Since introduction of Bitcoin as a valuable retirement fund asset, the significance of blockchain technology has come to influence the estate planning process as well. Estate planning investors with cryptocurrency assets acknowledge blockchain technologies are vital instruments for ensuring a will or estate does not extend into a lengthy probate…
New York law allows for a creditor to attach a debt collection order to an estate with a claim of lien. A judgment lien is a court ordered sale of real and personal property part of an estate such as antiques, art, jewelry, and other tangible valuables. A licensed attorney…
Federal regulators recently issue a warning health care providers accepting federal funding to be on the lookout for inappropriate prescriptions of a powerful antipsychotic drug commonly used in nursing homes to treat a host of disruptive behaviors. The memo comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies and applies…
In New York, the admirable and highly instrumental private foundation is well-recognized means to venerable ends. Indeed, in 2017, the U.S. federal Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) reported that New York’s private foundations donated $10,716,118,775 in funds to nonprofit charities, the highest in the nation. Rules to private foundations, otherwise known…
What happens when a Facebook account holder dies and leaves valuable assets such as family photo albums and digital wallet details, including bank card information on the site? The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) of 2015 amended federal guidelines to family member, executor, attorney-in-fact, or trustee…
When Michael Jackson’s estate filed suit against ABC Inc. and the Walt Disney Company in May 2018, the world viewed the consequences to unauthorized use of the late celebrity musician’s intellectual property (IP). The estate currently holds all copyright to Jackson’s songs and music video work. The thirty works which…
Depending on the terms and conditions of a defined contribution plan, a participant may elect to extend the tax-deductible life of those assets by transferring them to an estate or trust prior to death. A key incentive for extending the distribution period of defined contribution plan assets is transfer of…
With the enactment of the U.S. federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act”) estate and gift transfers became more attractive in the planning of trusts (Pub. L 115-97). The unified credit exemption accorded under the Act, offers a global elimination of transfer tax on a set level…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS) recently made a pair of announcements regarding changes to some of the important services the agency offers to millions of seniors across the country. Both of which aim to improve customer experience for CMS enrollees and help combat the threat of identity…
Beginning Tax Year 2017, the U.S. federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will now require some taxation of cryptocurrency that may affect estate planners and executors. As of this tax season, capital gains and losses on property transactions involving cryptocurrency, for example, must now be reported to the IRS (Notice 2014-21).…