Estate Planning for the GLBT Community Guidance and assistance with Living Trusts, Health Care Powers of Attorney, and Asset Distribution.
American Academy Mentioned in Money Magazine! Robert Armstrong, President of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, was interviewed by Money Magazine senior writer Penelope Wang for her article " A Midlife Money Checkup" in the March 2008 Issue. The article was part of the Cover Story "A Boomer's Guide to Financial Freedom" that included multiple articles focusing on financial trends, aging well and other issues Baby Boomers are facing today. This is the third mention of the American Academy of Estate Planning by Money Magazine in the last seven issues. The "Midlife Money Checkup" is a nine-step test that highlights questions Boomer's should be asking themselves at this point in their lives. Mr. Armstrong's expertise in estate planning was highlighted in question five, "Is your estate plan in order?" Make sure you don't have to ask yourself that question by meeting with a qualified attorney.
American Academy Mentioned in Money Magazine The September issue of Money Magazine has an article entitled,"20 Timeless Money Rules." Rule 17, Exiting Gracefully, is particularly significant because it emphasizes the importance of putting together your estate plan. The recommendation of Money Magazine is that you search for a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys: "To find a lawyer, ask friends and colleagues for recommendations or get referrals online at the website of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (aaepa.com)." The American Academy is an exclusive membership organization for law firms dedicated to estate planning. We are proud of our Academy membership and pleased to be one of only three law firms in New York City accepted into this prestigious organization. For more information about why our membership is so important to your family, click here.
ESTATE PLANNING NEWS Estate Planning Is Life Planning What is the first thing that leaps to most people’s minds when they think about estate planning? A will. We’ve all seen the dramatic scenes in films of yesteryear: the reading of the will. The truth of the matter is that the will is no longer the focal point of estate planning.
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ESTATE PLANNING NEWS Keeping It All in the Family with the Family Limited PartnershipThe Family Limited Partnership is a well-rounded estate planning strategy that helps families pass wealth from one generation to another in a highly advantageous way that gains tax breaks without sacrificing control. This article explains how.
CLIENT NEWSLETTERS Your Estate Matters Newsletter, Vol. 13.1
Articles included in this issue:
EDUCATIONAL ALERTS Taxpayers Fight and Win State Estate Tax BattlesIn 2001, the federal government passed the Economic Growth and Tax Reform Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRRA”). One of the provisions of EGTRRA was the gradual reduction and then elimination (in 2004) of the state death tax credit on the federal estate tax return. About three-quarters of the states limited the amount of the death taxes they received to the amount of the state death credit. With the reduction in the credit, these “pick-up” states started to see their tax revenues decline and as a result about one-third of them “decoupled” from the federal system. The decoupling states implemented their own estate tax regime based on federal law that was in existence prior to EGTRRA. In some circumstances this resulted in taxpayers paying a higher combined federal and state estate tax than they would have paid under the law before the enactment of EGTRRA, even though EGTRRA was heavily promoted as a tax reduction.
EDUCATIONAL FYIs Will's Assertion of Mistreatment by Disinherited Child is Not Grounds for InvalidityDecedent's will specifically disinherited his only child and some of his grandchildren "by reason of their ... treatment" of him. Son challenged the will, claiming that it was improperly executed, and also that the decedent had operated under "an insane delusion that four of his grandchildren did not care about him."
