New York Probate and Estate Administration Blog

We all want to trust those we love to do the right thing. For some, that blind faith in family and loved ones to do what is right may prove to be detrimental. According to a report by a NY Estate Planning Lawyer, when a will, trust or inheritance is concerned, people get dollar signs in their eyes, so much so that they become irrational in their thinking and in turn, in their behavior. Since money is touted as the most important survival tool in our country, once some people have access to it, they will take it even if it belongs to someone that they have loved and respected all of their lives. 

Such is the case for an 89 year old woman whose grandson was named the trustee of her estate, which included her house, social security checks and a trust fund that had been gifted to her 35 years ago. Within just two weeks of having been awarded the position of trustee, the grandson began removing money out of his grandmother’s accounts and plugging it back into his own, now defunct, carpet and construction businesses. 

The New York Estate Planning Lawyer reports that the elderly woman went from having $105,000 to live on for the rest of her life to losing her house and having her bank account blasted to less than $6000 by her grandson, who was caught after his own mother, the daughter of the elderly woman, realized what he was doing and called authorities. 

Though the money is gone and the grandmother is now living in a small trailer with no money, revealed the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, the woman has forgiven her grandson and is worried that if he goes to jail for his crimes against her then she will never see another penny from him, leaving her worse off than before. In Brooklyn and Manhattan this action could be prosecuted by the authorities. It just goes to show that in matters of financial planning, blood relation is not always a guarantee that your finances will be safe.

Continue reading " Granson is the alleged thief of Grandma's money reports a New York Probate Attorney " »

A local Ohio town worries about the effects eliminating the estate tax will have on its overall revenue and future plans.

The town’s financial director says here city receives a large chunk of revenue from estate taxes currently. For example an Estate that’s valued at over $500,000 is taxed at 7 percent. The town gets 80 percent of this revenue and the rest goes to the state of Ohio she added.

This high percentage translates to roughly $5 million per year for the city, said aNew York Estate Planning Lawyer. He went on to say that the city budgets for this currently and without the extra revenue will likely have to find other ways to make cuts. Estate Administration in Manhattan and Queens must take these taxes into account for their clients.

Currently the town has plans for large capital improvements to the tune of $52.6 million over the next decade and was counting on the cash revenue from estate taxes to complete these projects. New York Estate Planning Lawyers commented that the projected tax revenue losses will have to make up in other ways.

“We’ll use up all of our existing estate tax dollars and nothing to replace them with,” said a town official. “We don’t know for sure what will happen and will have to adjust.”

Another official said, “We’re going to have to cut our expenses in order to keep wealthy residents from moving away.”

NY Estate Planning Lawyers anticipate the next council meeting will be mostly about finding other ways for the town to create revenue for itself for future projects.

Continue reading " Loss of Estate Tax translates to loss of major revenue for a local Ohio town, reports New York Estate Planning Lawyers. " »

Many senior citizens got an unpleasant surprise this February. Pensioners and seniors who rely on federal benefits to make ends meet were hit with the harsh new reality of the federal financial landscape when they discovered that their social security checks had been decreased. Although some were warned about the change in a letter that came with their check, many were left guessing.

We spoke with a New York City Estate Planning Lawyer, who explained the recent change in benefits. The reduction in the payout for senior citizens was an indirect result of the new tax relief act, which was enacted in tax year 2010. The new tax relief act cuts social security taxes for those still in the workforce, which federal economists hoped would help stimulate the economy by giving those who are still contributing to the marketplace more expendable income.

In order to make room for the new cuts, which according to the New York Estate Planning Lawyer amount to approximately a two percent drop in collected income by the IRS, the federal income taxes for those who are not working were raised, effectively lowering the payout for retirees and others who depend on social security benefits. Lawyers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties must be aware of these and any other changes that come down and effect Estate Administration.

Whether the raise in the tax rate for those receiving government assistance continues beyond the next few years is anyone’s guess, said the New York Estate Planning Lawyer. He further suggested that the best way to avoid getting caught in the crunch is to carefully review your finances with a qualified professional.

Continue reading " Tax Law Expires Leaving Elderly at Risk " »

Extensive trust-planning and maneuvering tax law in order to protect a surviving spouse has long been a central part of the job of any qualified New York City Estate Planning Lawyer. Almost as soon as the United States Government christened the estate tax, wealthy families began finding ways around paying. Of central concern for many married couples is how to avoid the estate tax long enough that if one partner in the marriage dies, the other partner’s assets are protected, and any shared wealth is not taxed.

One of the most time-trusted methods of escaping the estate tax is a bypass trust- known more familiarly as a “family trust”. This trust is typically used to set up a trust-fund. The money which is set aside in a trust fund or other tax sheltered annuity (another common example is a charitable trust), is not taxable by the government. The surviving spouse can continue to live on whatever interest the fund might bear. In some cases, he or she can actually use a small percentage of the principal as well. Lawyers in Brooklyn and The Bronx are constantly trying to improve their handling of these problems.

According to the New York Estate Planning Lawyer we spoke with, the new tax law enacted at the end of 2010 could spell good news for married couples trying to plan their estate. By significantly raising the exemption and making those exemptions portable (in other words, transferable from one spouse to another in the event of death), the federal government has given couples the option of leaving funds directly to one another, without going through a trust or other tax shelter.

Continue reading " New Estate Tax Law Alters Estate Decisions " »