It is certainly an exhilarating and rewarding experience to witness the expansion of your company! The growth may involve the hiring of additional personnel, the acquisition of computer and telecommunications equipment, the obtaining of additional customers or suppliers, and/or the addition of new product lines or services. Being prepared for the possible legal issues...
Creative Uses of the QTIP Trust
A Qualified Terminable Interest Property ("QTIP") Trust is a common estate planning tool in second marriages. Essentially, a QTIP trust ensures that a person's assets will go to their children (or other next of kin) rather than to their new spouse, while providing an income stream to the new spouse. The Trustee of the...
The Necessity of Reviewing Your Estate Plan
It is important to review all of one’s estate planning documents, from time to time, to see if the contents of the documents still adequately reflect one’s wishes. At a minimum, your will, health care proxy, living will and durable of power of attorney should be looked at by an experienced attorney, to make...
Five Simple Ways to Reduce Your Estate Tax Liability
While there are very sophisticated estate planning techniques used to reduce one's taxable estate, while one is living, there are also some simple, inexpensive ways to do so as well. Yes, attorneys can establish all types of trusts for clients, in order to shelter assets from estate taxes, and those trusts are certainly useful,...
Partnership and Shareholder Agreements: An Absolute Necessity
Successful business owners often work long and hard, focusing all of their efforts on building and expanding their businesses. Often, owners have partners who work together amicably toward the common goal of achieving success. As a result, having a partnership or shareholder agreement in place is usually not a priority.
The best opportunity for people...
Probating Wills and Administering Estates in Florida and New York
It sometimes seems confusing to clients to find out that the probate process (the court process one needs to go through when a person passes away and leaves a will) and the administration process (when one dies without a will) is different in every state. While there are many similarities in the process, some...
Five Things You Should Consider Before Choosing a Law Firm for Your Business
Of course, the best way to find a law firm for your business is by referral. Therefore, one should ask family, friends and business acquaintances for a recommendation. In the absence of that, business and networking organizations are a good source, along with the internet. No matter how you get the information you are...
Moving From New York to Florida
Clients frequently decide that they would like to move to the State of Florida and become Florida residents. The reason for this is usually financial, as Florida does not have an income tax, nor do they have an estate tax. Unfortunately, the move is often made without careful thought of the consequences of such...
Medicaid Trusts: The Pros and Cons
Clients are often confused about the differences between irrevocable trusts and revocable living trusts, and the consequences they each have for medicaid planning. Those who advocate living trusts commonly lead people to believe that these trusts will protect one’s assets in the event long-term health care is needed. While living trusts serve the purpose...
How Life Insurance Fits Into One’s Estate Plan
There are many reasons why one might obtain life insurance and the purchase of such insurance should seriously be considered when doing estate planning. The most common situation where life insurance is necessary is in the case of a couple who has young children. In that situation, it is common for one or both...