One option for lowering Medicare costs has been to raise the copays that Medicare recipients must pay in order to receive treatment. However, a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that raising copays led Medicare recipients to delay...
As practicing estate planning attorneys, we come across clients who have set up various types of Trusts, whether with our office or with other attorneys. The problem is that many of these Trusts are unfunded - either there are no assets titled in the name of the Trust...
Grandma owned savings bonds, and named Mom or one of the kids as the joint owner. In 2001, Grandma handed the bonds over to Mom for safekeeping. However, the bonds weren't cashed in until 2005. In addition, when the bonds were cashed in, the proceeds were deposited in...
Thanks to all for some great comments. Over the weekend, I saw a commercial on TV for a legal document drafting website and software, that was endorsed by a well-known attorney, but one who is not licensed in New York (according to the attorney directory at...
A new client was recently referred to me by a colleague. The client had gone online and prepared her own Will, and my colleague was concerned that it might not be valid. I reviewed the client's draft Will, and although it was awkwardly written and contained provisions...
My evidence for this is completely anecdotal, but it seems like more and more of my clients these days are considering moving out of state for estate tax reasons. New York has an unlimited marital deduction for estate taxes, which means that assets passing from one...
We've all heard of the "Prudent Investor" rule for Trustees and Executors of estates. But just how "prudent" does a Trustee have to be? Does a Trustee have a duty to do some possibly risky planning to avoid estate taxes on the death of the income beneficiary of a...
Technology has drastically changed the ways in which children can be conceived, and children can now be conceived in a laboratory long after one or both parents have died. Trusts and Estates law, however, has been slow to catch up, and has not always followed the...
Trusts and Estates law is often seen as a dry subject, even among attorneys. I find it fascinating, however. The stories and psychologies of the clients and litigants are at the center of every case, and some of the most contentious lawsuits are brought (or not)...
Here is the outline of a current case that all you practitioners can use as a horror story to scare your clients into completing their estate plan (or your colleagues; we all know how few attorneys actually have a current estate or business succession plan in place)....
