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Keyword Search Result: inheritance
December 2, 2019 – 3:19 pm
The Facts: I will be getting married soon. It is a second marriage for both me and Mary. We both have children from our prior marriage. Question: Is there something can have Mary sign to insure that my assets will pass to my children when I die? The Answer: If you are only worried about […]
September 10, 2019 – 3:12 pm
The Facts: I have been estranged from my family for many years. I want to be sure that family members are not able to inherit from my estate Question: Is that possible? The Answer: While you cannot disinherit your spouse, you can certainly take steps to prevent your siblings, children, cousins and other blood relatives […]
August 11, 2019 – 3:08 pm
The Facts: When I was three, my parents adopted a baby and named her Mary. My mother died seven years later and my father remarried. My father and his second wife had two children together. My father recently died without a Will. My half-siblings insist that since Mary is not my father’s biological child, she […]
February 13, 2018 – 1:26 pm
The Facts: After my mother’s death I was approached by a man I will refer to as Joe who claims that my mother was his biological mother as well. According to Joe, before she and my father married, my mother gave birth to Joe and immediately put him up for adoption. Although Joe admits that […]
November 8, 2017 – 12:00 pm
THE FACTS: My husband and I are in our sixties and have three grown children. All were given the same opportunities growing up, but they did not all take advantage of those opportunities or make wise decisions about their futures. Our two daughters are financially secure and doing very well. Our son, however, has struggled […]
The Facts: My father married a woman named Jane after my mother’s death. They were married for ten years before my father died. In his Will, my father left everything except the contents of his house to me and my sister. The Questions: Is it true that Jane is entitled to a larger share of […]
The Facts: My uncle died without a Will. He was never married and has no children. He owned a house and a car and likely died with significant debts. No one in the family wants to handle his estate because they are concerned that they will be personally responsible for paying that debt. The Questions: […]
The Facts: I am the owner of a family operated business. My wife and my son John are employed by the business. My other son, Tony, has no interest in being involved with the business. When my wife and I die, I want John to inherit the business which is my largest asset. However, I […]
January 28, 2015 – 1:47 pm
The Facts: My mother’s Will contains provisions that are inconsistent with other documents she has signed and with what she told my sister about the distribution of her estate. The Question: Are the Will provisions void or are the other documents unenforceable? The Answer: Unfortunately, the situation you’ve described is quite common and often creates […]
September 3, 2014 – 11:39 am
The Facts: My father has decided to gift his house to me and my brother and to retain a life estate for himself. This is part of his Medicaid planning. The Question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of making this transfer? The Answer: The advantages of putting the house in your names now is […]
August 6, 2014 – 11:32 am
The Facts: My mother died recently. She and my brother, who is my only sibling, had not spoken to each other in over a decade. In her Will, my mother disinherited my brother. On the beneficiary designation form for her IRA, my mother named my father, who predeceased my mother, as the sole beneficiary. She […]
April 17, 2014 – 11:04 am
The Facts: I heard that the New York’s estate tax laws changed and that the value of an estate that can pass estate tax-free was increased. The Question: Is that true? If so, what is the current NYS estate tax exemption? The Answer: Fortunately for New Yorkers, the tax laws have changed and the tax […]
February 20, 2014 – 10:28 am
The Facts: My mother recently died. In her Will she left her entire estate to me. If I had died before my mother, her estate would have passed to my children in equal shares. I would like my inheritance from my mother to pass to my children. The Question: Is there a way I can […]
January 23, 2014 – 10:16 am
We all know that time flies by and that important things are sometimes put on the back burner as we rush around taking care of our day to day responsibilities. We have also all heard heartbreaking stories about people who had every intention of revising their estate plans but, failed to take the necessary steps […]
The Facts: My father is planning on putting his house into an irrevocable trust and naming me as trustee. He will be naming my sister and me as beneficiaries of the trust. The Questions: Can my father sell his house once it is in the trust? If my father goes into a nursing home, can […]
January 8, 2013 – 2:03 pm
The Facts: Some people who have been named as executors told me their jobs were quite simple while others complained about all the time and effort it takes to administer an estate. The Question: What are the responsibilities of an executor and why does the complexity of the process vary so much? The Answer: The […]
December 23, 2012 – 4:20 am
The Issue: My mother recently died. In her Will she left her entire estate to me. If I had died before my mother, her estate would have passed to my children in equal shares. I would like my inheritance from my mother to pass to my children. Is there a way I can accomplish that? If […]
August 23, 2012 – 6:46 pm
The Facts: I was told that the money in the joint account I have with my son and the money in my IRA will not be distributed according to my Will when I die. The Question: Is that correct? The Answer: Yes, that is correct. Many people mistakenly believe that, following their death, the provisions in their Will […]
The Facts: My father died 2 years ago. My mother is receiving hospice care. In her Will my mother leaves her estate to me and my sister. Her Will provides that my estranged brother who has not been seen or heard from by anyone in the family for over a decade is not to receive anything. […]
The Facts: My elderly father is putting his house into an irrevocable trust and naming me and my brother as beneficiaries of the trust. The Questions: If my father decides to move out of his house, will we be able to sell the house while my father is still alive? Would it be better if my father […]
January 12, 2012 – 6:55 pm
The Facts: I was married for 20 years and have two sons ages 19 and 13. I am now divorced and my ex-husband has remarried. Despite the settlement papers we signed in connection with our divorce, my ex never paid child support or contributed to my sons’ education expenses and has not been part of my […]
October 13, 2011 – 6:57 pm
The Facts: When I was unable to pay my medical bills, my doctor obtained a money judgment against me. The judgment was docketed in the county clerk’s office a few years ago. My father just passed away and I inherited his house. The Questions: Can the doctor’s judgment lien attach to the property I am inheriting even […]
The Question: What, if anything, can be done if someone created a trust but failed to transfer any assets into the trust? My father intended to transfer his house and the funds in his brokerage account into his revocable trust to avoid probate and a possible Will contest by my brother. Unfortunately, my father never signed […]
January 6, 2011 – 7:06 pm
Clients often express concern that a dissatisfied family member may contest the probate of their Will. While a Will contest can be costly both in terms of money and time, only certain individuals can object to the probate of a Will and only certain grounds for objecting are acceptable. A person is able to file […]
December 2, 2010 – 7:11 pm
Many people mistakenly assume that, if they die without a Will, all of their assets are taken by the government. Although seizing a person’s assets may be a great way for the government to raise revenue, unless a person owes the government money, the government will not step in and seize a person’s assets when […]
November 4, 2010 – 7:08 pm
With low interest rates and a glut of properties on the market, an increasing number of clients are looking to purchase real property. Many of those clients are purchasing the property with friends and family members and have questions about how best to take title to the property. Since joint ownership of property can take […]
October 7, 2010 – 7:09 pm
As an attorney that focuses on estate planning, I am frequently asked what “probate” means. Technically, probate is the court procedure by which a decedent’s Will is either proved to be valid or found to be invalid and unenforceable. However, many people use the word probate in a more general sense to mean the process […]
September 9, 2010 – 7:09 pm
The saying that nothing is certain except death and taxes is not accurate. The fact that taxes will increase is also a certainty, as is the fact that many people try to avoid paying taxes. Unfortunately, some attorneys take advantage of the public’s aversion to paying taxes and convince people that living trusts, also known […]
The Facts: I have an IRA with a balance of $400,000 and a life insurance policy with a $400,000 death benefit. I was advised that if I name my son Mark as the beneficiary of my IRA, and my son Steven as the beneficiary of the life insurance, Mark will end up with less money. The […]
The Facts: My father had a daughter, Jane, from a prior marriage. He and Jane did not stay in touch. Since he wanted me to have his house after his death and wanted to avoid probate, my father put my name on the deed to his house after my mother’s death. The deed does not identify […]
February 18, 2010 – 7:14 pm
The Facts: My husband and I agreed to separate over 20 years ago. Since neither of us wanted to remarry, we never filed for a divorce. In my Will my estate is divided equally between my current partner and my son. The Question: I was told that my husband may have a claim against my estate when […]
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