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In late 2010, President Obama signed what was called The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 or the Tax Act of 2010. This new Act mostly affects the wealthy and how they go about with their estates, says a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. The tax rules were made to give inheritors more money without being taxed at a higher level. The wealthy were excited over the new rules, as they would only be taxed at the 35% rate with sums up to $5 million dollars for singles and up to $10 million for couples.

Exemptions for gift taxes set the limit up to $5 million dollars as well. That means when planning, each person is allowed up to $5 million dollars, according to a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. The same goes to charities and foundations that are given money. They can receive up to $5 million dollars without having to pay taxes on the said amount. This makes gift giving to both individuals and organizations even easier since the tax burden won’t rely on them in the end.

Even though the Tax Act of 2010 expires at the end of 2012, many people will benefit from the new, higher limits that were set. Less taxes will be paid by the wealthy when receiving estate benefits in hopes that instead of giving it to the government, they will put it in to the economy and give it a boost. The New York Estate Planning Lawyer also said the President may decide to extend these rules at the end of 2012 if the economy has not significantly improved.

Coming home from work and staring down at the loving, happy eyes of our faithful dogs and furry cats, many of us have never considered what would happen to them if we died. Who would care for them? What would their lives become? A New York Estate Planning Lawyer noted that the trend of pet owners leaving guardians and trust funds to their pets before they pass on is growing 

People who are responsible enough to have their affairs in order for their children when they die, or people who only have children with fur or feathers, are starting to realize that their relatives are not the only ones who will be affected in the event of their death, reports the New York Estate Planning Lawyer. In many cases, it is the relatives and people that they already know that they go to first when thinking about future care for their pets. According to the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, people that already know the animals are likely candidates for trusted guardians. 

Not everyone who leaves money to their animals has hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so, but they can actually work out suitable arrangements for their pets ahead of time, even if it is with relatives or friends. The arrangements run from very basic to highly detailed and drafted wills and trusts, explains the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, but the end result is that the individuals leave feeling comfortable with their decision to tie up one more loose end for all of their loved ones before they go.


Thinking about the future of your family and pets is easier when you have the guidance of a reputable New York Estate Planning Attorney. In the end, the choices that we make now will have a huge impact on those we love. Call a New York Estate Planning Attorney today and start planning for the future of your family.

The law offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates has caring New York Probate Lawyers that can help you plan your estate. Our New York Probate Lawyers can help you probate an estate, write a will or set up a trust. We have convenient offices in New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Suffolk and Nassau County. We want to help you through what may be a difficult time with as little problems as possible and offer a free consultation at 1-800-NYNY-LAW (1-800-696-9529). Call us today to take advantage of this free consultation and speak to a New York Probate Lawyer from our firm.

Winning the lottery is the dream of many. And most of us talk large about how we’d give some to charity, while deep down we know we would buy that fancy sports car and four extra houses and then maybe use the rest of the money to enact revenge scenarios. But one Florida couple has put their money where their mouth is, said an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. The couple, both in their eighties, won over twelve million dollars in the lottery and then realized something: they didn’t need the money. So, after keeping 2% in case of an emergency, the couple started giving the money away. Some to friends and family, most to charities and churches, noted an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. They wanted to make their community a better place. They wanted to fulfill that empty promise to God we all make when playing the lottery. They won’t tell anyone exactly what they’ve given away, but they’ve been surprised with how well spent it has been, said an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. Their church hasn’t squandered any of it and the scammers are gone. Oh, sure, at first they were everywhere but after politely telling everyone who called that all the money was gone the calls stopped. The couple sleep soundly at night knowing they did the right thing.

Now today the couple drive their same old cars and there isn’t a sign they’ve spent any of the money on themselves, reports an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. They’ve been honest and true when they said it was all given away.

Giving away money, or leaving it to friends and family today, can require a skilled New York Estate Planning Attorney. Contract one today to ensure your rights are protected.

The family members of one of the men killed in a 2005 Toll Road crash has just been awarded $15 by a federal judge reports New York Estate Planning Lawyers.

In a recent court order issued against Net Trucking, a judge awarded the estate and money to a wife and son of one of the deceased of the quadruple-fatal crash. The driver of the truck of Net Trucking Company was found to be driving while intoxicated at the time of the accident and the cases have been pending for years against him according to New York Estate Planning Lawyers.

The driver will have served 14 years in prison and spent 10 years on probation when his sentence is complete since admitting to causing the crash on the Indiana Toll Road near Bristol.

There has been a federal estate tax in the United States since 1915 – in 2010, it is gone, says a New York Estate Lawyer. The tax cuts signed into law by George W. Bush in 2001 increased the estate tax exemption to $3.5 million and reduced to the top tax bracket to 45% in 2009. The estate tax in 2010 is zero. It’s only temporary, however. The law will expire on December 31, when it goes back to a $1 million exemption and a 55% top bracket.

In truth, there are not a lot of American’s, relatively speaking, who ever have to worry about an estate tax, according to New York Estate Lawyers. Nor is it a big source of revenue for the government. The higher number of exemptions has caused the number of taxable estates to drop from 2% of adults dying in 2001 to less than a quarter of 1% in 2009. In the past decade, estate taxes counted for about 1% of all taxes, or about $22 billion. Some predict, it the current law remains, the yearly estate tax collection could rise over $60 billion in less than 10 years.

One change that isn’t so great for those who stand to inherit this year is the change to what is known as carryover basis. Before, property left to heirs would be “stepped up” to whatever it was worth today. An attorney told a New York Estate Lawyer that carryover basis meant: “If you inherit a house or stock from Grandma, you have to figure out what she paid for it. Determining the original cost basis is a horrible job. The burden is on the taxpayer.”

Tis the season to be giving, as the saying goes, but many charities are reporting new wrinkles from long time donors. With the entire tax code potentially going through some very new and very drastic changes in a few weeks, wealthier Americans, who often make large charitable donations are holding back, said an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. Many of these so called wealthy Americans are waiting to see what changes might arise in tax policy and tax structures before donating. The reason is simple: charitable donations are often able to be written off as tax deductions and if the tax rate is higher next year, many Americans may want to delay their gift till when it is most beneficial to them for tax purposes, reports an New York Estate Planning Lawyer.

Creating trusts are a way many people choose to avoid the costly “death tax” while at the same time leaving behind their fortune to those they love or to causes they believe in. The downside to a trust is that one relinquishes control over the money, notes an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. The upside if that money put into a trust, be it a living trust, charitable trust, or some other kind of trust is no longer income for tax purposes. Many people use trusts as a way to avoid their assets being tied up in probate following their death, said an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. Instead of having to open a will and go through a probate judge, the money simply flows to a trust and is dealt with by the administrator of the trust.

Properly planning your finances, be it for your life after death or just in general, can often require a skilled attorney. Contact an New York Estate Planning Attorney today to figure out the best way to deal with your money.

Congress has adjourned for the election season, without doing anything about the uncertain state of taxes, a New York Estate Lawyer reports. Without anything being done, income taxes will rise for the middle class and the wealthy. The estate tax will rise to 55% for any assets over $1 million. Other tax provisions, like the one that protects 24 million families from the alternative minimum tax, have to be renewed or they will expire at the end of December.

“You would have thought we would have had some certainty by this point, but as we get closer to December 31, the uncertainty seems to be getting greater,” a prominent financial planner told a New York Estate Lawyer. President Obama plans to extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, but not for those who have incomes above $250,000. The top tax rate on income will rise more than 4% in 20111, while the tax on income from capital gains and dividends will rise 5%. And if Congress does nothing, the dividends tax will go all the way from 15% to 39.6%, matching the new income tax rate.

New York Estate Lawyers recommend moves like contributing to a 401(k), taking gains on taxable bonds, and gifting money to others at the maximum limits possible to avoid paying taxes on it later. Looking to the future, try to find big deductions to take when the tax rates rise (if they rise), or find ways to accelerate income forward, so it is taxed at the 2010 rates.

The Supreme Court in Britain gave prenuptial agreements more sway in divorce cases, bringing their laws closer to those in the United States, according a New York Estate Lawyer.

A former banker made an appeal to the Supreme Court, which was dismissed, to partially disregard the agreement he signed with a wealthy German heiress before they married in 1998. The agreement stated that neither would profit from the wealth of the other.

This case was very important to British lawyers, since it would grant precedent to follow in future cases involving prenuptial agreements, which were very popular in the United States and the rest of Europe, according to a New York Estate Lawyer.

With the return of the death tax looming large, many Americans are wondering what they can do. Largely seen as a way to exploit “We hate the rich” sentiments, the estate tax isn’t thought to make much logical sense, said an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. The money was already subject to income tax and gift taxes, so the added tax is just one last opportunity by the government to reach into a man’s pocket and take as much as he can. And, since the tax only targets “the rich” most people feel secure. They shouldn’t, notes an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. One million dollars is a lot of money to have in the bank, but not that much to have as an estate, reports an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. Take the entire value of a home, two cars, and a solid retirement fund and a million dollars arrives quicker than a hiccup. And the number isn’t indexed for inflation, so in a few years as wages naturally rise (as they always do) a million dollars becomes worth less and less, notes an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. There was a time when if a man made $20,000.00 a year, he was considered incredibly wealthy. However, today that same man would be near the poverty line. And that’s a key issue for many who opposed the death tax, said an New York Estate Planning Lawyer. It just stays the same, so in 10 years when a million dollars isn’t worth a million dollars anymore the government won’t care: it’ll take it all the same.

Planning for tomorrow needs to be done today. Contact an New York Estate Planning Attorney and take care of your future so your family doesn’t have to worry.

If you or a loved one is having trouble with the tangle of tax laws, a New York Estate Attorney is ready to assist you. You want to avoid all the legal troubles that come with money, or at least make them less problematic. Your best possible ally in that endeavor is a New York Estate Attorney.

It sounds ominous: the death tax. A tax on when you die. And, basically, that is what it is. Currently, the death tax is 0%. That means when you die all of your assets go to your heirs without taxation, those heirs may have to pay income taxes on the money received. However, unless Congress acts today the death tax will shoot up to 60% on some people on January 1st, said a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. This means that more than half of an estate valued at over one million dollars will go to the government. While this often sounds like no big deal to many people, it often is. The average family farm is valued at over one million dollars even though those who live on it may not consider themselves wealthy (and may in fact just barely scrape by). The confusion is that most people don’t truly understand what is at stake, said a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. It isn’t just that you have one million dollars in the bank, it’s the entirety of your estate. The average person who has worked their whole life and saved, bought a decent house, and has a couple of cars and a solid retirement fund might be surprised to learn that according to the government they are considered so wealthy that they no longer have the right to determine what happens with their money, noted a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. But, that’s exactly what is happening soon. And, again, this is all money that was originally subject to the income tax. It literally is a tax on simply dying.

Planning for your future is serious business. Money is at stake, often large sums of money, and an accomplished New York Estate Planning Attorney can help.

f you or a loved one is having trouble with the tangle of tax laws, a New York Estate Attorney is ready to assist you. You want to avoid all the legal troubles that come with money, or at least make them less problematic. Your best possible ally in that endeavor is a New York Estate Attorney.