Remember, as a general concept, estate planning allows an individual to plan not only for what happens to his or her estate upon death, but also how his or her affairs are handled during life. There are certain documents that each person should have in order to accomplish these objectives. In Back to Basics: Estate

The media is filled with stories of deceased celebrities whose final wishes were either unknown or the subject of dispute. An important lesson: You can retain control of your finances after incapacity and remain in control of your visitation, funeral and burial (or cremation) plans after death, provided you have a comprehensive estate plan in

Sometimes, the terms of an irrevocable trust (one that cannot be amended or revoked) were appropriate at the time the trust was created, but subsequent events or circumstances make the terms of the old trust impractical, unwanted, or obsolete. So, what can be done?

Sometimes, the terms of a trust permit the trustee to make

A high-profile will contest hammers home the need for proper estate planning.

Frank Fritz, star of the History Channel show “American Pickers,” suffered a stroke, became incapacitated, and died on September 30, 2024, at age 60. Before he passed away, his friend, Chris Davis, became his legal guardian. Fritz’ will was submitted for probate on

It is important for all adults to have advance directives in place to ensure that your wishes will be carried out if you become incapacitated. There are three basic types of advance directives: a living will, a health care proxy and a power of attorney.

A living will is a document in which you state

Looking for a way to stop family arguments over politics? Well, who isn’t. A quick way to derail a familial political scuffle: Quietly announce that you want to talk about your will. The silence should be automatic.

It’s important to talk about your estate plan while you’re still around. An unexpected estate plan can leave

The federal estate and gift tax exemption changes from year to year. The current combined federal estate and gift tax exemption amount of $13.99 million per person ($27.98 million per married couple) is scheduled to “sunset” automatically on January 1, 2026, and revert to $5 million indexed for inflation (guesstimated at $7.5 million), unless Congress

As a general concept, estate planning allows an individual to plan not only for what happens to his or her estate upon death, but also how his or her affairs are handled during life. There are certain documents that each person should have in order to accomplish these objectives.

A Last Will and Testament is

If you are at least 70 ½ years old and you have a traditional IRA, you can donate up to $105,000 directly from your IRA account to charity. This direct transfer, called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), avoids having to recognize the assets transferred to the charity in your gross income on your tax return.

New York State Courts and our judicial system in general can be complex and difficult to navigate for unrepresented individuals and even practitioners at times. Several recent initiatives have made attempts to ease some of these burdens in the Surrogate’s Court.

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Reprinted with permission of the New York State Bar