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What is the Dead Man’s Statute?

Published on: June 2, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When someone passes away, he or she typically has the estate in order by creating a will or trust and designating an executor to oversee the dispersal of assets to named beneficiaries, ensuring a smooth process during a time of grief. However, even the wills and trusts that seem cut and dry can face legal challenges to parties claiming to have a stake in the estate and are rightfully entitled to certain assets.

Fortunately, New York and other states have laws on the books known as “dead man’s statutes” that help to exclude testimony concerning conversations between the deceased and the individual challenging the estate. The main reason to exclude such conversations as evidence from probate proceedings is to prevent purgery and the introduction of evidence that cannot otherwise be verified.

While not limited to cases involving trusts and estates, New York Surrogate Courts often find themselves hearing arguments involving the dead man’s statute. There are three-exceptions to the exclusion of testimony by interested parties under New York law. These exceptions include:

Removing a Trustee in New York

Published on: May 21, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Selecting the right trustee to administer your estate is a crucial part of ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that your estate is settled correctly. While many people can and should put a great deal of thought into selecting a trustee to administer their estate, the process of selecting a trustee often stops there. Whether a trustee is a financial institution, attorney, or close family friend, you need to include a mechanism to remove that trustee if the need to do so arises. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you design this type of mechanism, which could help your loved ones avoid the often-lengthy legal process of removing a trustee in the absence of formal instructions.

When can a trustee be removed?

There are many reasons you may wish to revise your estate’s trustee. Perhaps you originally selected a family member that has become estranged because of divorce. You may have selected a sibling that has predeceased you. If you nominated a financial institution, it could have been bought out by another company that you don’t want to deal with. Whatever the reason for wanting to remove a trustee, New York law states that the following constitute some legal reasons for a court to remove a trustee:

Estate Planning and Buy-Sell Agreements for Your Business

Published on: May 16, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Comprehensive estate planning can be an extremely complicated process for an individual. This is even more true when the individual owns a business. The owners of closely held businesses own businesses with a limited number of shareholders and the stock in such businesses is not regularly traded publicly. While this type of business can provide many benefits for business owners, it can also create issues when one of the business owner dies. However, structuring a buy-sell agreement for a closely held business can help make estate planning easier when it comes to your interest in such a business.

Redemption Agreements

With a redemption agreement, the company itself purchases a life insurance policy on the various owners of the company. When one of those owners die, the sole owner of the life insurance policy – in this case, the company – will receive the benefits of the life insurance policy and can buy back the deceased shareholder’s shares. There are some potentially negative tax consequences for this type of arrangement, including the possibility of the business to be subject to the current corporate alternative minimum tax on the proceeds from the life insurance policy.

Tips for Selecting a Guardian for Minor Children

Published on: May 13, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Comprehensive estate planning is a deeply personal process. There are so many different factors to consider, and working with an experienced estate planning attorney can help streamline the process and ensure that you explore all of the aspects of estate planning that pertain to you. One of the most difficult parts of comprehensive estate planning is selecting a guardian for your minor children if both parents should become deceased or incapacitated at the same time, leaving neither able to care for any shared children. As difficult as the process can be, it is extremely important to undertake it so that the best interests of your children are provided for in a worst-case scenario. The following are some tips in approaching the guardian selection process and provide some important considerations for you to remember when selecting a guardian, and an experienced estate planning attorney can help you with the process.

Choose Compatible People

Most people put a great deal of planning and thought into how they choose to parent. It is important for your peace of mind as well as your children’s well-being that you select individuals that share a similar parenting style and outlook. If academics are important in your household, make sure that they are also important to prospective guardians. Additionally, making sure that individuals you are considering as guardians are ready to undertake the responsibility that comes with it is extremely important.

Understanding Donor Advised Funds

Published on: May 5, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Many individuals want to make sure that part of their estate is dedicated to their favorite charitable causes, and many make the move to guarantee this during their lifetime. There are several ways to do this. Some individuals may consider structuring an endowment while other may choose deferred gifts or planned giving. Another vehicle to ensure your charitable wishes are carried out can include the creation of a private foundation. However, for some people, the best option for charitable donations during one’s lifetime and after might be to create a donor advised fund.

The Basics of a Donor Advised Fund

When we give to various charities, their tax status allows us to take advantage of a tax deduction. However, in order for our donations to qualify as tax deductible, the organization must typically be registered as what is known as a 501(c)(3) organization. These types of organizations must comply with certain rules established by the IRS, including restricted political and legislative activity while following other important guidelines. The IRS defines a donor advised fund as a fund or account that is maintained and operated by a 501(c)(3) organization known as the sponsoring organization.

Long-Term Care Insurance and Estate Planning

Published on: May 2, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Almost every post, we remind people that estate planning is a comprehensive undertaking that has many different options that can be tailored for individual needs. Experienced estate planning attorneys can help clients understand the role that different option can play in the estate planning process. Another vehicle that can provide individuals and their loved ones with financial security is long-term care insurance. With the growing cost of medical care and the average life expectancy of people reaching 65 today at approximately 85 years of age, high healthcare costs can become a severe drain on a family’s financial resources. However, planning for the cost of long-term medical care can help you maintain the bulk of your estate to distribute to your heirs as you see fit.

What Is Long-Term Care Insurance?

Long-term care insurance not only protects your heirs from the expenses associated with caring for elderly family members, but can also help you prepare for the costs of caring for your aging family members. The purpose of long-term care insurance is to help offset the costs of long-term care that can come with age. For instance, caring for an aging family member that has developed cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease can sometimes require a daytime visiting nurse while you and your family are at work and/or school, or even around-the-clock medical care in a nursing home facility.

Fives Ways to Protect Your Estate Plan

Published on: April 28, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning should be a lifelong process. It is never too early to start the estate planning process, even with minimal assets at a younger age. Once you have a comprehensive estate planning framework in place, it is important to update it as life events change your circumstances. Much like your life is always evolving, so should your estate plan. It must be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure it is up-to-date and continues to comply with changes in laws governing it. When you put this much time and effort into such an important component of protecting your loved ones, it is important to ensure there are mechanisms in place to protect it. The following suggestions, adapted from a recent article from CNBC, can help you ensure your estate plan is secure.

Pre-Paid, Pre-Planned Funerals

When a loved one passes away, it can be an extremely difficult experience. One of the most difficult parts of the grieving process is trying to make funeral arrangements while grieving, and funeral expenses can often be very high. By pre-paying for your funeral arrangements, you can spare your family from the unexpected costs related to funeral expenses while also saving yourself money by locking in prices before they grow over time. Pre-planning your funeral arrangements allows you to ensure that your wishes for your funeral are carried out and help your family avoid stressful decisions during the grieving process.

What are my Guardianship Options for my Parents?

Published on: April 26, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

As our parents age, many of us begin to take on greater roles concerning basic needs like overseeing finances, medical care, and other tasks. Often times, some form of guardianship is necessary to ensure our loved one’s best interests are executed by financial institutions, hospitals, and even local governments. Even loved ones capable of handling many responsibilities themselves can use assistance from family members.

Fortunately, New York elder law gives family members the right to step in and request guardianship as well as allow competent elders the right to agree to guardianship and allow a family member to make certain decisions on their behalf. Whether you find yourself in either circumstance, an experienced and dedicated New York elder law attorney can help the process goes as smoothly as possible and your beloved elder has his or her needs met.

New York guardianship elder laws

Beneficiary Forms and Estate Planning

Published on: April 20, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Understanding the different aspects of estate planning is a crucial part of creating a comprehensive estate plan that accomplishes your individual goals. For probate assets, many individuals utilize a Last will and Testament to direct the distribution of assets subject to probate. Non-probate assets, such as life insurance policies and assets held within a trust, are distributed upon death according to the mechanism for distribution contained within the asset and are usually directed by the nomination of a beneficiary. It is extremely important to remember beneficiary nominations when creating, reviewing, and revising your estate plan.

Common Beneficiary Pitfalls

One common beneficiary pitfall occurs with assets like bank accounts that often have a payable on death beneficiary option. With these options, a bank is directed to distribute assets within the account covered by that designation to the person listed as the payable on death beneficiary. This can cause unintended problems if your Last Will and Testament directs your bank assets to be distributed differently, and may result in an unintended Will contest that could jeopardize other aspects of your Will. Making sure that beneficiaries for these types of assets are properly aligned with other provisions of your estate planning documents is an important part of ensuring your wishes are carried out.

Rights to Life Insurance Policies and Retirement Accounts

Published on: April 20, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

There are many estate planning tools that should be considered when writing a will. While the obvious includable provisions are for assets and property distribution, you should also consider how you want your life insurance policy distributed as well as any retirement benefit accounts. The policies you have subscribed to and pay premiums on will administer a life insurance policy or benefits as you have provided, however, many people forget to amend these policies when they go through events such as a divorce or if they lose a loved one.

Life Insurance Policies

Failing to update life insurance policies can end up benefitting a party you no longer intend to provide for, such as a former spouse who has since remarried, or a family member or friend you have been estranged from. Thus, it is certainly a good practice to amend and update your policy after a major event or to make sure it aligns with your wishes every few years. Making reference to the life insurance policy and the intended beneficiary in your will just goes to further support your claim to show whom you wish to receive the proceeds of policy.