New York Probate and Estate Administration Blog

It sometimes comes as a surprise to heirs just what they’ve inherited. An estate can be a murky thing, even for people who plan them, a New York Estate Lawyer reports.
A good estate plan should theoretically show everything a particular person owns, but this doesn’t always happen. The owner of the estate might not even know exactly what he or she possesses, or may not be entirely forthcoming about the details for whatever reason.
A New York Estate Lawyer notes a case in which the children of a supposedly wealthy man learned their father was actually not worth very much at all. They knew he had some valuables stored in a safe deposit box, but when the box was opened only some old papers were inside. “We never did find out what happened to them,” an attorney told a New York Estate Lawyer.
“Life is full of surprises,” a financial planner told a New York Estate Lawyer. “Nobody walks in and says to their lawyer, ‘I’m not telling you about the other $50,000.” There are any number of valuable things that may not ever get mentioned, for whatever reason. Maybe the adviser is not trusted, or maybe the estate owner just doesn’t like talking about money.
It isn’t unusual for trustees and executors to find something they didn’t know about a person and that person’s possessions, once the end comes. Sometimes, the estate itself can be a surprise – the executor can be named in a will or other documents without knowing ahead of time.
Your estate does not have to be a great mystery. A New York Estate Attorney can help you sort it all out. Put your life’s work in good hands by trusting a New York Estate Attorney

Continue reading " Estate Planning is Much More Than Meets The Eye " »

New York Estate Lawyers have noticed something: Both financial planners and collectors do not tend to count the value of collections when it comes to looking at financial resources, including estate planning.

This often results in a parent instructing children to come and take the collection once the parent has passed on. If the collection is valuable and sold, the IRS is going to take note, which means the surviving children had better have some documentation that can prove they weren’t somehow circumventing tax law, a New York Estate Lawyer warns.

Should the collection be impossible to split equally between multiple children, that can be another problem. There is no way three people can split that classic car their father loved so much. Or they could not be especially interested in cars and decide to sell it and the rest of the collection – getting maybe 30 cents on the dollar for sale after taxes are paid.

Some New York Estate Lawyers suggest a life insurance policy for those who worry about their heirs paying massive taxes – some of these policies can actually pay the taxes, leaving the actual earnings, possessions included, to be used as the previous possessor intended without the government taking out a huge chunk.

Laws involving money and taxes and estates are extremely complicated. You don’t have to learn it all – let a New York Estate Attorney figure out the best way to insure your money goes where you want it to go. Don’t take chances with all that you’ve worked to earn your entire life, when a New York Estate Attorney is available to assist.

Continue reading " Private Collections May Complicate Estate Planning " »

The federal estate tax is still scheduled to return on January 1, 2011, which will affect a great many families, New York Estate Lawyers report.

No one knows what Congress is going to do about it, including, apparently, Congress, which means financial planning is very tricky. Retirees have to find a way to balance who much they need to live on and how much they should give away to avoid estate taxes. New York Estate Lawyers know several strategies to help protect estates from the possibly 55 percent bite they might receive starting in 2011.

Giving it away is always an option. $13,000 a year to any amount of people is tax-free gifting. Spouses can give jointly for $26,000 per recipient. It doesn’t have to be given directly, either. The money can be granted to a trust, as well.

A one-or-two-year term policy of life insurance can offset the cost of taxes. If the estate tax does not go up, just let go of the policy. The beneficiaries of the policy should be the owner, or the proceeds will be counted as part of the deceased’s estate, only raising estate taxes.

Marriage can actually help avoid the estate tax. A widow or widower who remarries can leave an unlimited amount to a spouse, if the spouse is an American citizen. No estate tax will apply to such a gift. Lending money to a family member for whatever reason can also help. So long as a minimum rate of interest is charged, there is no gift or income tax consequence, say New York Estate Lawyers.

A New York Estate Attorney can be your best friend when it comes to deciphering the ever-shifting laws surrounding taxes and finance. Your estate is in good hands when you entrust it to a New York Estate Attorney.

Continue reading " New York Estate Lawyers Make Some Estate Tax Suggestions " »

Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is soon to introduce a bill that would create permanent tax cuts for the middle-class and reduce estate taxes, New York Estate Lawyers has learned.

The tax cuts for families that earn more than $250,000 a year will be allowed to lapse, a source told New York Estate Lawyers. President Barack Obama set his own terms for the tax standards in a televised town hall meeting in which he would not consider extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich. “Obama drew a line in the sand,” a source told a New York Estate Lawyer. “He’s raised the stakes.”

The House is waiting for the Senate to introduce its own tax bill before showing off its own. “This would be the biggest tax policy change in 10 years,” the source told a New York Estate Lawyer. It is unknown as of yet whether there is enough support among Democrats in the Senate to pass it and if Republicans will attempt to block it.

There are currently no estate tax, but it will return in 2011 for estates of $1 million or more. Baucus’ estate tax proposal, at least at the moment, would reduce the 2011 rate from 55 percent to 45 percent and only for estates worth more than $3.5 million.

Tax policy is complicated and it’s all the more so when laws can change so easily from year to year. You’ll need a New York Estate Attorney to help you keep up with all the changes. You can be sure your financial future is in good hands when you have a New York Estate Attorney on your side.

Continue reading " Middle-class and Estate Tax Cuts Debated in Senate, Says New York Estate Lawyer " »

The Senate has yet to come to a real decision regarding the estate tax. Currently, there is no estate tax, but it is likely to return in 2011, according to New York Estate Lawyers. That may not be good news for heirs who decided to sell their inherited gains, however, thanks to higher capital gains taxes.

Before 2010, an heir could count on what’s called stepped-up basis on inherited property. This means capital gains taxes would be based on how much the asset was worth at the time the owner died, rather than the original purchasing price. Selling an item for what it’s worth currently would mean getting taxed on the difference between the current price and the selling price, rather than the difference between the purchasing price and the selling price.

This year, things are different, New York Estate Lawyers say. The new law of the land is the carry-over basis. Capital gains are now paid on the difference between sale price and the value of the asset when it was purchased, no matter how long ago that may have been. Not only does this mean higher taxes, but the heir would have to find out just how much the item was bought for whenever it was bought.

These are just the most simple forms of estate legislation, New York Estate Lawyers warn. For instance, executors can use the step-up basis for as much as $1.3 million (and another $3 million for a surviving spouse). There are some other exceptions as well, but in general the same rules apply to all.

The laws involving estate taxes are many and they change from year to year. A New York Estate Attorney can help you keep up with all these changes. Your financial future should be entrusted to the best – a New York Estate Attorney.

Continue reading " Estate Tax Confusion Continues, New York Estate Lawyers Report " »

Texas is one of the top tax havens for retirees, according to New York Estate Lawyers.
New York Estate Lawyers have discovered since Texas has no state personal income tax and a low 6.25 percent sales tax (which local taxes can raise up to 8.25 percent), it is a popular place for people looking to avoid taxes. Homeowners 65 or older can exempt $10,000 of the property’s value from school taxes and $3,000 is exempt from other local taxes. This doesn’t even count the standard $15,000 homestead exemption that all homeowners get in that state.

There is also no inheritance tax in the state, and the estate tax is limited to federal estate-tax collections. There are number of other states that qualify as retiree havens when it comes to taxes, including Washington, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, Tennessee, and New Hampshire.

The impending change (or lack of change) to the tax law has everyone worried or at least unsure about the future, when it comes to financial matters. There will likely be a change in tax law come January for at least some segment of the population, which is why a New York Estate Lawyer is so important. There’s no need to travel to another state, because the law, no matter what it is, can usually be made to work in the favor of those who have spent their entire lives earning what they have – especially if they want to have something to pass down to their heirs.

Continue reading " Texas: A Big Tax Haven, New York Estate Lawyer Reports " »