One thing that makes our country both great and frustrating is that for certain types of law, there are often different, incompatible, conflicting laws that vary by state. On occasion, various committees are formed to draft “Uniform” Codes, but it is still up to the individual state legislatures as to whether or not they should...
On February 3, 2010, the Tax Court released its decision in Estate of Shurtz v. Commissioner. This case is interesting for a number of reasons. First, even though it involves a family limited partnership, the case is not about the estate taking substantial discounts. In fact, the word “discount” is not even mentioned in the...
One of the most common questions I get from people, especially the elderly, is whether they should transfer their home to their children or grandchildren now. Their thinking is that by transferring it now, it will avoid probate when they die, and also, they can avoid paying for more complicated estate planning. Of course, that’s not...
The biggest enemy of proper estate planning is procrastination. As the world knows, Prince died last week. Today we find out that he died intestate, which is a fancy word that lawyers use for dying without a will. When you die intestate, the state determines how your property is distributed. Prince was not married and...
As an estate planning attorney, I know how important what is known as “tangible personal property” is to people. Generally there are two types of property: real property and personal property. Real property is land and buildings, and personal property is everything else. That includes money, stocks, patents, digital assets, etc. When we talk about...
Incapacity planning can prevent a guardianship. Although I often write about estate planning and taxes, an essential part of our practice also concerns Guardianships. A court will appoint a Guardian of a person if the court determines them to be incapacitated, or “judicially determined to lack the capacity to manage at least some of the...
Today’s crazy estate planning story comes from the New York Times, He Left a Fortune, to No One. Roman Blum died in New York last year at 97 years old. He was a Holocaust survivor and a successful real estate developer worth over $40 million. Not only did he die intestate, which means without a...
I was at a networking event today, and I was talking with a guy in his twenties — healthy, unmarried, no children, minimal assets and minimal debt. He said he wanted to talk to me about me doing a “revocable living trust” for him. When I asked him why he thought he needed one, he...