Recent Blog Posts
How to Avoid Probate in New York (and Why You Should)
Despite what you see in the movies, inheriting money does not feel like winning the lottery, at least not the kind of winning the lottery where you just hand your scratch off ticket to the gas station cashier and walk away with the money. The hurdles you must clear to get your inherited money… Read More »
How to Choose the Right Estate Planning Lawyer in New York City
It is possible to build your estate plan from beginning to end without hiring a lawyer, provided that your estate plan is simple. People have the right to represent themselves in many legal matters, including probate, so the personal representative of your estate might be able to settle your estate without a lawyer. Some… Read More »
Is Whole Life Insurance Right for You?
Some New Yorkers are loaded and can afford to live as lavishly in retirement as they did when they were working. With or without selling their luxury condo in Manhattan, they can afford to move into one of those fancy “Boomer enrichment centers” where the staff distract them from the realities of their advancing… Read More »
The Many Roles of the Personal Representative of a Deceased Person’s Estate
Being the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate is like being the default parent of a child, except that it takes place at the other end of a person’s life journey. Both roles are an honor, and secretly you would not want to share them with anyone, but they are both exhausting. When… Read More »
Should You Front Load Your Retirement With Fun?
When you consider it carefully, “What do you want to do when you retire?” is more than one question. Most people will answer with ideas for travel and adventures, or else long-awaited bucket list items they have long looked forward to accomplishing, such as cooking a Thanksgiving dinner from scratch for the whole family…. Read More »
Just Say No to Your Inheritance?
In a documentary film about the band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, one of the band’s founding members, described what a disorienting experience it was to acquire wealth suddenly. Disorienting experiences and Pink Floyd are not always a bad combination, as anyone who has ever smoked weed before attending a Pink Floyd planetarium show can… Read More »
Back to School Estate Planning: Protecting Your Kids’ Future
During the back-to-school season in August, it is easy to focus on numerous details that only affect the immediate future. You buy as many school clothes as you can before the tax-free shopping days end, even though you know your children will have outgrown them a year from now. You scramble to buy all… Read More »
The Complete Guide to Estate Planning in New York: Wills, Trusts, and More
Estate planning sounds like a big job, and the best estate plan is never finished. Despite this, your estate plan does not have to be complicated to do its job of saving your family from a stressful probate case after you die and from having to make heartbreaking and conflict-prone decisions during your final… Read More »
Holding LLC-Owned Real Estate in a Trust
When your ambition is to start a business, people often enthusiastically encourage you to choose the limited liability company (LLC) business structure when you incorporate. They make it sound like an LLC is as versatile as the Thneed that brought good fortune to the Once-Ler Corporation in The Lorax, to the detriment of the… Read More »
Real Estate Agent Faces Criminal Charges for Defrauding Homeowner Into Transferring Ownership of Home
Almost every aspect of the real estate market is prohibitively expensive, even if you have savings or are experienced in business. Buying a house is expensive, so expensive that first-time homeownership is out of reach for everyone except those whose parents own a home and can contribute money to the down payment or co-sign… Read More »