Our team of estate planning attorneys is reputable for having a holistic approach to estate planning in New York 11531. We carry out systematic estate planning for our clients to cover their estate needs during life and secure the financial security of their loved ones after death. When you come to us, it is our practice to first understand your personal situation in order to know how best to create the right estate plan that reflects your true goals.
For basic estate planning in New York, we deem it vital that you have the following documents in your estate plan:
- Will: A will, howbeit simple, is used to map out exactly how you want your life’s work and earnings disposed when you pass away. With a will, you can transfer assets to whomever you wish and name a guardian for your minors.
- Durable financial power of attorney: There may come a time when you can no longer manage your estate and make decisions yourself due to a terminal illness, Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc. When that happens, your financial power of attorney becomes active and the person you have appointed will become responsible for making financial decisions on your behalf.
- Healthcare Proxy: Just like the financial power of attorney, the healthcare proxy is a document you can use to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf during incapacity.
- Living Will: In case you would have any preferences for healthcare during delicate life-death situation, you can state it clearly in a living will. For example, you may prefer not to be put on life support, or accept organ/tissue donation. Your wishes would be honored even when you can’t speak so long the document is valid.
Top estate planning mistakes to avoid
So many people feel they can handle estate planning on their own and so end up not considering critical issues therefore complicating things for their loved ones after death. This section aims to highlight some of these mistakes:
- Not planning for estate tax — In New York, estate tax is an amount payable to the State when you die leaving an estate worth over $5.85 million. The tax can reach up to 16%, which is a considerable amount. If your estate will be subject to this and you wish to avoid it, your attorney can help achieve that by gifting, establishing trusts, etc.
- Not planning for probate — If you create a will to disburse your estate, then a complex, lengthy and expensive court process known as probate must be carried out after your death to validate the will. Probate is more complex for complex estates and traumatic for grieving families. Holding assets in a trust instead of a will can avoid probate. When only a few assets are addressed in the will, probate will be less complicated.
- Neglecting incapacity planning — Some people feel estate planning is all about planning for disbursement of one’s estate after death. Ideally, it also has to do with the management of said estate during incapacity. There is incapacity when you are no longer legally competent to make reasonable decisions for yourself. It can be caused by a number of factors including age and cognitive disorders that come with it. Through incapacity planning, you create documents to authorize a fiduciary to make decisions on your behalf when you become suddenly incapacitated.
- Thinking estate planning is only for the wealthy — Regardless of the value, whatever assets and belongings you have in your name are called your estate. If all you have is a car and a bank account with two children, if you do not state clearly who you want the car to go to, then there likely will be squabbles over it when you die.
- Not updating your estate plan — If you have already created an estate plan, it is important to review it from time to time. This is because as life continues, situations change which would require a relative change to your estate plan. For example, new births, divorce, marriage, death of a beneficiary or executor may require a change to your will. Estate planning laws are also frequently changing. If you have an estate planning attorney near you, have them review your estate plan to see if it currently coincides with your present wishes and goals.
Estate Planning Attorney near Me 11531
If you need an estate planning attorney around Garden City, NY 11531, kindly call our law office to schedule a consultation.
