Estate Planning Lawyer
Albert Goodwin

Effective estate tax planning can significantly reduce the tax burden on your estate and maximize the wealth you pass on to your beneficiaries. Our attorneys understand the complex tax laws that affect estates and can help you implement strategies to minimize taxes.

How We Can Help

Federal Estate Tax Planning

Although the federal estate tax exemption is relatively high, estates that exceed this threshold can face significant tax liabilities. Our attorneys will work with you to take full advantage of the lifetime exemption amount available to you. For married couples, we can help you utilize the unlimited marital deduction, which allows you to transfer unlimited assets to your spouse free of federal estate tax.

We also implement advanced techniques for larger estates, such as credit shelter trusts and generation-skipping transfers. Life insurance trusts can provide liquidity to pay estate taxes without forcing the sale of cherished assets or business interests. And through strategic lifetime gifting, we can help you reduce your taxable estate while supporting your loved ones during your lifetime.

State Estate and Inheritance Taxes

New York, like many states, imposes its own estate tax with a significantly lower exemption amount than the federal exemption. We'll help you understand New York's specific estate tax laws, including the challenging "cliff" provision that can unexpectedly increase tax liability for estates just over the exemption amount.

Our attorneys will develop strategies to minimize your exposure to state estate taxes. For clients with property in multiple states, we consider the various tax implications across jurisdictions, helping you make informed decisions about how to structure ownership and possibly relocate assets to minimize state tax burden.

Income Tax Planning

Estate planning doesn't just address estate taxes—it also involves important income tax considerations. We'll help you plan for the optimal tax treatment of different types of assets, taking advantage of the step-up in basis for inherited property when appropriate. For clients with significant retirement accounts, we can structure distributions to minimize income taxes for beneficiaries.

Charitable giving can be incorporated into your estate plan to provide both personal satisfaction and tax benefits. We can design strategies for multigenerational wealth transfer that minimize taxes while preserving your legacy for future generations. The right approach depends on your specific financial situation and family goals.

Our tax planning strategies are always integrated with your overall estate plan to ensure your goals are met while minimizing tax impacts. We stay current with changes in tax law to ensure your plan remains effective as regulations evolve and your family circumstances change.

Healthcare directives are legal documents that outline your medical care preferences if you become unable to make decisions for yourself. They also designate trusted individuals to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. These documents are a critical component of a comprehensive estate plan.

How We Can Help

Living Will

A living will, sometimes called a healthcare directive or advanced directive, allows you to express your preferences regarding medical treatment in situations where you cannot communicate your wishes directly. This document serves as your voice when you are unable to speak for yourself, guiding healthcare providers and your loved ones about your wishes.

When creating your living will, we'll help you address critical decisions about life-sustaining treatments and artificial nutrition and hydration. You can express your preferences regarding pain management and comfort care, ensuring that your dignity and values are respected even in difficult circumstances. We'll also help you document your wishes regarding other medical interventions and incorporate personal values that should guide decision-making. Our goal is to create a clear, comprehensive document that accurately reflects your healthcare preferences.

Healthcare Power of Attorney

A healthcare power of attorney (also called a healthcare proxy) is equally important but serves a different purpose. While a living will states your preferences, a healthcare power of attorney designates a trusted person to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. This person becomes your voice and advocate in the healthcare system.

We'll guide you through selecting appropriate healthcare agents and alternates who understand your values and will honor your wishes. Together, we'll define the scope of authority you want to grant to your agent, creating clear instructions to guide their decisions. Our attorneys ensure your healthcare power of attorney complies with New York law and coordinates smoothly with your other estate planning documents. This careful coordination creates a comprehensive approach to your healthcare decision-making.

HIPAA Authorization

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) establishes strong privacy protections for your medical information. While these protections are important, they can create obstacles for loved ones trying to help during a medical crisis. A properly drafted HIPAA authorization solves this problem by explicitly naming the people who can access your medical information.

Our attorneys will create a HIPAA authorization that allows your designated representatives to communicate effectively with healthcare providers. We'll help you specify what types of information can be disclosed and to whom, ensuring healthcare providers can freely communicate with your loved ones. This authorization works in concert with your other healthcare directives, creating a seamless system for managing your care when you cannot advocate for yourself.

Our attorneys ensure your healthcare directives are legally valid, clearly express your wishes, and work together as an integrated system. Beyond drafting these documents, we provide guidance on discussing your wishes with family members and healthcare providers. These conversations, though sometimes difficult, help ensure your directives will be understood and followed when needed.

Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will, settling debts, and distributing assets after someone passes away. While necessary in some cases, probate can be time-consuming, expensive, and public. Many clients seek to minimize or avoid probate when possible, preserving privacy and ensuring a smoother transition for their loved ones.

How We Can Help

Living Trusts

A revocable living trust stands as one of the most effective tools for avoiding probate. When you create a living trust, you transfer the ownership of your assets to the trust while maintaining complete control over them during your lifetime. You serve as the trustee, managing the assets just as you did before, with no practical limitations on your ability to buy, sell, or modify your holdings.

The key advantage emerges after your passing—assets held in the trust bypass probate entirely, transferring directly to your beneficiaries according to your instructions. This creates a seamless transition without court involvement, delays, or public proceedings. Your living trust can also provide for management of your assets if you become incapacitated, offering protection during your lifetime as well. Our attorneys guide you through the process of creating and properly funding your trust to ensure these benefits are fully realized.

Beneficiary Designations

Many financial assets offer a straightforward method to avoid probate through beneficiary designations. Life insurance policies, retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs, and certain bank and investment accounts can all transfer directly to your named beneficiaries without court involvement. These designations override the provisions in your will and take precedence in the distribution process.

We help clients optimize their beneficiary designations across all eligible accounts and policies. Payable-on-death (POD) designations for bank accounts and transfer-on-death (TOD) registrations for investment accounts allow these assets to pass directly to your chosen beneficiaries. In some states, similar arrangements are available for real property through transfer-on-death deeds. We'll review your current designations and help you create a comprehensive strategy that ensures these powerful probate-avoidance tools are working effectively within your overall estate plan.

Joint Ownership

Certain forms of joint ownership can allow property to transfer automatically to the surviving owner without probate. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship creates this direct transfer between co-owners when one passes away. For married couples, tenancy by the entirety offers similar probate avoidance along with additional creditor protection benefits. In some states, community property with right of survivorship provides another option for spouses.

While these ownership structures offer probate avoidance advantages, they come with important considerations regarding control, taxation, and long-term planning objectives. Our attorneys provide comprehensive advice on the advantages and potential drawbacks of joint ownership arrangements. We help you weigh these factors against your specific situation to determine whether joint ownership strategies should be part of your probate avoidance plan.

Small Estate Procedures

Even when complete probate avoidance isn't possible or desirable, we can help minimize the process. New York and many other states offer simplified procedures for small or moderate-sized estates. These streamlined options can significantly reduce the time, expense, and complexity of settling an estate.

Small estate affidavits allow qualifying estates to transfer assets with minimal court involvement. Simplified probate procedures reduce both the paperwork and court appearances required. Our attorneys can help you develop a strategic plan to qualify for these options where appropriate, potentially structuring your estate to take advantage of these streamlined processes while still achieving your other planning objectives.

We develop probate avoidance strategies tailored to each client's specific situation and goals. Our approach considers the types of assets you own, your family dynamics, tax implications, and your overall estate planning objectives. The right combination of these techniques can minimize court involvement while ensuring your assets transfer efficiently to your loved ones.