manhattan estate planning

Understanding Required Minimum Distributions

Published on: October 25, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When an individual begins to engage in responsible, comprehensive estate planning, they inevitably end up discussing their retirement savings and investments accounts with their experienced estate planning attorney. One of the most common terms when it comes to these types of assets is required minimum distributions. While retirement accounts themselves can be incredibly complex, a recent article from The Motley Fool helps make understanding required minimum distributions relatively easy and can help you approach retirement and estate planning in a more informed, confident manner.

The Basics

You are required to start taking required minimum distributions from your retirement accounts by April 1 of the year following when you turn age seventy and a half. However, it may end up being a wise choice for you to take the first required minimum distribution the year that you turn seventy and a half instead of waiting until the next year because you will end up getting two in that year as you are also required to take one yearly by December 31. Combining two withdrawals can have a significant impact on your taxable income for the year depending on the characteristics of your account.

Wealth Advisors and Estate Planning

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

Experienced estate planning attorneys can provide a wealth of information to individuals looking to make the most out of their estate plan. However, as with any other area of law requiring specialized knowledge, good estate planning attorneys are not afraid to tell their clients where to look for additional information pertinent to their individual circumstances. Sometimes that means working with an experienced wealth planner while working with an estate planning attorney to make the most out of your assets. A wealth advisor can play an integral role in your estate planning approach, and a recent article from Forbes highlights the important role they can play.

Role of a Wealth Advisor

A good wealth advisor will work with your estate planning attorney to help find the estate planning mechanisms that will best enable you to preserve your wealth and make it available to your heirs. When they work closely with your estate planning attorney, much of the burden of communicating important information is removed from clients. Instead, they can help you assess the estate planning mechanisms you have in place and look for ways that your wealth could best benefit from modifying or even expanding your estate planning portfolio based on your individual needs. This is especially helpful for families with diverse financial needs or large financial portfolios, but can also be a tool for anyone that wants to make the most out of their estate.

Important Reminders When Planning for Your Pets

Published on: October 18, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For many people with animals, those furry friends are a part of the family. We make exceptions for them to make sure that they are taken care of while we are alive, and it is not uncommon for people to include provisions in their estate planning for pet care after a human companion passes away. Making sure your pets are taken care of after you pass is an important part of responsible pet ownership as well as an important part of comprehensive estate planning. However, a recent article from Fox News provides some reminders of traps to avoid when including your pets in your estate plan.

An Important Consideration

If you include provisions for your pet(s) in your estate plan, make sure they are realistic. A pet does not fit into everyone’s life, so when approaching estate planning for pets you first need to be confident that the person you nominate to care for your pet(s) is ready and able to accept the responsibility. This means that you will need to have a serious discussion with the person you are designating as the caretaker before you create provisions in your estate plan involving them. This important reminder extends to a number of different aspects beyond pets – and an experienced estate planning attorney can help you approach them correctly.

Tips on Talking to Parents About Inheritances

Published on: October 14, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

As important as talking about estate planning is, almost nobody will tell you that doing so is easy. In fact, talking about estate planning is usually pretty difficult. We have written about many different approaches to talking to your heirs about your estate plan, but communication is an extremely important part of estate planning and works both ways. A recent article from The Week may help you find ways to approach talking to your parents about your inheritance. One of the most important things to remember is that even with a difficult topic like this, discussions about these things typically end on a good note. The following tips can help you strike the right chord when approaching estate planning with your parents.

Timing Is Key

The article points out that some individuals might be inclined to have discussions about serious family topics like inheritances during holiday visits. However, experts warn that it is important to remember that holidays are often already a stressful time for everyone and trying to have a serious discussion about something as important as estate planning might be rather difficult during these times. It could even end up striking the wrong tone and making any future discussions about the topic that much more difficult and unpleasant.

Roth IRAs and Your Heirs’ Taxes

Published on: October 11, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

One of the primary purposes of responsible, comprehensive estate planning is to make sure that you are able to distribute as much of your estate as possible to your chosen heirs. After all, you worked hard for a lifetime to build your estate and most people engage in estate planning to make sure as much of their estate survives as possible. A recent article from The Motley Fool reminds us of the role Roth IRAs can play in making sure that the inheritances you leave to your heirs do not fall victim to unexpected taxes. This is especially true in today’s world where there is a great deal of uncertainty as to the direction of our nation’s tax system.

Roth IRA Basics

A Roth IRA is an individual retirement plan that allows you to put a certain amount of money into it each year. The money you contribute to a Roth IRA will already be taxed. That means that qualified withdrawals from the Roth IRA will be tax free when you start to take them. Roth IRAs might even provide a tax credit for some of your contributions depending on a number of factors regarding your individual circumstances and financial situation. The earlier you make the choice to start a Roth IRA, the better as a Roth IRA must be active for at least five years prior to your death in order to escape federal income taxes.

Estate Planning Concerns for Same-Sex Couples

Published on: October 9, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, it opened up a lot of doors that had been closed to many people in society. However, it also created a significant amount of new legal concerns for same-sex couples. With marriage, a host of new questions and responsibilities have arisen. Not the least of those concerns is responsible, comprehensive estate planning. While comprehensive estate planning is crucial for all individuals regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation, it is an extremely important consideration for same-sex couples that may not have had an estate plan in place.

Potential Issues

An article from the Cleveland Jewish News points out that same-sex couples – especially unmarried same-sex couples – could still face a host of legal hurdles when it comes to the death of one person in the relationship. These concerns could include issues involving health care and power of attorney, which make it extremely important for unmarried couples to make sure documents addressing these concerns are in place should they be needed. Without these documents, there may be laws in place prohibiting an unmarried same-sex partner from making important financial and health-related decisions if an individual becomes incapacitated or otherwise unable to make such decisions on their own.

Anticipating Tax Reform with Your Estate Planning Strategies

Published on: June 17, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The current makeup of the federal government makes it very likely that some type of tax reform will happen within the next couple of years. Many individuals that have comprehensive estate plans in place or are considering engaging in creating a comprehensive strategy may have questions about how such tax reform could impact their estate plan. Recently, WealthManagement.com published an article discussing some approaches to estate planning while waiting to see how tax policy develops.

Tax Policy and Your Estate Plan

You must not underestimate the potential impact that tax policy can have on your estate plan. For individuals with larger estates with values that surpass the current estate tax exemption of $5,490,000, taxes play an even bigger role. If your estate is valued above the estate tax exemption, you have a variety of tools at your disposal that can help you alleviate some of the financial burdens imposed by taxes. Perhaps you will utilize your annual gift exemption to distribute some of your assets during your lifetime. You may end up creating a trust and title some of your assets under the trust instead of in your own name. Whatever tools you utilize, and even if the value of your estate falls within the estate tax exemption, taxes play a crucial role in the design and implementation of your estate plan. An experienced estate planning attorney can and should help you understand exactly how taxes might affect your personal estate plan and can also help you stay abreast of new developments in tax and other laws that could impact your estate plan.

The Difference Between a Trust and Payable on Death

Published on: June 14, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

In the past, a trust was something that seemed useless for many Americans. It was a term often used to refer to the bank accounts of wealthy individuals. However, trust can be useful tools for many individuals. You don’t have to be a millionaire to make use of them, either. They can be an effective part of a comprehensive estate planning strategy that help you provide your loved ones with financial security after your death. While trusts are much more accessible than they once were, there is still confusion surrounding them. Many people wonder why they need a trust if they have listed assets as payable on death to another individual. While payable on death accounts can be an effective way of naming a beneficiary for those accounts, there are some limitations that can be addressed by a trust.

Payable on Death Limitations

The largest limitation of a payable on death structure is that while it will allow you to name a beneficiary for the asset in question and thus avoid the need to probate such assets, it typically only allows title to the asset to pass upon your death. In other words, if you become incapacitated while still alive, the person the account is meant to pass to may not be able to access the asset. Additionally, not all types of assets can be listed as payable on death, which leaves things like personal property in limbo in case of your incapacitation or death.

Estate Planning and Online Accounts

Published on: June 12, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For some people, the term “estate planning” conjures up images of wealthy families complaining about the estate tax. However, estate planning is an important responsibility for all adults with assets that they wish to leave behind. This is especially true today as most people are becoming increasingly familiar with the use of various online accounts. Online accounts can be used for a variety of different things, ranging from online banking to social media. As technology becomes an ever-increasing aspect of each of our lives, almost everyone needs to consider the management of online accounts during a period of disability or in case of death when considering the various important aspects of estate planning.

New Legislation

According to WealthManagement.com, several states have adopted relatively similar laws that allow individuals to control access to online accounts in the case of disability and/r death. While individuals serving in roles such as an executor or trustee can generally access information related to electronic communication that includes the sender, recipient, and date/time of a message, they typically need a court order to access the content of these communications. However, new legislation allows you to control scenarios in which individuals could get greater access in three ways:

Biggest Mistakes in Estate Planning: Part III

Published on: June 10, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

An important part of your estate plan is making sure that it provides for your heirs in the way you want it to. While you may take pains to make sure your estate plan is comprehensive and covers all your bases, it is important to factor your heirs and their possible actions into the equation. The final part of our series on some of the most common biggest mistakes individuals tend to make in estate planning will explore these more subjective aspects of the estate planning process, which an experienced estate planning attorney can help you navigate.

Lack of Flexibility

Comprehensive estate planning can be a long and detailed process. You may feel like you have everything worked out perfectly by the end of it. However, it is important to keep in mind that you cannot plan for every event. For instance, even if you establish a trust for your only child and transfer assets to the trust successfully, you may not have included mechanisms that protect your child from creditors or even a potential future divorce. That means the assets within that trust could be susceptible to claims by other individuals, and if you establish a trust in your child’s name when the child is five then you may not be planning far enough ahead.