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…
Yesterday marked the official federal holiday chosen to honor civil rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It also happened to be Inauguration Day for President Barack Obama. In a unique twist, the President chose to be sworn in on the Bible that was read by Dr. King on the…
Drafting a will can be a delicate process, because various legal requirements must be met before the document will have any legal effect. Cases abound of wills which were thrown out because they did not conform to the technical requirements. Ensuring that everything will be done pursuant to legal rules…
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…
The Daily Jeffersonian published a story recently on the bizarre details of a case involving a lottery winner’s apparent murder and the subsequent estate battle. Like the plot of a Hollywood crime drama, the tale includes a mysterious death, a series of hidden family feuds, and considerable money on the…
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…
Late last year the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear two separate cases impacting various same-sex marriage issues. As we have frequently discussed, in ruling on these issues the Supreme Court may set precedent which impacts marriages across the country, including in New York. In so doing the Court may…
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…