Posted On: September 10th 2015
Schwartz, Fang & Keating, P.C. employ some of the most informative estate planning and probate lawyers in New York to help you with your will. If you’ve set up a will already, your love ones are protected, your hard-earned estate is safe and will be distributed as per your instructions. But when was the last time you updated it? Are the plans you set for your estate still relevant from 5, 10, or 20 plus years ago when you first drafted your will? Have the tax laws changes since then? We recommend that our clients update their will every few years. Our probate lawyers and estate tax experts have detailed why.
Tax law changes quite frequently, and when it does, the amount of money your beneficiaries will pay tax on from your estate can change as well. To ensure that you are leaving them with a hassle free estate, that wont get locked up with the state or fed, it’s important to have the will correspond with current tax law. Our long island estate lawyers can ensure that your will is drafted to reflect current estate tax laws and help you update it for the future.
Perhaps you listed your sister as your main benefactor because she was the one who was taking care of you. But what if, years later, your sister has passed on. If you have not updated your will your loved ones could be in for a trying time in untying those funds, or they may be allocated in a “next of kin” order in which you do not favor. Or perhaps you left your estate to your wife, whom you have now divorced. It is important to update your will if you want your benefactor renamed and want to have a direct say in who inherits your hard earned estate. Schwartz Fang & Keating, Long Island’s most valued lawyers can help with updating your will after a divorce. Or perhaps your will just needs a fine tuning? Give us a call, we can help you make proper adjustments, in order to safeguard your assets and make sure your wishes are properly carried out.
In the years since your will was first written you may have experienced more financial success, and what do you want to do with those extra funds? Your will should dictate such. Do you want to donate it to a specific fund? Allocate it to your grandchildren specifically, instead of your next of kin? Or perhaps you have had the opposite event occur, in which you have suffered a financial setback. All of these should to be detailed and the provisions provided for in your updated will; all of which a probate lawyer will help you work out, keeping your best interest in mind always.
If you are suffering from poor health, you may wish to take advantage of current annual exclusions for tax free gift amounts, which allow you to give funds to your friends and family before you pass, in order to bypass the issues of estate tax or other technicalities that must be adhered to when you are deceased.
Contact the Long Island probate lawyers of Schwartz, Fang & Keating, P.C. today to discuss your options and update your will to accurately reflect your wishes. We’re experts in will drafting as well as estate planning, estate administration and trust drafting. It’s your hard earned money, let some of New York’s top probate attorneys ensure that your wishes are adhered