Recent Blog Posts
Estate Planning Resolutions for the New Year: A New York Perspective
You know you are old if you can remember when George H. Bush said that it was his right, as President of the United States, to decide whether he ever wanted to eat broccoli again. You may never have been elected to public office, but you can identify with the sentiment that, once you… Read More »
How Life Changes Affect Your Estate Plan: Marriage, Divorce, New Children
Getting started on your estate plan when you have retired or are about to retire can make you feel like you are late to the party. Your friends who truly have their act together started working on their estate plans when they were in their 40s or even younger, and now they just have… Read More »
A History Nerd’s Toast to Trusts
If you are old enough that you have ever thought about your estate plan, then you are old enough to know that times change quickly. Just try explaining to your children what it was like only being able to reach people by phone when they were home, or only being able to watch your… Read More »
Medicaid Planning in New York: Strategies to Protect Your Assets
A comprehensive estate plan should account for the transfer of your property to your heirs after you die, but it should also account for the medical care and assistance with tasks of daily living that you might need in your old age. Medicare covers some healthcare costs for seniors, but even though it costs… Read More »
Updating Your Estate Plan After Retirement in New York
Now that you are retired, you get to enjoy the things you worked for. You are feeling quite pleased with yourself, and for good reason. You are one of the fortunate few who had the presence of mind to start working on your estate plan when you are young. Many of your peers begin… Read More »
Power of Attorney in New York: What You Need to Know Before Signing
Designating other people as representatives to make transactions with your property is a major part of estate planning. For example, when you write a will, you designate a personal representative for your estate; he or she will conduct transactions on behalf of your estate. Likewise, when you establish a trust, the trust instrument names… Read More »
Estate Planning for Blended Families in New York: What to Consider
Conflict between stepparents and stepchildren is a source of virtually endless interesting discourse. Once the drinks start to flow, your friends will tell you about how no one can push their buttons quite like their stepchildren; stepchildren are a reminder that your spouse has never belonged exclusively to you, and you will never have… Read More »
New York Estate Tax Explained: How to Protect Your Heirs
Reasonable minds can disagree about where the dividing line lies between prosperity and financial hardship. Some people would draw the line at whether you get an income tax refund or whether you owe money to the IRS after you honestly enter your income, tax credits, and tax deductions into the mathematical formula for calculating… Read More »
Special Needs Trusts in New York: Providing for Loved Ones With Disabilities
When estate laws are a plot point in movies or TV shows, it is usually to highlight the greed of someone who owns property or stands to inherit it, or else as a deus ex machina in which a sudden influx of inherited money enables the characters to solve their problems. In most cases,… Read More »
The Top 7 Mistakes People Make in Estate Planning and How to Avoid Them
Your estate plan does not have to be perfect. There is probably no such thing as a perfect estate plan. Glaring errors in estate planning can make life more difficult for your heirs, though. Most estate planning mistakes simply cause delays or preventable expenses during probate, but the worst ones can cause long-lasting family… Read More »