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Category: Probate and Estates

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Consider Estate Planning Charitable Gifting On Giving Tuesday 2024

There are several ways one can make a charitable gift as part of their estate plan. First and foremost, you can always give during life.

November 27, 2024
Leaving Assets to a Non-Citizen Spouse

Couples who are both U.S. citizens receive the benefit of the unlimited marital deduction on federal estate and gift taxes. The idea is that the surviving spouse pays any estate tax at their death. In contrast, transfers from a U.S. citizen to a noncitizen spouse do not enjoy this benefit.

November 8, 2021
“Per Stirpes” vs “Per Capita” Estate Distributions

Wills and revocable trusts often refer to the terms “per stirpes” and “per capita”. When you create a last will and testament, or a revocable trust, you choose specific beneficiaries to inherit your estate at your death.

October 6, 2021
What Every Spouse Needs to Know About Estate Taxes

The changing estate tax landscape makes it more important than ever for accountants and executors to file a federal estate tax return for portability when one spouse passes away.

September 20, 2021
Can a Trustee be Removed for Ignoring the Beneficiary?

Removing a Trustee is not easy. Removal of a Trustee takes more than a disagreement or general mistrust of the fiduciary to have him or her removed.

September 13, 2021
Do Grandchildren Have Inheritance Rights?

Grandchildren do not have automatic inheritance rights except under certain circumstances. In New York, the most common scenario where a grandchild may inherit is when a grandparent passes away without a Will and the grandchild’s parent is no longer living.

September 1, 2021
Is a Beneficiary of a Will Entitled to an Accounting?

Any beneficiary of an estate is entitled to an accounting from the executor or administrator of the estate. This is true whenever assets pass through Surrogate’s Court.

August 18, 2021
Letters of Trusteeship

“Letters of Trusteeship” is a court document giving the nominated trustee of a trust created under a Last Will and Testament (“Will”) the power to act. Such a trust is called a testamentary trust because it is created in a Will.

August 11, 2021
When Deathbed Gifts Cause Estate Litigation

A common issue that arises during the administration of an estate concerns assets that were transferred close to death. These transfers can be in the form of gifts or the creation of a joint tenancy or a beneficiary designation.

July 9, 2021
Minimizing Estate Tax for Singles

Currently, the federal estate tax exemption is $11.7 million and the New York State estate tax exemption is $5.93 million. If no further action is taken by Congress, in 2025 the federal estate tax exemption will revert to the former $5 million, indexed for inflation.

June 23, 2021
When is a Family Tree Affidavit Necessary?

A family tree affidavit is an affidavit executed by a disinterested person to prove who a decedent’s distributees are. To be considered disinterested, the person must have no financial interest in the decedent’s estate.

May 28, 2021