Legal Question in Tax Law in New York

Re: living trust

The answer depends upon what you are trying to accomplish. Probate is the process whereby the Will you have is submitted so that the Surrogate can issue appropriate documents to authorize and empower the designated person you named to handle the affairs of your estate. This would include the determination of assets and debts, their values, payment of debts, filing of final and necessary income, estate and/or inheritance tax returns and payment of any taxes due and, finally, distribute your assets in accordance with your specified wishes. Probate only affects those assets subject to the Will and does not cover assets that are owned jointly or have some designated recipient (like life insurance or retirement plans with a named beneficiary). Probate costs vary from state to state and can be based on the number of pages of the document (this is the way to calculate the fee in NJ)or could be based upon the gross value of the estate passing through the probate process. So, the costs can be minimal or high, depending on how the fees are calculated and the size of the estate. In states where the probate costs can be high (fees determined by estate value) many people put the bulk of their assets in a trust so the fees only apply to a minimum of assets (like value of a car, household items and the like). The trust becomes like a secondary Will, in that it describes what assets are covered (to be covered, the assets must bge registered in the trust's name), what the trustees can do (pay bills, etc.) and under what circumstances and how the assets are to be distributed to the ultimate recipient. There are many different types of trusts, with many different reasons for creating one type or another. The reasons can range from simply to reduce probate costs, to more sophisticated reasons like estate tax planning, Medicaid planning, and other reasons. If all you have is a house, titled jointly, the surviving spouse automatically gets it. The Will of the survivor would cover what happens when the survivor passes away. As such, there is no probate when the first spouse dies, only on the death of the surviving spouse. However, there may be other reasons to consider a living trust (which only means a trust created while you are alive) any one or more reasons to consider one of the more sophisticated types of living trust. I suggest you consult someone like myself who has the expertise in this field for a fuller explanation of the uses of trusts, what they are about, if you should have one and what type of trust is best to serve your needs.

Re: living trust

I think what you should do is consult with an attorney. Many attorneys charge no fee for the initial consultation.

You should discuss your objectives with the attorney so that she/he can provide you with all of your options.

If you would like my assistance, please feel free to contact me.