Wills & Inheritances
Why should I have a power of attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document that gives the person who you select the authority to act on your behalf. The person who is selected becomes the agent, and the person on whose behalf they are acting is called the principal. A person should have a power of attorney because it allows the…
Read MoreWhat is an advanced health care directive?
An advanced health care directive is a legal document that allows you to state how health care decisions will be made for you when you are not able to do so yourself. In New York State, there are three types—a health care proxy, a living will, and a do not resuscitate order or DNR. It…
Read MoreHandling premarital debt in a New York divorce
When you get married, it legally changes your financial situation. Now everything you earn or acquire becomes marital property, unless a third party gifted or bequeathed something exclusively to you. When you intermingle your finances after marriage, how does it affect your debt liability? If your spouse has student loans, credit card debt, and other…
Read MoreWhat happens to your New York estate plan during a divorce?
If you have recently filed for divorce, then you will also want to consider changing your estate plan in the process. The New York Estates, Powers, and Trusts Law 5-1.4 addresses the effect of divorce, annulment, or judicial separation on estate planning documents such as wills, and if certain steps are not taken, then your…
Read MoreProtecting inheritances in a New York divorce
When you’re married, you share everything in your lives, even assets that you inherited. Perhaps your parents left you a beautiful vacation home, or you have a rare coin collection from your grandfather. If the marriage ends in divorce, you naturally want to keep that property, especially if it has strong sentimental and financial value.…
Read MoreWhat you should know about presumptive revocation and divorce
New York law declares that a testator, otherwise known as a person who has written and executed a last will and testament, create a subsequent will or direct another person to act upon the original will, thus allowing the first will to be revoked. In a ruling that came down over the summer, the New…
Read MoreWhy cohabitation agreements matter
Avoiding the complexities of marriage and a potential divorce might sound good if you choose to live together instead, but you should know the downsides of pursuing this route, too. Couples living together in New York do not have the protection of a common law marriage to provide rights related to medical decisions, survivor benefits,…
Read MoreIn my divorce, what will be considered marital property?
Few people want to split up belongings, but sometimes that is necessary in a divorce. Marital property, or marital assets, is property and items obtained during a marriage. There are, however, a few exceptions. In order to understand what marital property is, it makes sense to understand what things are not marital property, so that…
Read MoreFinancial Concerns for Recently Widowed
Losing one’s spouse comes with additional financial woes on top of the emotional. According to a New York Times article published September 3, 2011, the recently widowed may be more prone to falling into financial pitfalls. The death of a spouse can leave many financial issues left unattended, and women often take on these concerns.…
Read MoreChanging your estate after changing your marital status
Divorce is a life altering event that affects a number of different aspects of a person’s life, and some of these aspects are often overlooked. Once a divorce is finalized it is important to review all of the details of your current status to make sure that you did not forget something. One of the…
Read MoreBronx family lawyer discusses the changes in married same-sex couple’s rights
New York same-sex married couples can breathe a sigh of relief on the issue of their estate planning reported The New York Law Journal in a July 1st, 2011 published article. Before the passing of the bill that legalized same-sex marriages, if a person in a same-sex couple passed away without a will and…
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