Call Us: 800.267.5033 Contact Fred J. Pisani | Contact Kenneth A. Ramp
We all work much too hard to lightly give away large sums of money upon our demise to governmental agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, State of New Jersey, or State of New York. Yet, if you fail to plan, that is exactly what you are doing.
Fortunately, both state and federal laws grant us the means to avoid some, if not all, of these death taxes. To make use of these laws, however, requires lifetime planning. Some of the planning documents which we utilize to meet these goals are as follows:
We have over three decades of experience in preparing these documents and helping people decide what their particular needs are. To discuss your options, please call us at (800) 267-5033 or email us at KRamp96985@aol.com.
Many people fear Probate and that fear, we find, is largely based upon the fact that most people are unaware of what “probate” actually is. Probate is the procedure wherein the Surrogate of the county in which you are a resident at the time of your death becomes involved in the after death administration of your assets to insure that the provisions of your Will are followed.
In New Jersey, the process is straightforward and relatively inexpensive. The procedure usually takes no more than one hour and thereafter the person appointed as Executor or Administrator can act for the estate.
In New York, however, the process is more complicated and must be followed strictly. The New York State Probate proceedings can take anywhere from a month to a few months depending on how easy it is to find the names and addresses of distant heirs. This is because all heirs, both actual and potential, must be served before the Will can be admitted to probate. In addition the probate costs in New York are predicated upon the amount of probate assets. Most of our clients in New York State have living trusts with most of their property held in the living trusts so as to avoid New York probate.
The post-death administration consists of compiling date of death balances for all assets owned individually or jointly by the deceased. After obtaining all this information, the appropriate estate tax returns must be prepared, for both the federal government and the State of New Jersey (or New York).
The work involved in obtaining this information and preparing the tax returns is very tedious and time consuming and should be prepared by an attorney, for even here the choices of what you show and how you show it may have tax implications.
If you have any questions about this process, or know anyone who is struggling to get it done properly, call us at (800) 267-5033 or email us at KRamp96985@aol.com.