Christopher M. Petillo, Esq, CPA, CELA - Elder Law Attorney

08/25/2024

Good for Ray and Debra for being happy for Robert and Amy. Others may not be so happy that the $800,000 house in Lynbrook is going to only one child instead of passing equally.

If more people are this nice, then estate litigation attorneys may get weekends off once in a while 

8850 likes, 31 comments. “Held their poker faces strong 😏 is streaming now on Peacock.”

06/19/2024

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNRASeBy/

217.6K likes, 268 comments. “Ron wants to die on his own terms 😤 is streaming now on Peacock.”

11/26/2023

Reminder: please review your beneficiary designations to ensure they are up-to-date and accurate.

Please also remind your British friends:

📸 Look at this post on Facebook https://nypost.com/2023/11/25/news/king-charles-secretly-profits-off-assets-of-dead-brits-report/?sr_share=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0jau-q1bSZV8Jm28gKayltYgu_ccuQyGIu_C0EhotGZu2sUR4_FaMhu3s_aem_Aap_jRp1Smj9u-Hy5pd-DI_6eM8VBovdKXCVxLGnUSd_Sa6-qvt_tiDGgQb7RDFzp2s 

In the past 10 years, the monarch has reportedly collected more than $75 million in the funds — despite pledges to donate all proceeds to charity.

05/10/2023

Legal Aid Society Class Action suit victory means
Medicaid now can cover root canals and more:

Many Medicaid patients with root canal infections have to get teeth pulled

03/14/2023

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR7AQwNt/

Sorry sis.

01/05/2023

Good news for taxpayers age 72:
Secure Act 2.0 just changed the RMD start to age 73, starting 2023 for distributions from your retirement account.

12/07/2022

10/14/2022

When children start in-fighting over their parent’s still-warm body:

Vladimir Putin doesn’t know if he’s The Drama or the villain. ...

07/08/2022

Why Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers Need Tax Planning in New York
By Christopher M. Petillo, CPA, Esq., CELA

When it comes to Estate Tax Planning in New York, to paraphrase the Bionic 70’s television shows:

“We can rebuild it. We have the technology. We can make it better than it was. Better, stronger, faster.”

If you are “Six Million Dollar” New Yorker, I encourage you to review your estate plan regularly. The failure to do so is costly in way that is often shocking to those caught in its grip like Jamie Sommers’ tennis ball.
For example, Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers are a married couple living in New York.
Their assets consist of the following:
House owned jointly $ 2,000,000
FL Condo – Jointly owned: $ 600,000
Joint Bank Accounts $ 400,000
Joint Brokerage Accounts $ 2,000,000
Steve’s IRAs (Jamie is 100% bene) $ 1,500,000
Jamie’s TDA (Steve is 100% bene) $ 2,500,000
Steve’s Life Insurance $ 1,000,000
Net worth: $10,000,000
Their Wills presently leave everything 100% to each other as primary beneficiaries, as do their retirement accounts.

Before retooling this estate plan, Steve dies first after a bizarre Sasquatch encounter.
Jamie winds up with all $10,000,000 in her name for estate tax purposes. The estate tax threshold in New York is $6,110,000 as of 2022.

If Jamie dies with the $10,000,000, how much tax is estate tax is due? Once Jamie’s estate exceeds the threshold by more than 5% (i.e. $6,405,000), she then effectively loses her exclusion, and her ENTIRE estate is taxed, resulting in more than $1 million in estate taxes owed.

Steve’s ability to pass $6.11 million tax-free to their heirs died with him. (There are provisions in the tax law for the carryover of a deceased spouse’s unused exemption at the U.S./federal level, but not at the NYS level).

Steve and Jamie could have “rebuilt” their estate plan in a way to make better use of BOTH NYS estate tax exclusions, saving an extra $1 million for their heirs.

In case you were wondering, the current federal estate and gift tax threshold is $12,060,000, but that number is scheduled to drop in 2025, barring further legislation, to the where the NYS estate tax threshold is (now at $6,110,000). There have been federal proposals (such as Build Back Better) trying to knock the federal number down even before 2025, and some proposal want a $3.5 million limitation.

07/08/2022

Did you know:
You can designate a “Representative Payee” for your Social Security checks
In Advance of needing the help?

Your typical (state level) power of attorney document does not cover your federal government benefits.

Be sure to consider separately completing a representative payee in advance (in addition to your Power of Attorney).
Here is the link to the Social Security website:

https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-10039

You can do this
1) online at ssa.gov;
2) By telephone (1-800-772-1213); or
3) In person at a local Social Security field office.

As part of the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018, Advance Designation allows you to choose an individual(s) you deem has genuine concern for your well-being to manage your benefits should the need arise. The law requires Social Security to select the designated....

06/30/2022

When people treat their kids unequally in their estate plan:

05/18/2022

One Family Home, Three Kids
By Christopher M. Petillo, CPA, JD, CELA

One of the most difficult estate planning situations for some parents is figuring out what to do with their residence after they pass away.
For many, the answer is simple – sell the house, split the money equally amongst the beneficiaries.
Bur for some, there may be one child still living in the house. Perhaps that child never moved out; perhaps that child moved back in after a life event, such as a divorce; perhaps that child moved in to be a caregiver.
If possible, have a family conversation at the kitchen table with all of your kids, without the lawyer, to see if they are all on the same page.
But when it comes time for putting pen to paper for legal documents, we advise the parent(s) to have a conversation with the estate planning attorney, alone, without the kids. It should be the parent who calls for the planning appointment, not the child calling to say, “Mom wants to give me the house.” There is an attorney/client relationship, and if the parent is the client, that is who is owed a duty of loyalty by the attorney.
Example: ​Marion has 3 kids, Chuck, Richie and Joanie. Her husband, Howard passed some years ago after a 55-year happy marriage.
Marion calls for an appointment. She explains to her attorney that she has not heard from Chuck in a number of years, and does not even know if he has children. She explains that her son, Richard, moved away and became a success at his craft and owns a house with his wife LoriBeth. They have 4 kids and live out of state, but stay in touch regularly.
Marion’s 3rd child, Joanie, moved back home to live with Marion after her divorce. Joanie works part-time and would have difficulty in getting a mortgage on her own.
Marion’s initial thoughts – “Well, Richie has a house already.” Maybe so, but does he still have a mortgage to pay off? Does he have college expenses coming down the pike for his 4 kids?

Marion’s next thought: Maybe Joanie can buy it for a sweetheart price. Issue: the house is the largest asset in the estate plan, and there is no room to balance things out with other assets for the other heirs. If it is not an equal share for all children, are there other assets in your estate, and can your plan be adjusted to compensate for a larger share going to one child?
Marion’s next thought – how will Joanie afford a mortgage to “buyout” the other share(s)?

Marion’s next thought – Maybe Joanie can live there, and then when it is sold, they can split the proceeds. Issue: What happens if a major repair is needed? Should Richie have to kick in for a new boiler on a house that he is not yet benefitting from? Will the fact that Joanie is in control of how long she will live there affect the relationship between Richie and Joanie?

Marion’s next thought – Joanie has been helping me; maybe I will give her more than an equal share. Was Joanie helping in expectation of some compensation, such as a larger share of the estate? Was that the understanding of all of your children? Will there be disharmony later if one is surprised by a lack of transparency in your plans?

Would your kids be business partners on another real estate deal?
If not, be mindful before you put them in a situation where they are suddenly partners in a real estate venture, with different ideas and different goals.
Other issues for consideration:
- Will Chuck become litigious if no share is left for him?
- Will the property remain in the family? Will it be sold?
- Avoiding probate
- Long-Term Care Planning to protect the equity vs accessing the equity to pay for an outside caregiver
Marion and her attorney should go over the pros and cons of:
a) A deed transfer of the property to one or more of the children
b) Whether or not she should keep a life estate in the deed
c) The use of a Revocable Trust (if avoiding probate is a concern)
d) The use of Irrevocable Trusts (if Medicaid planning and/or estate taxes are a concern)
If you already have a plan in place, please review it periodically with your attorney to ensure that the documents reflect your wishes, and that the plan has taken into consideration your concerns.