Estate Planning

If you are a parent in New York, you likely work hard to build family wealth that you expect your children to enjoy for many years to come. But your child's expected divorce could put those family assets at risk if no legal protection exists at the time. Knowing how...

In New York, proactive estate and incapacity planning is legally essential. Unmarried partners have no automatic right to make financial or medical decisions for each other during a period of medical incapacity. Unlike married spouses who enjoy automatic legal...

Creating a trust is an important step in an estate plan, but it does not automatically change ownership of your home. Many homeowners assume that signing a trust agreement automatically places the property into the trust. In most cases, that is not how the process...

A deathbed will is a legal document drafted by the person who is facing imminent death. Sometimes these wills are contested in court based on the circumstances under which they were signed. Since the testator is usually in a vulnerable state while signing, the court...

Writing a will is one of the most important tasks you can complete, but it may also be extremely daunting. Beyond the legal complexities, there are significant emotional hurdles that make this process difficult. Understanding these challenges can help you move forward...

Even when you want to leave an inheritance to a beneficiary, you may be concerned about leaving them the entire inheritance at once. Perhaps the beneficiary is still relatively young, and you are not sure that they are going to make wise decisions with what could be...

Some families choose to buy property together for practical reasons. A parent may help an adult child purchase a first home. Siblings may invest together. Others plan for shared living across generations. These arrangements often begin with trust, familiarity and a...

Adults who create an estate plan often don’t think about what will happen to their debts when they die. When this occurs, loved ones often wonder if they’re going to be responsible for having to pay those debts.  In most cases, loved ones don’t have to pay the debts...

Families are often brought together in moments of joy, but the loss of a loved one can sometimes bring out tensions that were never visible before. The absence of clear direction can leave room for confusion, resentment and even lifelong rifts. On the other hand, when...

Talking with an older loved one about nursing home care can undeniably be a difficult undertaking. Many older adults may resist the idea out of fear of losing control over their lives or because of negative perceptions of nursing homes. As such, this kind of...