Estate Lawyer, Kamilla Mishiyeva, Esq.,

Most people have experienced a moment or two in their lives in which they considered hiring a law firm to protect their interests. Whether it was because of a personal injury or a civil dispute, the retention of an attorney is always recommended by friends and family. The same principle should apply when faced with an estate law matter. Serious matters require serious representation. Contrary to popular belief, estate law does not only entail the preparation of a last will and testament. Certainly, a last will and testament is a crucial document to prepare during your lifetime, but this area of law can quickly become extremely complex when you begin considering how it can be associated with various facets of life.

Responsibility of an Estate Lawyer

An Estate Lawyer can take on many roles in your lifetime. From a financial standpoint, they can provide expert tax advice especially when it comes to Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts and Form 706, United States Estate (Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. The legal knowledge that they acquire seeps into a better understanding of Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. What is the importance of these three tax forms? They are all required to be filed correctly when estate tax becomes an issue when an individual passes away.

An estate lawyer is also proficient when it comes to general document preparation and recognition. Whether it is a deed for real property, life insurance policies, beneficiary forms, bank statements, money market and equity statements, bond certificates, or any other documents signifying ownership, an estate lawyer will understand what to look for when accounting for all of the assets in an individual’s estate.

From a legal standpoint, an estate law firm becomes an essential tool within so many aspects of your life which we will outline below. The following is a brief set of questions you may be asked by an estate planning attorney during an initial consultation. Your answers will assist the lawyer in the recommendation and preparation of your estate plan.

Estate Planning Questionnaire 

• Do you have children that are minors?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Last Will and Testament with guardian provision. 
• Do you have dependents with special needs?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Last will and Testament, Special Needs Trust. 
• Is there property that you want inherited by a specific person or organization?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Last Will and Testament, Irrevocable Trust, Revocable Trust. 
• Is there an individual you want to disinherit?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Last Will and Testament, Irrevocable Trust, Revocable Trust. 
• Do you want someone to sign off on your personal financial information?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Durable Power of Attorney.
• Do you want control of an end of life decision involving life support?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Living Will
• Are you concerned with your family entering into the probate process?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Irrevocable Trust, Revocable Trust
• Do you want to name someone as your representative to make medical decisions on your behalf?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Health Care Proxy
• Do you want to choose a successor for your business?
  • Recommended Estate Planning Tool: Business Succession Plan

The mentioned documents are not simple one page forms. They contain complicated language with nuanced clauses that can have tremendous consequences on the transfer of property. It is advisable to contact an estate lawyer if you want to institute an estate plan for your personal life or business. Our law firm is proud to serve NYC, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, and Bronx. You can call us at (646) 535-1667 for more information today.

Tools Provided By Estate Lawyers

Based on the short questionnaire transcribed above, you can begin to understand how vast this area of law is and how many different types of tools are involved. To help you better understand the involvement of these forms, we break down the top 8 estate planning tools that NYS residents typically prepare.

Last Will and Testament:  Everyone has heard of a will. It is a document which outlines to whom your property should be transferred to in the event of your death. A will is filed with the Surrogate’s Court or what is also called Probate Court. If the Court is satisfied that the will is valid, the will is then admitted into probate. During the probate process, creditors of any outstanding debts are paid and property belonging to the estate is transferred to the appropriate beneficiaries.

Irrevocable Trust: A trust is essentially a separate entity from the grantor (the person creating the trust). This entity has its assets managed and distributed by an appointed trustee. With an irrevocable trust, you cannot modify or terminate it. With this type of trust, the grantor relinquishes their ownership rights to the assets placed into the trust. This is a great estate tax shelter as well as a powerful method to avoid the probate process.

Revocable Trust: This is a type of trust where the clauses and provisions may be changed or even canceled by the grantor. This is another great tool to avoid the probate process.

Living Will: In the event you require life-sustaining medical care, you can decide ahead of time if you want to stay on life support.

Healthcare Proxy: If you become physically incapacitated or significantly ill, you can appoint an individual ahead of time to make medical decisions on your behalf. This is also called a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.

Business Succession Plan: This is essentially a transfer arrangement that outlines who you want in charge of your business in the event you pass away.

Guardianship: This is a legal proceeding where an entity or individual is appointed in order to make financial and living decisions for a person who is unable to manage their financial and personal needs due to physical or mental disability.

Durable Power of Attorney: With this tool, you designate an individual to not only access and control your financial assets, but you can even designate them to appear on your behalf for various transactional situations like a real estate closing or a business meeting. This is also used in the event you need a person to represent you in front of the IRS or a State Government.

As you can tell, estate planning includes a number of items. Our law firm concentrates on providing legal assistance for individuals, families, and entities in NY within the realm of estate law. Mishiyeva Law, PLLC., provides the following services:

General and Complex Estate Planning, Guardianship Hearings, Business Succession, Will and Trust Preparation, Probate and Estate Administration, Trust and Will Contests, and Elder Law & Medicaid Planning.