Queens Will and Estate Lawyer Jules Haas’ Tax Tips for New Yorkers

With an office in Manhattan and roots in Forest Hills, Queens, will and estate lawyer Jules Haas is conveniently located, familiar with the wide range of tax and estate-planning and probate issues faced by clients in the area, and committed to helping his neighbors plan for the future now.

Most families’ estate-related concerns revolve around:

• Planning for long term health care.
• Planning for dependents.
• Limiting the amount of their estate that would go to the government via taxes.

Below are some frequently-used estate-planning solutions to those concerns.

• A head of household or individual looking to minimize estate taxes can make yearly gifts of up to $13,000 to an unlimited number of people without being subject to any filings for gift tax.
• Education or Charitable gifts are exempt from taxes.
• Credit Shelter Trusts (or “Bypass Trusts”, “A/B Trusts”) are a commonly used means for married couples to make the most of their individual lifetime exemptions.
• Life Insurance Trusts are most useful when entrusted to someone other than the insured, as the insurance money will not be subject to estate taxes when the insured passes. If the insured is the trust’s owner, the trust will be subject to estate taxes.
• Each person is permitted to create two Qualified Personal Residence Trusts: one for a main residence, and one for a secondary residence. Say you own a home in Whitestone and a beach house in the Far Rockaways. If your Queens will and estate lawyer creates two QPRTs, one for each residence, you will be able to continue living in those residences for a set period of time, and transfer ownership of the properties without paying a large amount in taxes.

Some of the above situations may not apply to you. Perhaps you rent or lease your home, or do not have an estate that is in the millions of dollars. There are still many current actions you can take to make the most of your life savings, assets, and retirement plans—with benefits now and in the long term. Estate planning is just as important for middle-class and working families as it is for those with multi-million dollar estates.

The concerns listed above—notably, planning for long term health care and planning for dependents—are especially important to middle-income New Yorkers.

Long term health planning can include long term health insurance and the creation of a Health Care Proxy and other advance directives. Gifts of assets to younger generations may also provide a means to protect wealth from extraordinary health care costs.

The interests of children can be protected by the creation of trusts in the Last Will to provide for the supervision of assets until a child reaches at least 18 years of age or even into his or her 20’s or 30’s. A Last Will can also contain the appointment of Guardians for minor children so that their personal welfare and property management are looked after. Ultimately, the Surrogate’s Court must appoint the nominated Guardian.

For over thirty years, Queens will and estate lawyer Jules Haas has worked with families in all five boroughs, the surrounding suburbs and New York State, helping them to manage their estates and create trusts and accounts that follow New York tax law while ensuring that clients do not pay redundant or avoidable taxes.

For a more through, personalized guide to planning your estate, contact Queens will and estate lawyer Jules Haas today at tel: (212) 355-2575 or email: jules.haas@verizon.net for a free initial consultation.