Estate Planning

December 4, 2019

How to Stop Hesitating and Finally Write Your Estate Plans

Many people understand that they should create an estate plan, but there are many reasons why they hesitate to do so. One of the most common reasons is that it can be difficult to accept that a person will not be around one day.

If you die without an estate plan in New York, however, you risk dying without an estate plan that could make sure that your assets are protected and that your loved ones receive what they deserve.

This article follows some strategies that you should follow to make sure that you end up writing your estate plan sooner rather than later.

December 2, 2019

How Beneficiary Designations Can Complicate Your Estate Plan

by Ettinger Law Firm

Many people who have engaged in estate planning understand that beneficiary designations play an invaluable. Despite this, the value of beneficiary designations is overlooked by some people. After signing estate planning documents, it is critical to make sure that your beneficiary designations are consistent with the rest of your estate plan. Otherwise, the possibility arises that the intent expressed in your will or other estate planning tools might override beneficiary designations.

The purpose of this article is to review some of the other critical issues that everyone should consider when it comes to beneficiary designations and the potential complications that can arise.

# 1 – Be Wary of Naming Spouses as Beneficiaries

November 29, 2019

Steps to Take before Death or Disability

by Ettinger Law Firm

It’s a painful realization that we will all die someday. Even though facing the prospect of your demise can be frightening, utilizing the proper estate planning tools give us control over an area where we have little power.

There are also many other helpful strategies that a person should make sure to take before death or disability, which will be addressed in this article.

# 1 – Create a Conversation

November 27, 2019

Estate Planning Documents Every Young Child Needs

by Ettinger Law Firm

Parents can make medical decisions for their children. After a child reaches the age of 18, however, and is viewed in the eyes of the law as an adult and a parent’s ability to make these decisions ends.

Fortunately, through the use of a few simple estate planning documents, young adults can avoid this situation as well as many others.

# 1 – Financial Power of Attorney

November 25, 2019

Understanding the Role of Trust Protectors

by Ettinger Law Firm

Trust protectors are becoming an increasingly common part of estate plans in New York as well as the rest of the country. A trust protector refers to someone who is appointed to look over a trust and make sure that the trust is not adversely affected by changes in the law.

Appointing a trust protector is not a decision that benefits everyone. As a result, this article reviews some of the biggest advantages that people realize throughout appointing a trust protector.

# 1 – Make Changes to a Trust without Formal Amendments

November 22, 2019

How is Inheritance Tax Different from Estate Tax?

by Ettinger Law Firm

Many conversations mention estate and inheritance taxes together, but there are some substantial differences between these two things. Both these taxes, however, have one thing in common: not everybody pays them.

As a result, it is a wise idea to begin by deciding whether you will be required to pay either of the taxes.

Is Inheritance Taxable?

November 20, 2019

Advice on Handling Specific Bequests in Wills

by Ettinger Law Firm

The Supreme Court of Montana recently affirmed a judgment by the district court distributing assets from a trust established by a husband and wife to the couple’s three children.

The district court had interpreted the trust creator’s handwritten codicil as a wish and not a specific bequest of the woman’s stock in a company that the couple had created and grown. Before the husband’s death in 1993, the couple executed identical wills under which the assets of the first spouse to die passed into a trust with the assets in the trust intended to be distributed equally between the three children of the surviving spouse.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision that the codicil was lacking in testamentary intent to specifically devise shares, this specific bequest was not passed on.

November 18, 2019

What You Should Know About the New York Survivor’s Benefit Program

by Ettinger Law Firm

The Mississippi Court of Appeals recently decided that a man convicted of DUI manslaughter that led to the death of his wife can collect survivor benefits from the state. The late woman had designated her husband as a 40% beneficiary while the deceased woman’s sister was a 60% beneficiary. While Mississippi law permits spouses in the husband’s situation to still receive benefits, some states have prevented this type of result by altering statutory language. The husband previously pleaded and was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 10 years suspended and 15 to serve. The man later received a separate two-year sentence for possession of contraband.

While the Mississippi Court’s decision might seem strange, it emphasizes the importance of understanding the basics about the New York Survivor’s Benefit Program, which will be briefly reviewed in this article.

The Role of the New York Survivor’s Benefits Program

November 15, 2019

Important Estate Planning Steps to Take after a Parent’s Death

by Ettinger Law Firm

Losing a parent is not easy. While being prepared for the event might not make the emotional aspect any easier, it can help to eliminate the potential for additional problems. As a result, this article reviews some of the important financial steps that you can take after a parent passes away.

# 1 – Determine if Your Parents Had an Estate Plan

The position of managing a parent’s estate after their death can be made much easier if a parent had an estate plan. Ideally, a parent will organize all of their estate documents in an easy to find but secured location. The best estate plans include wills that address how assets should be handled, dispositions of last remains regarding how a parent’s remains should be disposed of, and several other documents.

November 13, 2019

Why More than Wills Are Necessary for Estate Planning

by Ettinger Law Firm

Wills play an important part in the estate planning process. The best estate plans, however, include more than wills. Instead, the best estate plans anticipate the numerous complications that can arise at the end of a person’s life.

Advance Healthcare Directives

Medical powers of attorney and living wills serve an important role that wills simply do not touch. A medical power of attorney can be used to appoint someone to make healthcare decisions in case you become incapacitated. A living will can be used to determine what type of life-prolonging measures you would like if you end up on life support.