New York Probate and Estate Administration Lawyer Blog

The wife of one of the nation’s most prominent hedge fund owners, has taken over the hedge fund’s offices to give space to her own company – built for entertainment, not money management, sources tell a New York Estate Lawyer.

She’s known for her flamboyant ways, and the analysts at the hedge fund don’t even seem to notice anymore, even when she wears a low-cut leather dress in her husband’s (and her own) New York office.

“Eighteen years and no prenup means family office,” she told a New York Estate Lawyer.

New York Estate Lawyers have learned of a licensing deal between a Los Angeles company and the estate of Michael Jackson to create an online virtual world that will be known as “Planet Michael”.

The digital world will be part of the Entropia Universe, a massively multiplayer online game that currently has about 100,000 active users, run by a Swedish company.

The estate will work with the game publisher to get the game prepared for a late 2011 release, according to New York Estate Lawyers. It will allow fans to collect and trade virtual Jackson paraphernalia and earn credits by successfully passing challenges based on his music and dance moves.

It looks like the federal estate tax will be restored on January 1, 2011, and a lot of families are going to feel it, says a New York Estate Lawyer.

No one knows for sure, however, which is creating plenty of uncertainty when it comes to financial planning, especially for the retired, who may have to decide how much they can live on and how much they will have to give away as gifts to avoid being taxed.

The estate tax in 2009 allowed $3.5 million to be exempt, according to New York Estate Lawyers. The tax, should it return in 2011, will only allow a $1 million exemption, and rise from the old rate of 45 percent to a new rate of 55 percent.

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.

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For the first time since such things have been surveyed, a new book includes studies that determine a majority of Americans view same-sex couples as family, according to a New York Estate Lawyer. This inclusion also extends to a gay or lesbian couple, even if they are unmarried. The new publication also concludes that more people are willing to view homosexuality as a natural and inborn trait and its conclusion is corroborated by the New York Times.

That is not the end of the story, whoever. New York Estate Lawyers also noticed that some coverage of the study by the Associated Press also included this item of data: “There’s a solid core resisting this trend who are more willing to include pets in their definition than same-sex partners.” This solid core is about 30 percent. The lead researcher for the Associated Press commented upon this statistic to a New York Estate Lawyer: “The sheer idea that gay couples are given less status than pets should give us pause.”

Family matters are changing with the times, which means the law is going to have to change, as well. You’ll need a New York Estate Attorney to keep up with those changes. All families accumulate money and possessions over a lifetime together, and these things have to be properly deposed of when someone passes on. A New York Estate Attorney can untangle all the difficult legal matters to make sure you and your loved ones can follow the wishes of your family member, as he or she would have wished.

The killer has already gone to prison, but now the victim’s family is after the murderer’s mother, according to a New York Estate Lawyer. A Nassau Supreme Court justice has ruled the killer’s mother may use her homeowner’s insurance policies to pay up to $550,000 in damages should she lose the suit.

The 66-year-old mother is being sued by the family of the victim, a woman who was killed and dismembered by the defendant’s son in August 2006. Due to the judge’s ruling, if she loses the suit, her homeowners insurance policy will trigger, since the murder happened in her home. Her attorney told a New York Estate Lawyer that insurance will cover damages to the victim’s family for up to $250,000.

Should the damages be ruled to be even more than that, the company that covers the defendant’s excess homeowners insurance will pay an additional $300,000, according to the judge’s ruling. The company stated to New York Estate Lawyers that it should not have to pay, since the defendant did not inform them of the lawsuit. New York Estate Lawyers attempted to contact the insurance company, but there has been no response or comment thus far.

It has been alleged that Brittany Murphy’s husband siphoned away the deceased star’s back accounts in the months between her death and his own shocking passing, according to a New York Estate Lawyer.

Murphy’s business manager accused Murphy’s husband, a British movie maker of taking around 80 percent of his wife’s money after her death in December of 2009, sources told a New York Estate Lawyer.

“There were huge amounts of money in her pension plan and bank account, and all that’s gone”, the business manager told a New York Estate Lawyer. “I would see it on the statements. There was money being withdrawn by [Murphy’s husband], hundreds of thousands.”

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Michael Jackson’s untimely passing left his family and the world shocked. Once the devastation wore off, his family had to deal with the accounts, property and most importantly, the children he left behind. Luckily, Jackson planned and had a Will drawn up. A Will is a statement of how someone wants their property to be distributed after death. In a will, if a person recommends a guardian for his or her children, which is known as a “will and testament”. In Jackson’s will, he appointed his mother to be the guardian of his three children. After the Court’s approval, Katherine Jackson was granted guardianship over his children. Jackson’s will left three executors for his estate. The executors are in charge with protecting a deceased person’s property until all debts and taxes have been paid, and overseeing that what is left is transferred to the people who are entitled to it. The Will states who is to receive beneficiaries from your estate. Jackson left his estate to his children, mother and numerous charities. Had Jackson never had a Will drawn up, his family would not have known his intentions and would not have been able to carry them out for him.

You do not need to be a billionaire like Michael Jackson to have a Will written up. Every person, no matter the size of his or her estate, should have one drawn up. A New York Estate Planning and Probate can tell you how important it is to have a Will written. It will ensure that your final intentions are followed through. It will also give both you and your family peace of mind.

The New York Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers at Stephen Bilkis & Associates have more than a decade of experience. We will handle the execution of your Will or Probate of your estate with the care and attention it deserves. We have convenient office locations in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Bronx, and Brooklyn. We offer a free consultation at 1-800-NYNY-LAW (1-800-696-9529) to speak to a New York Estate Planning and Probate Lawyer from our firm today.

Power is the demise of many people. Greed takes over and with the power given to the aid to Former Mayor Cory Booker was enough to cause him to now be in need of the services of a New York Probate Lawyer. When the aid started to help contractors get city contracts, he crossed the line of acceptability.

Another man, the owner of the company that Mayor Booker’s aid was trying to help was also indicted. The U.S. Attorney Paul Fisherman said that there was no evidence that the man in question was knowingly involved in the illegal activity. New York Probate Lawyers may be needed to help the men in question and activity like this is definitely what Booker defines as “a violation both of the public trust and of my trust”.

As a matter of fact, he faces charges of extortion, conspiracy, attempted extortion and accepting bribes. Steven Bilkis and Associates offer an initial, free, no-obligation consultation and they can be reached at 1-800-NY-NY-Law. These are serious charges and this suspect needs to seek help immediately.

Actress Brittany Murphy was best known for movies such as “Clueless”, “8 Mile” and “Just Married”. She had been the voice of Luanne on the cartoon “King of the Hill” for many years. Sadly, she has passed away from natural causes at the young age of 32. She is survived by her husband and mother.

Brittany Murphy’s untimely passing has left questions about what will happen to her estate, which includes the house she was living in with her husband, Simon Monjack, and her mother Sharon. Murphy had executed a will prior to her 2007 marriage to Monjack. That will left her entire estate to her mother. While wills can be amended after they are executed, it is unclear if Murphy ever updated hers after the marriage. If an updated version cannot be located, the estate will go to her mother and her husband may stand to receive nothing.

Let this unfortunate event be a lesson to us all. Everyone should have a will, no matter the size of their estate or assets. Once a will is in place, it should be kept current after major life changes such as marriage or the birth of a child. Having a will or trust in place will give your loved ones peaces of mind during a difficult situation. It will also ensure that your last wishes are being followed and that your loved ones are taken care of.