New York Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

March 24, 2022

The Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act and Estate Planning: Lessons Learned from Rickard v. Coulimore

In the recent case of Rickard v. Coulimore, the plaintiff purchased the subject residential real estate from a living trust. The plaintiff then initiated against the trust owners over damages connected to defects in the property that they had failed to disclose.

The Oklahoma Supreme granted certiorari to assess an interlocutory order to decide whether the transaction was excluded from the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act. The court determined that the transaction represented a transfer by a fiduciary who was not an owner-occupant of the real estate in the court of a trust’s administration and that the transaction was exempt from the Act. As a result, the court affirmed partial summary judgment in regards to the inapplicability of the Act, and the case was remanded for additional proceedings.

The Role of the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act

March 24, 2022

Estate Planning and Former Spouses

by Ettinger Law Firm

Over half the marriages in the United States result in divorce. For many people, divorce ends up being one of the most difficult experiences in their life. As a result, when attorneys present a person with divorce paperwork, this individual often fails to consider every little detail of how it will impact their life and does not update their estate plan. Unfortunately, failing to update estate planning documents after divorce could lead to many undesirable complications

A Hypothetical Situation

Imagine, a couple who got married in 2005. The wife had one daughter from a previous marriage. Even though the husband never officially adopted the girl, he treated the girl as she were his daughter during the marriage. A joint trust even referred to the girl as the couple’s “only living child” and named the girl as a residuary beneficiary. These terms have substantial meaning under the law and not considering these statements after a divorce can create substantial challenges.

March 14, 2022

What to Consider Following the Increase in the Annual Gift Tax Exclusion

by Ettinger Law Firm

In 2022, the annual exclusion for federal Gift Taxes was increased to $16,000 per individual annually. Even though a near-universal acceptance exists that gift-giving can play an important role in estate planning, a person should consider various issues before making gifts.

The way that gifts are made can have a substantial impact on beneficiaries. This is especially true if the party who receives a gift is below the age of 21. Direct gifts made to young people can have their own challenges which include exposure to creditors and limited control over how gifts are made. Consequently, it’s a wise idea in these situations to consider placing gifts in a trust.

The Danger Behind Direct Gifts

March 14, 2022

Crisis and Estate Planning Documents

by Ettinger Law Firm

The 2020s have been filled with tension. First, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic emerged. Then, race tensions hit an all-time high following the death of George Floyd and several others. Now, the invasion of Ukraine has left many people in more difficult situations than ever before. All of these events are enough to make even the calmest person uneasy.

The most seasoned estate planning professionals are used to addressing two major sources of uneasiness with clients: death and taxation. Planning for these certain events will help to reduce the uneasiness that a person feels. While it’s impossible to control the future and the state of the world, people can engage in thorough estate planning and be fully prepared for any complications that might happen and impact their estate plans.

Estate planning frequently attempts to pass or minimize risk. Some of the most helpful risk-avoiding or risk-shifting techniques that people utilize in an estate planning environment include:

March 14, 2022

Demand for Estate Planning Increases As More Millennials Become Caregivers

by Ettinger Law Firm

As the country enters a third year of living in a pandemic, estate planning is seeing an increase in millennials who are surpassing the baby boomer generation as the generation who performs the most caregiving for both children and aging parents.

Millennials are creating their own families, while simultaneously caring for their aging parents during a pandemic. This, in turn, is leading more caregivers to plan for the future. Even though millennials are taking responsibility for writing wills and creating trusts to establish families’ financial status, most adults in the United States lack an estate plan. Hopefully, by making digital estate planning as easy as possible, more people will create estate plans that achieve their wishes.

Key Findings from the Study

March 10, 2022

Hidden Estate Planning Advantage to This Year’s IRS Filing

by Ettinger Law Firm

This year’s tax filing season has some hidden advantages. Amidst a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and current tax laws, the Internal Revenue Service has predicted over 160 million Americans could start filing their federal tax returns at the end of January 2022. In regards to gift returns, this does not appear to be as nearly as problematic. The challenges primarily involve individual returns. Among the various tax strategies that clients have been using this year include under-the-radar trusts.

In 2021, donors could give up to $15,000 to another person like a friend or family member without this amount is subject to taxes. Each spouse in half of a married couple could utilize this limit to pass on assets to beneficiaries. Internal Revenue Service returns for many gifts over the threshold (As well as some under this threshold) are due on April 18, which is the same deadline that individual tax returns are due this year. Additionally, tax-payers can pursue an automatic six-month extension for both of these returns.

The Role of Annual Gifts

March 10, 2022

4 Estate Planning Strategies to Protect Your Assets

by Ettinger Law Firm

Considering that someday you will no longer be alive is an unpleasant thought. You might be frightened of the unknown, particularly when it involves issues of what will happen to your loved ones. Even though you will no longer be around to play a role in managing your estate, you do have an input in what happens to your estate after you pass away. This article reviews some of the helpful things that you can do to protect your money after you pass away.

A vital part of estate planning is creating a will, which is a type of legally-binding document that articulates your wishes for what should happen after you pass away including who you would like to manage your estate and how you want your assets to be divided. Wills can also include instructions regarding the care of any dependent or pets that you might have.

A poll conducted in 2021 revealed that less than half of the adults in the United States have a will. The results of this study are similar to other polls conducted as early as the 1990s. Even though it can be challenging to consider that you will someday pass away and to place instructions regarding how your family should manage your assets, doing this can be critical to making sure that your assets, as well as your loved ones, remain protected after you pass away.

March 10, 2022

The Importance of Reviewing Digital Asset Estate Plans

by Ettinger Law Firm

The world has changed substantially over the last few decades including in regards to estate planning. Even if you have a detailed estate plan, reviewing and updating the terms of the estate plan as appropriate is still critical. Due to advances with healthcare, more people are living longer and understandably need a wider range of options with their estate planning documents.

This article reviews some of the areas in the estate planning documents that most commonly need to be updated.

# 1 – Digital Assets

March 1, 2022

Reasons to Write an Electronic Will Regardless of Age

by Ettinger Law Firm

While we don’t like to confront the thought, none of us lives forever. When we pass, we understandably want to leave as manageable a situation as possible for our loved ones. If we fail to create estate plans, our loved ones can end up facing many obstacles.

Understandably, we want the estate planning process to be as quick and easy as possible. While online estate planning options are widely advertised, these choices often leave people with various questions including whether the documents will hold up in court, whether the electronic documents will conform to state law, and if the documents will successfully achieve your estate planning goals.

This article reviews some issues with electronic estate planning documents that people commonly wonder about.

March 1, 2022

Estate Plans Should Contemplate Pets

by Ettinger Law Firm

Many people find great enjoyment in sharing their life with a pet. Data reveals that about 90.5 million families in the United States own pets. For both people who are natural caregivers and those who require a pet’s companionship, pets can introduce a great sense of belonging to people. The consideration of pets is routinely overlooked when anticipating death and incapacity, though.

Consider Your Pet’s Specific Needs

When creating a trust or last will and testament, the needs of specific animals should be considered. Passing on responsibilities associated with small pets that live indoors is substantially different than requesting someone watch barnyard animals. You should consider who might be able to act as a future caregiver for your pet. Remember to be realistic about how this person will likely handle taking care of your pet.