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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: I was chatting with friends over coffee this evening and someone mentioned the “right of sepulcher”. What exactly is that right?
I am the Executor of my father’s estate. I have collected the assets and paid the expenses and am ready to close the estate. How should I proceed?
I was named as the Executor in my mother’s Will. Do I receive a fee for serving as Executor of the Estate?
I am an unmarried person and do not have any children. My parents died many years ago and I have no siblings. Who inherits my property if I die without a will?
I am the nominated Executor under my mother’s Will, which my sister is in the process of contesting. I understand that a Will contest may be a lengthy proceeding. Is there any way I can be appointed to act on behalf of the estate while that proceeding plays out?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) increased the federal estate tax exclusion amount from $5 million to $10 million indexed for inflation for decedents dying in years 2018 to 2025. This amount is indexed for inflation back to 2011.
The person selected to act as the Executor can be anyone that the testator wants to be in charge of administration of the estate. There is no requirement that the Executor have any experience or expertise in handling estate matters or have any financial background.
My mother recently passed away and I cannot locate her original Will; I can only find a copy. Can I submit the copy to the Surrogate’s Court for probate?
My father recently passed away. He owes more than he has in assets. As his surviving child, am I responsible for his debt?
I am the Executor of my mother’s estate. I have collected the assets, paid her expenses, and am ready to close the estate. Can you advise me on how to proceed?
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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.
