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If you are a single person, then you might need to change how you have your estate distributed for the future, says a New York Estate Planning Attorney. New laws went in to affect that change the rules for 2011 and 2012 when it comes to estate and gift taxes. The changes are beneficiary to the person receiving the benefits, so it will be worth your while to update what you have already done in regards to your estate or get moving on one today for the future.

Even without children or a spouse, single people should have their estate matters in order in the event of an emergency or accident, according to a NYC Estate Planning Lawyer. An accident can happen at any time, so being prepared is the best bet. If a lawyer has handled your estate planning, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about in the event of an unfortunate incident. If your matters are handled ahead of time, it might also reduce the chances of a squabble taking place between relatives who might inherit since there are no children or a spouse.

The new rules for exemptions in 2011 state that federal gifts won’t be taxed at the 35% rate until they are over $5 million dollars, says a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. The previous rate was $1 million. The new rules mean that family members can receive more while staying at a lower tax level. It is suggested that while estate planning for the future, money is given away to charities to lower the net worth of the estate and to try and lessen the tax burden left on those who are inheriting the fortune.

A new bill being introduced in Massachusetts gives people who love their pets a way to legally care for them after they die, according to a New York City Estate Planning Lawyer. Massachusetts is one of only 7 states in the US that, until now, had no such provisions made for people to leave trust funds to their pets should the owners die before their beloved animals. Now, that is all about to change. 

A New York Estate Planning Lawyer revealed, the previous bill required that the owners of the pets left the money to the people whom they selected to care for the animals, which essentially allowed them to spend the money on anything that they wanted. This new bill, however, names the animals themselves. 

High profile cases of excessive money being left to pets, such as when Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her lapdog, Trouble, have given the impression that these laws are silly or meant only for wealthy people to find a place to stash their money, said the New York Estate Planning Lawyer. But the truth is that people love their pets as much as they love their children and they want to have them cared for should something happen to them. 

Horses, for instance, are expensive to maintain and require a lot of food and other resources, added the New York Estate Planning Lawyer. No worthwhile pet owner would want to leave their precious animals to be sent to shelters to eventually die because no one can afford to keep them. Advocates of this bill say that it is a step in the right direction and is going a long way to encourage the safety and respectful treatment of companion animals. 

Pets play an important role in the lives of our families. A New York Estate Planning Attorney can assist you in making sure that your pets are cared for once you are gone. Call a New York Estate Planning Attorney today and find out about options for pet trusts and guardians.

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.

Over the years the institution of marriage has come under fire in a million ways. Marriage has become an accessory and not a commitment between two people to forge their lives together, come what may. For many of us, that way of thinking disappeared when we saw our own parents struggle and divorce, reports a New York Estate Planning Lawyer. Many people today have no reference point as to what a good, strong marriage even looks like, and so it is becoming obsolete. 

Even so, married couples still enjoy a greater degree of stability in finances, notes the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, because of social security benefits and health insurance, among other things. A former spouse can collect social security on their ex if they were married for at least ten years, according to the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, which makes it obvious that giving a marriage more than a year or two to grow and evolve is a great idea, especially if there are children involved. 

Being married has other advantages, too, added the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, including the combined finances which can result in tax breaks. Perhaps the real benefits of marriage, however, aren’t the financial ones. A good marriage is a journey between two people and offers a totally unique opportunity for both individuals to get to know each other as they truly get to know themselves. As a result of all that growing, the combined interests that two people have in building a life for themselves can change things exponentially.  

Planning for your family’s future is an important step in any marriage. Call a New York Estate Planning Attorney today and begin building a future for your family. A New York Estate Planning Attorney can help you make the right decisions for the ones you love.

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.

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.