Probate and Estates
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. Accordingly, there is a unique planning opportunity now to transfer […]
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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. A distributee is a legal heir that would inherit from an estate, by law, if the decedent did not have a […]
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In general, when a person dies in New York, that person’s Last Will & Testament must be probated in Surrogate’s Court so that an Executor can be appointed to legally distribute assets. If there is no Will, an administration proceeding will be required and an administrator will be appointed to distribute the decedent’s assets according […]
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It pays to tie the knot, at least according to the IRS. The unlimited marital deduction is a provision in the U.S. Estate and Gift Tax Law that allows individuals to transfer an unrestricted amount of assets to their spouse at any time, free from tax. The unlimited marital deduction is considered an estate preservation […]
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Generation Skipping Transfer Tax (GSTT) is the tax imposed on transfers made to grandchildren, or individuals (other than a spouse) who are at least 37 ½ years younger than the donor of the gift. GSTT sounds complicated, and can be complicated, but the concept is simple. The tax was instated in 1976 to prevent wealthy […]
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When a co-owner of real property passes away, what happens next depends on how the co-owners took title to the property. Upon the death of a co-owner, it is necessary to review the last deed of record to make this determination. There are three ways to own property in New York as co-owners: tenants in […]
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Even if someone passes away with an estate below the federal estate tax exemption amount of $11.7 million dollars, if married, the estate should consider filing an estate tax return to capture the deceased spouse’s unused exemption amount. In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased the federal estate tax exclusion amount for decedents […]
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Under Article 19 of the New York Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, real property vests in the decedent’s heirs or legatees immediately as owners date of death. So why would someone have to go through probate to take title or sell it? Although technically a probate or administration proceeding in the Surrogate’s Court is not needed […]
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Examples of Trusts Commissions Executor’s Commissions The decedent passed away with the following assets titled in her sole name: House valued at $350,000 Bank Accounts valued at $50,000 Stock Accounts valued at $100,000 Total Assets: $500,000 The Executor’s commissions would be calculated as follows: 5% of the first $100,000 ($100,000 x .05) $5,000 4% of […]
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New York State has an estate tax “cliff”, which means that if an estate exceeds 105% of the New York estate tax exemption then the estate will receive absolutely no exemption from New York estate taxes and the entire value of the estate is subject to New York’s estate tax. Since the 2021 NYS exemption […]
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