Probate and Estates
Did you know that banks, insurance companies, corporations and courts are required by law to report dormant accounts to the New York State Comptroller? These organizations must attempt to notify you by mail and publish this information in newspapers. Nevertheless, many funds remain unclaimed and are turned over to the Office of the State Comptroller. […]
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The Build Back Better Act was passed by the House of Representatives on November 5, 2021 and is headed for the Senate. None of the major provisions that would have affected estate planning were included in the House version. However, the Senate may put some of those provisions back in before passing. We will keep […]
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An executor is the individual appointed to administer someone’s Last Will and Testament. An executor of a New York estate is not expected to administer a decedent’s estate for free. Executors receive a set commission, paid out of the estate. Commissions are calculated as a percentage of the value of the “probate estate,” less any […]
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Couples in which both spouses are 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 the estate at their death. But what if you have a foreign spouse? Transfers from a U.S. citizen to a noncitizen spouse do not enjoy […]
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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. But what if the predecease you? These Latin terms set forth different ways your property is to be […]
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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. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the lifetime estate and gift tax exclusion for decedents dying between 2018 and 2025. The estate tax exemption […]
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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. General unresponsiveness is not a ground, on its own, for removal. New York’s Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act § 719 lists several grounds for the removal of a Trustee. […]
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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. This intestate succession is controlled by statute and passes down the bloodline. Pursuant to the […]
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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. The individual providing the accounting is the Executor appointed under a Will or the appointed Administrator when someone dies without a will. Of course, if no assets pass […]
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“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. When a Will is submitted to the Surrogate Court for probate, via the filing […]
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