One of the most common concerns that parents have when creating an estate plan in New York is worrying about passing on too much wealth to children who cannot properly handle it. After a lifetime of hard work, ingenuity, and prudent planning, the last thing many families want is to…
Our estate planning attorneys often help New Yorkers create trusts that are used to pass on assets to charities. When structured properly, gifts to favorited causes is both a great way to give back and a smart financial move to save on taxes and ensure that your long-term inheritance wishes…
Estate planning is a personalized affair. While there are general rules and principles that apply in all cases, at the end of the day each plan is tailored for an individual’s exact situation. A one-size-fits-all approach to this work is misguided and often leads to problems down the road. For…
Yet another celebrity has passed away unexpectedly, perhaps without conducting any estate planning. She left behind a complex family arrangement filled with disagreement and a fortune estimated at nearly $25 million. Telemundo star Jenni Rivera was a household name in Mexico when she died last month in a plane crash…
Some mistakenly assume that estate planning only deals with minimizing taxes. With all of the focus on the estate tax in recent weeks it is easy to see how this assumption might gain ground. And it is true that for some families, significant planning must be conducted to ensure that…
Like the monster from a horror movie that will not stay still no matter what is thrown at it, there are already suggestions that the apparent “final” decisions related to the estate tax may not actually be all that final. As we previously explained, as part of the fiscal cliff…
Chances are you have already heard that a bipartisan agreement was reached on New Years Day which averts the significant tax increases and spending cuts demanded by the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The agreement certainly went down to the wire, with the Senate passing a bill on the last day of…
One of the many goals of proper estate planning is to prevent family feuding. This is obviously to ensure that the worry, stress, and cost of these legal battles is avoided. But on top of that, done right, avoiding costly disputes saves an immense amount of time. It is well…
Only a few days remain in the year, and most financial activity for 2012 has come to a close. However, the end of year action has already brought one of the most active seasons ever. Financial advisors, estate planning attorneys, and others have all seen community members of all different…
The political wrangling to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” continued this week. Many different issues are all tied up in the negotiations, including income tax rates, defense spending, entitlement spending, and control of the debt limit. However, various reports suggest that the both sides in the political battle–primarily the Obama…