New York Probate and Estate Administration Blog

It is a sad occurrence when children are orphaned by both parents in a very short span of time. This is what happened when a modern painter of high reputation, died on February 25, 1970 followed by his wife on August 26, 1970. They left two children. The daughter was already of age and the son Christopher was still a minor. Before the mother died, she already gave the court her petition to contest the will as the children’s guardian saying the bequest to the charitable institution was more than one-half of the estate.

The term of the will, from what a Nassau County Estate Administration Lawyer found was that the wife gets $250,000 plus their house and all its contents. Five of his paintings are to be given to the Tate Gallery, London. The remaining part of his estate is bequeathed to an art foundation, a non-profit organization. It contained additional stipulation where if his wife dies, or they subsequently die, their children get $250,000 and the house in New York, including all its contents in equal shares.

The executors still followed through with the proceedings to determine if the claim for the will contest is valid. The daughter appeared with her lawyer and the son with his guardian. The court has found out the paintings of the testator is valued at several millions of dollars. There is another court hearing in which the contract executed for one-eighth of the decedents works was valued at $1,800,000 was still being contested as not enough. The court has said it is definitely more than half of the residuary estate of the testator that was assigned to charity. A Nassau County Estate Litigation Lawyer said the court gave out is a decision in favor of the children on July 13, 1970.

In the law, the spouse, children, parents, even grandchildren of a decedent can contest a will if the bequest to charity is more than one-half of the residuary estate, granted that they will be gaining financially with a successful contest. A New York Probate Lawyer says this is not an assurance though, because if the will expressly state that the testator wants to disinherit his children, even if they are infants then they will be disinherited. The question before was why when a person is alive, they are not allowed to neglect their children but when they are dead, they can. This was addressed by another rule through the Family Maintenance Act were in the Surrogate Court will have the power to enforce reasonable provisional support in all solvent decedent’s estate. This means that the children who have lost their parents will not automatically be public charges. The child will be able to support himself until he reaches the age of maturity or can support himself, whichever comes first. In this case, it means that the court will take equitable portions from each gift to support the minor child. The remainder of the will upon the child reaching legal age or when he can already support himself will be distributed according to the will.

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In spite of the stone-throwing and partisan pandering of last December’s revamp of US tax law, a New York Estate Planning Lawyer claims that there are a few hidden gems for families willing to dig through the rubble.

In particular, the New York Probate Lawyer singled out the new gift tax laws as a boon for those in high tax brackets.

The gift-tax exemption, the much maligned cap on individual giving, which has long been set at what some would consider a paltry one million dollars, has been raised dramatically for the next two years to the princely sum of five million dollars for individuals- or a whopping ten million dollars for individuals. Accountants in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are studying the new law and trying to find ways to help their clients.

The result of the new law is that wealthier families can now gift up to five (or ten) million dollars, before even a cent of federal taxation kicks in. Once over the federally allowed limit, givers still only face a 35 percent government tax, far lower than the previous 55 percent rate, reported the New York Estate Planning Lawyer.

In the wake of the change, families are rearranging their estate plans to take advantage of the two year opening. There is a great deal of uncertainty as to whether the tax reduction will be renewed beyond the initial two year period. Two years is generally regarded as a relatively short term for an estate tax law. The previous law was instated for a decade, before being ushered out in 2010. Some Estate Planners are heralding the move by Congress as the beginning of the end of the estate tax.

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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.

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Think that Canadians are exempt from paying estate tax? One New York Estate Planning Lawyer says you could be wrong. Even Canadians who have never so much has set foot on US soil are on the hook for estate tax in many situations, if they don’t take the right precautions in advance.
According to United States tax laws, the estate tax can be levied against any person, regardless of nationality, who owns “US situs property”. This ambiguous term can be applied on a number of different levels, but broadly means anything that exists (either physically, or in some cases hypothetically), within the borders of the United States. A New York Estate Planning Lawyer gave us some examples of what might qualify for the estate tax. An obvious example would be either a house or a tract of land. Less obvious candidates for this tax would be things like bonds purchased from the US government, or stocks in a company headquartered in the United States. Non US residents who own such property can be subjected to the estate tax at the same rate as a US citizen would be. Lawyers in Manhattan and Nassau Count will be glad to counsel their Canadian clients.
For this reason, it’s critically important that as a Canadian citizen you carefully evaluate your tax exposure well in advance. Because ties between the US and Canada are so close, it can be very difficult to sort out your assets, and make an accurate determination, so consider calling a New York Estate Planning Lawyer, who can help walk you through the process.
A New York Estate Planning Attorney can show you how to shift your tax liabilities over to a Canada-based holding company, which will help exempt your family from US tax liability.

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