We recently published a post that provided information about potential changes to the federal estate tax and the capital gains tax. Here in New York, we also have a state-level estate tax to contend with, and an important threshold has been updated for 2021. New York Estate Tax Exclusion The exclusion is the amount that can be transferred before the estate tax would be applied on the remainder. In 2021, the exclusion was $5.85 million, and this year it has gone up to $5.93 million. This is … [Read more...] about What Is the 2021 New York Estate Tax Exclusion?
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Living Trust vs. Testamentary Trust: What’s the Difference?
Livings trusts and testamentary trusts are two of the tools in the estate planning toolkit. In this post, we will take a look at the reasons why these trusts are used and explain the major difference between them. Living Trusts A living trust is a trust that goes into effect as soon as you sign it, so it becomes active while you are still alive. The revocable living trust is the most common type of living trust, and this type of trust is a very good alternative to a simple will for a number of … [Read more...] about Living Trust vs. Testamentary Trust: What’s the Difference?
Joint Tenancy Problems in Estate Planning
Sometimes people use Joint Tenancy as an easy, simple way to do Estate Planning. However, this can have serious, unexpected drawbacks. Read on to learn more. … [Read more...] about Joint Tenancy Problems in Estate Planning
Do You Need Long-Term Care Insurance?
The most pressing matter that elder law attorneys address is the long-term care cost challenge. According to the government run website LongTermCare.gov, seven out of every 10 people that are turning 65 on any given day will eventually need help with their activities of daily living. More than one third of these individuals will reside in nursing homes at some point in their lives. The median annual charge for a private room in a Rochester area nursing home was just under $162,000 in 2020, … [Read more...] about Do You Need Long-Term Care Insurance?
Secure Act 2.0: More Potential IRA Changes
An individual retirement account can give you some additional resources to draw from during your senior years, and if you don’t need the money, it would be part of your estate plan. There were some changes to the IRA guidelines implemented for 2020 due to provisions contained within the SECURE Act. In October of 2020, a new piece of legislation with bipartisan support was introduced that is being called SECURE Act 2.0. This measure would make additional changes to IRAs and 401(k)s. We will … [Read more...] about Secure Act 2.0: More Potential IRA Changes
