A lot of people creating an estate plan choose to create a revocable living trust primarily because the trust allows them to minimize the size of their probate estate. But what is a probate estate, and why would you want to minimize it? Here’s what you need to know about probate, probate estates, and how living trusts enter into the equation.

The Property You Leave Behind

Everything you own after you die must go to new owners. The probate process is the legal process that allows this property transfer to happen. Once all of your property has been inventoried and all of your debts have been paid, the remaining property will go to your heirs. This process can take quite a long time and, because someone has to manage the process, can cost a significant amount of money.

The Property in Probate

While all of your property will have to be transferred to new owners, not all of it will have to go through probate. Property that you own jointly with someone else, property that has named beneficiaries, and property that is owned by a revocable living trust can avoid the probate process.

Transferring Through a Trust

Whenever you create a revocable living trust, you can transfer all of your property to it and then choose how the trust will distribute that property after you die. This process completely avoids probate, making it far more efficient and cost-effective than the regular probate process. Living trusts also make this process private, whereas the probate process is open to the public.

If you’d like to know more about probate and other legacy wealth planning issues, you can attend our next free Legacy Wealth Planning Seminar. Seating is limited, so contact our office for registration details.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

One of the benefits of creating an estate plan is that you get to determine who inherits your property after you die. If you don’t take this step your property might, like that of New York real estate developer Roman Blum, be inherited by your state. In Mr. Blum’s case, it appears as if the man’s entire $40 million estate is going to be inherited by his home state of New York.

Roman Blum died in 2012 at the age of 97. He and his wife, who died in 1992, left behind no children or any identifiable relatives. Mr. Blum was a Holocaust survivor and after his death a state administrator, who had been assigned to handling the case, found no surviving relatives anywhere in the world. Under New York law, if no relatives can be found within three years after person’s death, the entire estate will be inherited by the state of New York.

While such cases where states actually inherit the property of the deceased residents are rare, all states have laws that allow for this process. When you die without a last will and testament, your closest family members will inherit your property under the laws of intestacy. State intestacy laws determine who stands to inherit under such circumstances, and in the event when no relatives survive you, the state itself will become your legal heir under a law known as escheat.

Unless a living relative can be found, the Blum estate will become the largest single intestate estate in New York history to transfer to the state.

You can learn a lot more about ensuring you leave an inheritance by attending our next free legacy wealth planning seminar. Contact our office for registration details.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Dani received her RN pin at her graduation ceremony this weekend.  We’re so proud of her!

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Taking the time to create an estate plan and all its important parts, such as a last will and testament or powers of attorney, is something that many people never do. But if you do get around to making a will, you don’t need to worry that it will somehow expire. Though you may need to update your will after important life events, once you make a will that complies with all state laws you can rest assured that the document lasts until it’s needed.

Requirements

To make a valid will in New York you need to create a written document that states your choices about inheritances and other issues that your estate planning attorney will tell you about. Once you have set your wishes down in writing, you then need to sign the document in the presence of two adult witnesses who will then sign it as well.  As soon as this happens, your will is legally valid and will be accepted by a court after you die.

Expiration

Wills don’t expire. These documents simply state your choices about what you want to happen to your property and other interests after you die. While you can always go back and change or update a will if you choose, they remain legally effective immediately upon creating them. You never have to register your will with the state court or other government body, but once you die someone will have to bring the will to a New York Surrogate’s Court to begin the estate settlement process.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As people age they are often less able to recognize scams and swindles designed to cheat them out of their money. Con artists know this, and as more people reach retirement age many criminals are trying to take advantage of elderly people through any number of scams. Here are a few tips that can help you prevent falling victim to some of these common schemes.

Never send money.

Con artists will say anything to get you to send them money, and are very good at disguising their attempts in any number of ways. Whether you are promised to win money through a sweepstakes, are sent a check and asked to return a portion of it for “processing fees,” or are ever asked to send cash: refuse to do so. Legitimate sweepstakes, contest, and refunds will never ask you to send money.

Never give out personal information over the phone.

Con artists will also try to convince you that they represent a legitimate business, government agency, bank, or other organization in an attempt to get you to hand over your personal information. Never provide this information over the phone, even if the caller is claiming to only want to “verify” your account information.

Contact your lawyer.

Even if you receive a letter in the mail, you can’t always be sure it is from who it claims to be from.  A lot of con artists will try to sound official and use official looking letterhead or symbols, so if you ever have a doubt you should contact your attorney and ask for assistance.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Many estate planning attorneys will tell you that one of the most underutilized estate planning tools available to a lot of people is the giving away of lifetime gifts. Like inheritances, giving lifetime gifts is subject to key tax provisions that, once you understand, you can devise a plan to take advantage of. If you haven’t already talked to your attorney about developing a gift strategy you should do so soon, but here are three tips you’ll want to keep in mind.

Tip 1: Understand your limits.

A lifetime gift strategy needs to be based on current gift and estate tax laws. Your attorney will tell you what the current laws are, and once you know the limits of what you can, or should, give you can make an appropriate plan.

Tip 2: Identify recipients.

The gift tax laws allow you to give a maximum amount of lifetime gifts to individuals. However, you shouldn’t feel compelled to give the maximum, especially if there are a lot of people you want to give gifts to. It’s best to come up with a list of people who you want to give lifetime gifts to and then determine the appropriate amount to give to each.

Tip 3: Maximize gift giving.

The lifetime gift rules apply to individuals, meaning that both you and your spouse can give gifts and still meet the exemption limit. If you have a lot of assets you will want to ensure that your gift giving plan takes a consideration both the amount you can give, as well as the amount your spouse can give.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

While there are many people who have taken the time to create an estate plan and devote time every year to keeping it current, others are not so conscientious. Some people created their estate plan years ago and have not taken any time to review it since.

While reviewing your plan usually isn’t on the top of your year’s to-do list, if you haven’t updated it recently you will want to do so as soon as possible.

If you don’t remember, the early part of 2013 saw some fairly important changes in estate planning, especially when it comes to the federal estate and gift tax rules. While Congress and the president argued, they eventually came to an agreement that has a long-lasting impact on estate planning. In 2013, it’s now possible for individual married couples to protect $10.5 million in assets from estate or gift taxes, or even more if you plan properly.  However, many states, including New York, allow you to protect far less.

So, if you created an estate plan years ago when the federal estate and gift tax exemptions were much lower, or if your assets have changed or increased in value, it’s time to review your plan and see if you can take advantage of the new higher exemption.

Additionally, the top estate tax rate was also changed to 40%. Though this is not as high as some prior years, it is higher than it has been recently. If you created a plan that was using a higher or lower level as a factor in your calculations, you’ll also want to speak to your estate planning lawyer to see if there any benefits you can derive by planning around the new rate.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you grew up in the United States during the 50s and 60s, especially if you were an adolescent boy, the name Annette Funicello conjures up immediate images of a fresh-faced, lively girl who appeared on your television set every weekday as one of the original members of the Mickey Mouse Club. Ms. Funicello, after spending the last several decades suffering from multiple sclerosis, passed away in on April 8 at the age of 70.

When she joined the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s she was only 12 years old, but as the years went on America watched her grow up. The popular program became a huge hit with adolescents and, after it ended, lead to Funicello signing a contract with Disney studios. After that, she became an even bigger star.

She had two top 10 singles, one in 1959 and one in 1960, and her film career quickly took off once she began making “beach” movies, often with popular costar Frankie Avalon. The two appeared in several movies together, such as Beach Blanket Bingo and Bikini Beach.

She also had sucess in television, but by the mid-60s her more humble goals saw her get married and raise a family of three children with her then husband and former agent Jack Gilardi.

Funicello and Gilardi divorced in the early 80s, and in 1986 she married Glen Holt. Then, in 1987, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and revealed the diagnosis publicly in 1992.

Annette Funicello is survived by her three adult children, her husband Glenn Holt, and her former husband Jack Gilardi.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

These days everything comes at a price, including living longer. That’s right: living to a ripe old age is going to cost you the allegorical “arm and a leg,” and may even levy a price against your children. Humans may be living longer than ever, thanks to advances in science, medicine, and technology; but, by extending our life span, we have the likelihood of our succumbing to physical or mental afflictions such as Alzheimer’s. In turn, the elderly have to resort to assisted-care facilities and nursing homes to obtain the help they need, which costs money.

The cost for an assisted-care facility has risen over 17% in the last five years, to the point that the average monthly rent for a facility providing help with daily activities is $3,486. Part of the reason for this increase in costs is the adoption of “bundling” by these facilities. Bundling is where the facility charges one price for a number of services lumped together, and, on average, facilities bundle together six to nine services. This means that many residents are paying for services that they do not require.

The average, annual cost for a nursing home nationally is $73,000 a person; in the Western New York area it is over $134,000.  The largest increase in costs has occurred in the home-healthcare field, where spending by Medicare beneficiaries rocketed up 129% between 2000 and 2010.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.