in which Peopleinfofind.com, the website behind this scheme is able to claim what they are doing is legal is by stating they they provide this information in order to help debt collectors or those who have forgotten their Social recover it or locate an individual. However, the Better Business Bureau has caught on and is now investigating their website. While it is legal for employers to verify an employee’s Social Security Number with the Social Security Administration, attempting to find someone’s Social Security Number through a reverse lookup should be seriously questioned.

The Insolvent New York Estate

Published on: October 19, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The legal entity that owns and controls a person’s property after they die is known as an estate. The person who leaves behind an estate is called the decedent. It is customary for the decedent to appoint someone to administer the estate and act as the executor of the estate in his or her last will and testament.

The executor of the estate fulfills many roles and responsibilities for the estate throughout the probate process. One of the most important duties that an executor performs is to pay off any final expenses that the decedent incurred as well as to pay off any debts and claims against the estate. New York Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act dictates what debts and expenses should be paid out of a decedent’s estate first. However, sometimes it is not possible for an estate to satisfy all of its debts and obligations.

The Insolvent Estate

What You Need To Know About Multinational Estate Planning

Published on: October 5, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

One of the more unique present day aspects of estate planning comes from the very mobile and connected nature that many people who need estate planning have. Many people will not just move across countries for their jobs but across borders. Globalization has brought the world closer together but added another layer of complexity for when it comes to protecting and planning for assets. A citizen of the United States needs to know what law governs taxation and their estate for their income, assets and holdings both in the United States and abroad.

Taxation Is Everywhere

Despite what many may believe, U.S. citizens and resident aliens are subject to U.S. income and estate tax on their worldwide assets. It does not matter what country those assets might be in, the income and assets must be reported. In fact, U.S. Citizens working overseas and foreign citizens considered residents of the United States must file reports with the IRS if the total value of their foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. U.S. citizens who are officers or directors in a foreign corporation who own more than 10 percent of the foreign corporation must also report ownership.

Life Insurance and Business Succession Planning

Published on: August 28, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Few people think about what will happen to their business after they die and therefore rarely put together a plan. Fewer may even think that a family or closely held business should be considered a part of their estate plan. However, for many small business owners, their financial interest in their business may be the largest asset that they have and represent most of the wealth that they will transfer at the time of their death. When transferring a family or closely held business, a well-funded life insurance policy can play a very large role in a smooth transition.

Providing For Your Children

There are a number of contingencies that a business owner has to consider when transferring their interest in their family or closely held business. While family businesses may be a truly family affair, with children working, operating and managing the business as well as the parents, it is a fact of life that not all of the children may be interested or suited to taking ownership of the business. In some cases, there might not be any children that wish to take over.

The Rapidly Disappearing Inheritance

Published on: August 15, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Beneficiaries Often Treat An Inheritance As A Windfall And Spend It As Such

You spend your entire life working hard, accumulating wealth and you want to pass it onto your children, to provide for them and their families after you have passed. But will they appreciate your life’s earnings or will they blow through it without a second thought? Unfortunately, more likely than not any inheritance that you leave behind will most likely be spent much faster than it was earned, and the statistics are alarming.

“From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” the old saying goes and the research shows that the sentiment is true. One third of people who received an inheritance had negative savings within two years. Even if the wealth does last past the first generation to receive it, 70 percent of inheritances are completely gone by the end of the second generation.

Disinheriting Your Spouse? Not So Under New York Law

Published on: July 18, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

You are always told that you can leave whatever assets you want in your will to whomever you want. After all it is your last will and testament. Your will represents your final wishes and they are to be carried out to the letter. You may be shocked to learn that in some cases under New York law that your will can actually be disregarded almost in its entirety, and that special case comes into play if you do not leave anything to your spouse.

Sacred Institution, Sacred Inheritance Rights

Marriage holds a special place in society and the laws of New York not only reflect that distinctive position but also protects the institution of marriage. Under New York’s Estate Powers and Trusts law section 5-1.1, a surviving spouse has the right to collect assets from a deceased spouse’s estate if the deceased spouse’s will either does not provide for the surviving spouse or does not give enough to the surviving spouse. It does not matter if the will has bequeathed those assets to someone else; the surviving spouse’s rights to the property trumps all others.