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What Are the Tax Implications of Transferring Property Into a Trust?
While a trust technically becomes the owner of your home when you sign a deed transferring ownership to a grantor trust, rest assured that you will still receive the same real estate tax exemptions and/or benefits that you received when your home was owned in your individual name.
Question: My brother is the Executor of my mother’s estate. It has been three years since she died, and he has not distributed anything. What do you recommend I do?
Question: I am the nominated executor of my friend’s estate. If I am appointed as executor, would I get paid for the work I do?
Question: I loaned my friend money and, before he could repay me, he died. Will I still be able to collect the debt owed to me?
Question: My dad died. He was remarried and survived by a wife and two children from that marriage. I’m a non-marital child. There is no last will and testament. I think he owns some property in his own name but everything else is joint with his wife. What happens now? What rights do I have?
Question: Can you tell me about any updates to estate and gift taxes for 2019?
With people living longer, many turn to a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, more commonly referred to as a reverse mortgage, for additional income. Reverse mortgages allow seniors to access the equity in their homes and convert same into an income stream.
Question: My mother recently passed away. I am the nominated executor of her estate. Her Will directs that all of her personal property is to be shared equally among her children. Can you give me any suggestions about how to divide the personal property?
My sister wants me to sign a document that allows her to probate my mother’s will. The problem is that the will favors my sister, and I think the circumstances around the will are suspect. Is there a way I can get more information about the will signing?
Inheritance is the practice of passing property upon the death of a decedent. The rules of inheritance differ from state to state.
Question: My sister is the Executor of my mother’s estate. She had three children and we all share the estate equally. My sister sent me a Receipt and Release Agreement proposing a distribution to me of $50,000.00. I want the money, but I don’t feel comfortable signing the Receipt and Release. What should I do?
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An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (“ILIT”) is a valuable estate planning tool used to reduce estate taxes – known as death taxes during an election year. Whether you need an ILIT depends on how much your assets are worth now or what your potential net worth is in the future.
Whether an executor needs to hire an attorney depends on the type of assets, size of the estate, family dynamics, estate tax considerations, and outstanding bills.
Most people do not realize that a Will likely does not control who collects on a life insurance policy. The beneficiary named on the policy supersedes the Will. So long as the policy owner correctly designated a beneficiary on the policy, that designation controls.
In New York State, a parent has no obligation to leave an inheritance to a child. Many other countries have “forced heirship” which prohibits parents from disinheriting children, but Louisiana is the only US state with such a law.
The word is defined as “the ability to be easily moved,” but in the context of Trusts & Estates, it means much more. In this regard, portability is one of the strongest tools in the planner’s toolbox to reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes after the deaths of a married couple.
Surrogate’s Court hears cases involving the affairs of decedents, the probate of wills, and the administration of estates. The Surrogate’s Court also handles certain types of guardianship petitions and adoptions.
