Articles Posted in Estate Planning

A trust is a device for controlling how assets are held and distributed. Trusts can be revocable or irrevocable. There are many differnt types of trusts. A trust that is created during the lifetime of the person creating the trust (referred to as the grantor, settlor or trustor) is known as a “living trust” or…

1 – Disclaimer Plan With Trusts For Descendents 2 – Clayton QTIP Plan With Trusts for Descendants 3 – Two Share Plan With Trusts for Descendants 4 – Three Share Plan (Federal Bypass Trust (Family Trust); GST Exempt Reverse QTIP Marital Trust; Marital Trust) 5. Three Share Plan (Federal/State Bypass Trust (Family Trust); State Only…

Estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2011, may elect to transfer any unused federal estate tax exclusion amounts to the surviving spouse. The amount received by the surviving spouse is called the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE, amount. If the executor of the decedent’s estate elects transfer (through so-called portability) of…

The Bank Secrecy Act requires taxpayers to report foreign bank accounts, brokerage accounts and mutual funds, to the Treasury Department. Taxpayers report the accounts by filing a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Who Must File A U.S. person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust and estate, must file a FBAR to report…

A death certificate is an ofiicial legal document that records the date and location of a person’s death. In some cases, you might need a “certified” death certificate. A certified death certificate has security features that proves that the document is genuine. Depending on the issuing county in New York state, the death certificate can…

In planning for gifts of property, if the donor has a choice among more than one type of property to be transferred as the gift(s) (e.g., if she has a portfolio of several investment securities), it would probably be more advantageous, for tax purposes, to transfer assets having less unrealized appreciation (i.e., current value in…

Original wills should be kept in a secure, fireproof location and your nominated executor should be informed of the documents’ whereabouts. If key people cannot locate your will, they will not be able to assist you in the manner you wish. If an original will is lost, the law may presume you intended to revoke…

If you die without a will in New York, your property will go to your next-of-kin under New York state intestate succession laws. Who gets what depends on who your living family members are and their relationship to you. The family members who are entitled to a share of your estate if oyu die without…

If the individual who died (i.e., the “decedent”) had a valid Will, the decedent is said to die testate. The executor named in the decedent’s Will must offer the Will for probate in the Surrogate’s Court in the county in which the Decedent was domiciled at the time of his death. All of the decedent’s…

The Internal Revenue Service has issured final regulations relating to the life expectancy and distribution period tables used to calculate required minimum distributions from IRAs, and qualified retirement plans. These regulations are of importance to plan participants, designated beneficiaries, and plan administrators of these qualified retirement plans, as well as owners, beneficiaries, trustees and custodians…