MODERN PROBLEM WITH ANCIENT ROOTS New York is one of approximately 19 states, along with the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands to specifically adopt the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act in some significant form or another. The law was drafted in 1940 and amended through the decades, last time…
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…
Grantor retained annuity trust (GRATs) are tremendous tools not just for the ultra wealthy, such as Mark Zuckerberg and the other founders of facebook, it is an estate planning technique that allows for a trust grantor to avoid paying gift taxes on the assets that they place into the trust…
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…
ROBIN WILLIAMS UNIQUE ESTATE PLANNING GENIUS This blog discussed some of the aspects of Robin Williams estate in the past. Mr. Williams will be remembered for a long time due to his many accomplishments, with a long, funny, inciteful and compassionate comedic wit. While it seems fairly certain that Mr.…
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…