New York Estate Planning, Probate, and Real Estate Lawyer

What are collectibles? According to the IRS, collectibles includes works of art, rugs, antiques, any metal or gem (with exceptions), any stamp or coin (with exceptions), valuable alcoholic beverages or “any other tangible personal property that the IRS determines is a “collectible” under IRC Section 408(m)”. Quite often people don’t have any idea how much…

Many people get confused between Medicaid and Medicare. So, what’s the difference? While, both programs were federally created, they do different things Basically Medicare is health insurance for people 65 or older and Medicaid is for people who meet certain income requirements. While Medicare will pay for some rehabilitative services in a nursing home, Medicaid…

The upstate Albany County town of Guilderland has replaced their town justice Richard Sherwood, after he was arrested for stealing $4.2 million from a trust fund he oversaw. Sherwood and a long time associate attorney Thomas Lagan were arrested and charged with two counts of grand larceny and a scheme to defraud. The two were…

Estate/financial planning when suffering from a terminal illness is a two stage process. The first stage comes during the illness when finances need to maximized to treat the illness. If you are terminally ill and still working it can make a significant difference in terms of cash flow. Group disability benefits may be available through…

The IRS says that identity thieves are not only stealing people’s identities, they are filing fake tax returns using those identities. The IRS says identity thieves came up with the scam around 2008 and they have been having a hard time stopping it. In fact the practice has tripled in the last 5 years. The…

Last year we wrote about the scandal in Michigan’s probate system; about how some attorneys and real estate brokers were working together to cheat heirs out their inheritances, legally. Now another scandal has emerged with the news that Oakland County Probate Judges in Michigan have hired an attorney who is under criminal investigation. We posted…

U.K based Cambridge Analytica, the company that was caught up in the data harvesting scandal with Facebook has filed for bankruptcy in a New York Court. The move comes on the heels of them announcing the winding down of their operations in the UK. The company listed $1-$10 million in liabilities in its filing. In…

Over 80 million people in the U.S. have at least one pet. That’s 65% of all households. Cats are more popular than dogs, but that’s still a ton of pets. There is a very good chance that they are treated as family members. Unfortunately, many people don’t include their furry loved ones in their estate…

The new tax law doubles the amount that can be passed to heirs without them having to worry about estate and gift taxes. The amount works out to about $22 million for a married couple, but is only in place until 2025. Due to this, the uber-rich are turning to what are called dynasty trusts,…

Parents with special-needs children need to take special care when estate planning to insure their child will be provided for not only financially but also physically and emotionally. An article in Forbes by financial planner Christopher Young addresses these issues and suggests 4 financial planning considerations if you have a child with special needs. Do…