Trusts can be used in multiple ways and in multiple settings to accomplish very specific as well as broadly intended goals, but they can only achieve their purpose if they contain these essential core functions: Actional legal provisions, an amendment strategy, and a designated trustee.
Every problem has a unique anatomy that we must try to first understand and then analyze. A problem doesn't have to turn into a fight, even in a New York real estate transaction. When we sit down calmly to review the problems and their possible solutions, we can develop sensible and workable solutions. That is the business I am in.
Ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a few weeks ago, questions have arisen about many other rights that have been established by the Supreme Court over the past fifty years, because of legal reasoning that may be similar to the principles that were overturned in this new decision.
A client approached me last week for help with a Trust. The first problem, before I even read the document, was that he didn’t have the document. This has happened a number of times before, and - as you might imagine - it's a problem.
When you write a will, or a trust, or any other document where you're naming beneficiaries who will receive any of your assets after death, keep it to yourself. It's your private information and it's nobody's business but yours.
The lack of proper building permits is a serious concern. It is only with properly issued and closed-out permits that you can be confident that the work done in the house is compliant with building codes.
Misfortune can happen at any time, and it's much better to have your wishes stated in an actionable legal form than not to.
I'm accustomed to the challenges of being an estate lawyer. But I'm not accustomed to the challenges of being a client! Rewriting my own will after a long time, I was surprised at some of the issues I encountered.
A ground lease is an arrangement where the coop owns the building, but someone else owns the land under it. Sounds strange, but it's an ancient kind of property arrangement, and it allows the owner to reap rental income in ways that are sometime desirable.
Part of the job of estate planning is thinking through the different ways the future might work out - who will survive whom, whether a beneficiary will be a minor or an adult at the time she receives the bequest. It’s important to take a range of possibilities into account.
