Transferring Wealth: Administering Trusts and Estates with Clarity and Compassion

Why is it usually a good idea to get legal help when administering a trust or estate?

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Imagine your family having to sell your home just to pay for taxes. So San “Susan” and Dai Min “David” Kee were confronted with this possibility as they began their estate planning. In his mid 70s, David was beginning to have some health problems, so the Kees felt some pressure to act quickly. If they were to leave their home to their only son, John, however, they ran the risk of having it sold. The Kees worked with Grimaldi & Yeung to:

  • Create an estate plan that by-passed their son in favor of their grandsons in order to preserve the family’s assets.
  • Initiate a frank family dialog that resulted in the more qualified younger grandson being named as executor — with no resentments.
  • Straighten out previous erroneous legal work — including a deed that inadvertently conveyed the entire house to neighbors.
  • Administer the estate after David’s and Susan’s deaths.

Grimaldi & Yeung was able to function as a trusted advisor to and advocate for the Kees over three generations, helping them preserve a cherished family home and maintain peace within the family.

Estate Administration/Trust Management: Paying Taxes — Settling the Estate in a Timely, Efficient Way

The expression, “the only thing that is certain is death and taxes” certainly applies to Estate Administration. A central part of settling an estate is to satisfy all tax liabilities of the decedent and the estate. Grimaldi & Yeung will calculate tax payments in the most advantageous way. We will work with the family tax accountant to file the decedent’s final income tax return. In addition, we will assist the Executor in analyzing assets for potential capital gains tax implication to help in deciding whether to liquidate assets. Finally, our firm will calculate the estate tax liability on decedent’s estate. The federal and state estate tax rules are based on legislation, and as such are subject to change.

Federal estate tax is set by law. Although the rate varies from year to year, it is typically quite high on unexempted assets (often up to 50%). New York State sets its own exemption, which has frequently been lower than the federal amount, so NYS estate tax is sometimes due even when no federal estate tax is.