Effective July 19, 2024, New York Law now allows a real estate owner, including owners of a house, condominium unit or vacant land, to designate one or more beneficiaries to automatically receive the owner’s NY real estate when the owner dies, without the property having to go through probate.

Many of my clients are surprised by how a Payable on Death (“POD”)/Transfer on Death (“TOD”) account (“Account”), which names beneficiaries to receive the funds upon an account holder’s death, can be very useful to their overall estate plan. However, care is needed to avoid any unwanted surprises when using such an Account.

One of the hardest things for all of us is when our parents eventually need our care and support. Unfortunately, some adult children are NOT kept in the loop by their aging parents as to their finances and estate planning…

Below I provide a list of important items to discuss with your parents before their health declines and it is too late to receive this information as well as ensure the necessary documents are in place for them.

Gideon’s April 10th Appearance on the Marriage and Martinis Podcast

No one wants to address it, but you need to prepare for the unthinkable, particularly when your children are under the age of 18 years old. For peace of mind, some of the estate planning issues that you want to address when your children are minors as well as some issues that you should address after they become “adults” (18 years old).

With this extension, certain surviving spouses will now have the opportunity, with the increased exemption from their decedent spouse’s DSUE amount to apply to the surviving spouse’s subsequent transfers during life or at death, to avoid/reduce federal gift and estate tax liability upon their own death. This benefit will become increasingly valuable if the federal lifetime exemption amounts are dramatically reduced, as current envisioned and further discussed below.

Beware of the New Jersey inheritance tax, which remains very much in effect and can have significant tax consequences for transfers by New Jersey residents, as well as non-New Jersey residents involving transfers of New Jersey real estate and tangible property, to certain “non-exempt” beneficiaries.