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

This article discusses the sensitive topic of how to know when it’s time to relinquish the car keys once people realize they are no longer able to drive safely.

As we age, we may start dreading the eventual “driving discussion” our children may feel obligated to have with us, especially if there is an onset

Most closely held businesses, whether organized as a C or S corporation, LLC or partnership, have (or should have) a buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement addresses what happens to an owner’s interest in the business when the owner dies.

Many of these agreements provide that the business may or must purchase the deceased owner’s interest.

On June 6, 2024, in the case of Connelly v. United States, the United States Supreme Court determined that corporate-owned life insurance proceeds used to redeem a decedent’s shares in the corporation must be included when valuing those shares for federal estate tax purposes.

A decedent’s taxable estate includes the fair market value of shares

Giving assets away during lifetime to reduce estate taxes due upon your death is not the “no-brainer” it used to be. Sometimes, holding onto assets until your death lowers total taxes.

Income tax, gift tax and estate tax benefits can differ dramatically, depending on the income tax basis of the assets to be gifted or

On April 20, 2024, New York State adopted legislation that allows for so-called transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds as part of its Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget. The TOD Deed Law, which takes effect on July 19, 2024, will be codified as a new Section 424 of the N.Y. Real Property Law.

Similar to a payable-on-death designation

A supplemental needs trust (SNT) is an important estate planning tool for those with a special needs child. It ensures that your special needs child is taken care of after you are gone. Unlike other types of trusts, assets placed in an SNT can only be used for items not paid for by government benefits,