Don’t Let Your Estate Plan Become A Nightmare
After decades of working in estate planning, I can really say I have seen it all. This blog is all about unintended consequences. These general scenarios might help you understand why having the right estate plan in place is so important for peace of mind, protecting your family and avoiding future conflict. Often everything starts with good […]
Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts in New York State
It’s been a while since we’ve touched on the basics of trusts and some people have been asking for a basic primer on the different types of trusts and what would be the best use of a trust for their specific situations.
Getting to the Heart of the Matter, A Personal Family Story: Transitions and Timing
There is an Eagles song that starts off with, “I got the call today, I didn’t want to hear, but I knew that it would come.” While that song refers to lost love, the first sentence always makes me think of other bad news that you know will come eventually, and that happened to me a […]
Estate Planning Lingo Cheat Sheet
Last month, we discussed real estate terms to know, and this month, we tackle estate planning terms. I’ve picked five fairly common terms, but if you haven’t had experience with estate planning before, you might not know exactly what they mean. Power of Attorney or POA. This document appoints a person (your agent) that you […]
Do You Have A Plan For Your Pet If You Are Disabled Or Die?
The world feels very different right now. You watch the news, you talk to your sources and you are doing the best you can to prepare, as we all are doing. Everyone should follow the directions of the government. Courts are closed right now, there are no foreclosure auctions for a minimum of 30 days. […]
The Power of an Ethical Will
If you aren’t familiar with this term, you aren’t alone. You’ve most likely heard of a Last Will and Testament, which is a legal document designating your beneficiaries and fiduciaries after their death. An ethical will is personal, and instead of focusing on the distribution of one’s assets, it outlines your values, beliefs, family traditions, […]
The Deed You Might Want to Consider Adding To Your Estate Planning
New York State has recently enacted legislation that now allows the usage of a “transfer on death” (“TOD”) deed. Joining 20+ states that have a similar deed in place, this significant change in estate planning allows a property owner to simplify the estate probate process by designating a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive their real […]
Milestones + Your Attorney
Major milestones in your life happen either by plan, or when you least expect it, and your attorney is one person you can turn to when those moments occur for support. We’ve discussed it in the past, but recent client situations made me revisit this topic again. It is so important to make sure that […]
5 P’s To Review This Year
We are a couple of months into the new year and it’s a great time to examine 5 very important P’s in your life. Personal Property Policies Planning Partnerships What happened in your personal life last year or will happen this year? Are you looking to form a new business? Are you getting married? Did you have a […]
A Basic Overview of Trusts
As part of the year’s end, we are finishing up our series on estate planning and this month we are giving you a basic overview of the different types of trusts you can utilize in your estate planning. Trusts can be confusing. There are many different kinds for many different reasons and trying to navigate […]