There has been an effort for many years in NY to reform the POA laws to make agents more accountable and reduce the incidents of financial abuse. Governor Patterson signed the bill into law last week and it is effective in less than 30 days!! Agents are now required to…
Gerry Beyer has an article on a Trustee’s Duty to Disclose and the rise in Surcharge Litigation. Dana G. Fitzsimons Jr. recently published an article – Navigating the Trustee’s Duty to Disclose, Prob. & Prop., Jan/Feb 2009, at 40. If you are managing wealth for your children, this should be…
One should be careful when leaving assets to someone who is in prison. They often have fines assessed against them and the assets can be taken for these fines. Sometimes it is beneficial to leave assets to the incarcerated persons heirs. While many trusts can be created to provide for…
Forbes.com has an article on where not to die. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia (shaded in red) impose their own estate taxes. The dollar amount exempted from tax (in black) and the top tax rate (in yellow) vary by state. Eight states (shaded in orange) levy an inheritance…
Bad will articles popping up all over the place Seems like everywhere you turn these days there is another article on how Quicken and other online estate planning tools are a bad idea. I will begin to compile a list of other articles on this topic below my examples. Some…
First there were Amber Alerts, now Florida along with a dozen other states have adopted the Silver Alert. A Silver Alert is circulated when a person 60 or older who suffers from Alzheimer’s, dementia, or another cognitive impairment goes missing.There is legislation creating a national program that is pending in…
The Wills, Trusts, and Estates Prof Blog had a posting from someone looking for interesting WIll issues. I thought some of my readers may be interested in contacting this person. Hello, I’m a researcher working on a documentary series about people’s first-hand experiences with a family will. The project is…
The following fifteen common assets and applicable beneficiary designations should be reviewed to make sure they will not be paid (or given) directly to the special needs child: (1) IRA, 401(k) and other retirement benefits. (2) Life insurance (including employer-provided life insurance) benefits. (3) Accidental death and travel insurance benefits…
A third-party created and funded SNT can have a trust protector. At a minimum, the trust protector should can have the power to: (i) direct the trustee’s actions; (ii) receive financial-investment statements and accountings; (iii) terminate the trust (and have the assets be distributed to the remainder beneficiaries), (iv) remove…
The thirteen benefits of an inter-vivos stand alone third-party created and funded SNT are: (1) The trust can be established by the parents (or by any third party, such as the grandparents) for the benefit of the special needs child. (2) The trust provides for the investment and management of…