Who has the legal right to step in and manage a loved one's affairs after they pass away? It is a question I hear constantly, usually from a spouse, child, or sibling who assumed that simply being "next of kin" was enough. In New York, it is not. The Surrogate's Court must formally appoint someone […]

Most of my clients are surprised to learn that New York taxes estates far more aggressively than the federal government does. While the federal estate tax exemption sits at $15 million per person in 2026, New York's exemption is only $7,350,000. Worse, New York has what practitioners call "the cliff." If an estate exceeds that […]

Many of my clients assume that giving money or property away before they die is the easiest way to shrink a taxable estate and keep assets out of Surrogate's Court entirely. In New York, that assumption can backfire, and I have seen families receive unwelcome news from their accountant only after the fact. The Three-Year […]

Most people assume a life insurance payout skips the estate entirely because the money goes straight to a named beneficiary. I have had to correct this assumption more times than I can count. If you own the policy at the time of your death, the full death benefit is added to your taxable estate, even […]

Most executors assume that once the final asset lands in a beneficiary's account, their job is done. That assumption is wrong, and I have seen it cost former executors years of stress and, in some cases, their own money. New York law does not automatically release an executor from responsibility the moment an estate is […]

Can you deposit your late mother's final paycheck into your own checking account just to keep things moving? It is a tempting shortcut, but the answer is no, and doing so can create real legal and financial headaches for the person administering the estate. When someone passes away in New York, their individual bank accounts […]

What happens to your bills, your bank accounts, and your medical care the day you can no longer make decisions for yourself? Most people spend years building a will, naming beneficiaries, and organizing their assets, yet never stop to ask this question. I have watched families with a beautifully drafted estate plan find themselves frozen […]

Some people who agree to serve as executor assume that once they start paying bills for the estate, that money is simply gone, absorbed as a favor to a loved one. Fortunately for them, New York law does not expect an executor to finance an estate out of personal savings. Reasonable, necessary expenses paid on […]

Not every estate accounting in New York ends up in front of a judge. Most executors and administrators I work with close out an estate informally, presenting beneficiaries with a summary of assets, expenses, and distributions and asking them to sign off. But there is a more formal path, and every fiduciary should understand it […]

Many people assume that once a loved one passes away, the court automatically knows who their closest relatives are. That assumption is not always correct. In many New York estate matters, particularly where there is no surviving spouse or child, or where the closest relatives are more distant relations such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or […]