After many years of hard work, sacrifice and saving, most people look forward to a secure and stress-free retirement. Few, however, consider the probability of needing costly long-term care, either at home or in a nursing home.

According to the AARP, approximately 70% of Americans will need some type of long-term care. Nursing homes in

In New York State, a Will of a deceased person is given legal effect only after it is admitted to probate by the Court.  In the event someone objected to the admission of the Will to probate, i.e. a Will contest, the Court must consider four issues: (1) Did the Testator have mental capacity to

Please click the link below to view the Trusts, Estates & Taxation Newsletter – Winter 2013. Adobe Reader is required to view the bulletin. If Adobe Reader is not installed on your PC, click here to download and install.

Trusts, Estates & Taxation Newsletter – Winter 2013

Our state constitution and statutes provide that each one of the counties of the State of New York has its own Judge of the Surrogate’s Court, commonly referred to as the “Surrogate”.  The laws allow, when necessary, that a county may have more than one Surrogate.  As of the time of the writing of this

Under certain circumstances, a designated agent under a power of attorney (“POA”) has the authority to amend an irrevocable trust.  New York recently supported this authority in the Second Department case, Perosi v. LiGreci, 98 A.D.3d 230 (2012).
There are many variables involved to determine whether an agent (also referred to as an attorney-in-fact) has

In our fall newsletter, we advised you of the intense review given a residency audit.  In the second part of this article, we have outlined the following steps that should be taken to successfully transition into a new domicile:

• Declare your new state to be your place of domicile and residence in all forms

While “home is where the heart is”, “domicile” is where the tax savings reside.  Determining one’s domicile becomes very important when a person has connections with New York and another state, and they want to avoid being subject to New York State tax. 

New York State Tax Law Section 605(b) says simply that if you’re

The constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is being questioned.  A New York court in Windsor v. United States, 833 F. Supp. 2d 394 (S.D.N.Y. 2012), is one of several federal courts that recently declared Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment to the

President Obama’s Budget Impacts Intentionally Defective Trusts

If President Obama’s 2013 budget proposal passes then a grantor trust would be included in the grantor’s estate or used to pay gift taxes if trust assets are distributed before the grantor’s death or the grantor ceases to be treated as the owner.  This attempt to deter the

Please click the link below to view the Trust, Estates & Taxation Newsletter-Fall 2012. Adobe Reader is required to view the bulletin. If Adobe Reader is not installed on your PC, click here to download and install.

Trust, Estates & Taxation Newsletter-Fall 2012