Using Spendthrift Trusts in New York To what extent is a beneficiary’s trust fund available to his or her creditors? Most elder law attorneys are very well versed in how trusts can be used to protect assets from claims by Medicaid, but it has been noticed, at least in my own experience, that the broader rules […]
One of the most common things that people tend to confuse is Medicare and Medicaid. These are very different government programs despite the similar name! Understanding the differences is an important step in leveraging these resources for one’s own benefit or those of a spouse, parent or family member. Medicaid is a joint Federal, State […]
One questions that clients often ask is whether having a trust will impact the client’s taxes. Obviously, with the tax law being what it is, this is not necessarily an easy question to address in a short blog post. Nevertheless, there are certain principals that can help establish the lay of the land and give […]
Probate is the process that is required to have the local Surrogate’s Court “approve” the Will. It is a minimum of a 9-month process during which the Will must be presented to the Court. During this process, all legal heirs must be given notice of the Will being presented to the Court and are given […]
If you have retirement assets, it is important to have a carefully considered plan in place for the disposition of those assets at death, which may involve changes to the beneficiary designation and/or directing those assets into a trust. Beware though, since ensuring the transfer goes smoothly requires careful planning. Now more than ever before, […]
Choosing an estate planning attorney could be considered as important a decision as where to live, where to go to school, and who to marry, so it is a decision that should be made deliberately with the best information at hand. To this end, the following are 5 useful tips on what to look for in selecting an […]
There is a myth out there, propagated by some, that “Wills are obsolete.” The revocable trust (also called a living trust), these people will say, is the only estate planning solution. I think I speak for most New York practitioners in saying that not only is this not true, but it is misleading potentially to […]
A lot of estate planning clients I meet with have enough of a working knowledge of estate planning to know that they want to “avoid probate.” They’ve also heard that joint bank accounts can accomplish this goal. They are correct in theory, but the devil is in the details. There are several major pitfalls that […]
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ____ (2013) (Docket No. 12-307) has far reaching impacts on estate planning for same-sex couples in the United States. As a result, now more than ever, there is a need for careful estate planning for same-sex married couples. In United States v. Windsor, […]