Since ratification of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (“RUFADAA”) in 2015, the guidelines for third-party access of digital assets of deceased or incapacitated parties has been refined to include guidelines to estate fiduciaries (i.e. trustees, executors, or other agents) and court-appointed conservators or guardians of protected…
U.S. citizens currently residing and working abroad and foreign residing in the United States who are participating in a foreign retirement contribution plan, should evaluate the most recent federal Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) tax reporting requirements to avoid penalties on those assets or future estate transfer. Foreign pension fund contributions…
By 2060, the population of the United States 65 years and older will more than double, increasing to over 98 million from 46 million in 2016. Coinciding with this demographic change will be the estimated 14 million elders diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other related disorders associated with the onset…
When planning a will, estate, or trust, protecting assets from taxation is a primary concern. Today, U.S.-based estate planning investors have the option of offshore or onshore trust formation. Rooted in the English common law traditions of wealth and property protections, the offshore tax-exempt Foreign Asset Protection Trust (“FAPT”) of…
On the two-year anniversary of the Artist known as “Prince’s” opioid overdose related death in April 2018, the representative of his Estate sued the Walgreens company and an Illinois Hospital for damages. Like New York, Illinois law allows the representative of a decedent’s estate to pursue a wrongful death action…
Divorce can be an interpersonally challenging life-change, and complex legal matter. With two Department of Defense (“DoD”) appropriations bills currently before the House and Senate, the rules to pension fund distribution to U.S. federal Air Force, Army, Navy or Military Reserve ex-spouses at time of divorce will be revised in…
Probate can be a lengthy process if the heirs or beneficiaries of a decedent’s testamentary document disagree about the distribution of property and assets. An Order to Show Cause prepared by the Plaintiff’s attorney constitutes verified complaint, and is the initial hearing procedure of a contested will. Plaintiff testimony concerning…
Applicable Federal Rates (“AFRs”) increases signal an upswing in federal taxation of estate and gift transfers to beneficiaries in the immediate future. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) AFR regulation mandates tax accountability of gifts and estates, as well as installment sales and intra-family loans. The latest AFR rate hike will make…
New York estate owners can avoid probate with stipulation of transfer-on-death (“TOD”) designation of assets within their will or estate testamentary documents. The state presently prohibits TOD deeds for real estate and automobile registration transfer, yet properties held in joint tenancy, bank accounts, and other cash convertible assets like bonds…
Rules of required minimum distribution (“RMD”) within defined contribution plan retirement funds, are usually relatively little while a participant is still alive. Previously, the rules to RMD were less favorable depending on the terms and conditions of the plan, and form of distribution elected, as well as the relationship between…