New York Succession Planning Attorneys with the Experience and Savvy to do Sophisticated Work in Creative Planning Solutions to Solve Unique Problems:

An important consideration in estate planning is to direct your assets and wealth to the person or persons (or entity or entities) you choose, while minimizing the amount the government takes in estate taxes.    Who will be your successor in controlling your wealth? The attorneys at Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C. are masters of designing and implementing a variety of techniques and strategies that will make your wishes come true, before and after you pass on.

What can you do if your child is getting married and does not want to ask his or her fiancée for a pre-nuptial agreement?

Consider the following example, where the lawyers at Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C. found a solution:

The Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C. estate-planning client had worked long and hard to build closely held family businesses.   In addition to the businesses, the client owned real estate and substantial liquid assets.  The client’s child announced he was getting married.  He was encouraged to have his fiancée to sign a prenuptial agreement that would limit her rights to family assets in the event of a divorce.  The son declined to seek a “ pre-nup.”

The client wanted to keep family wealth in the bloodlines, and away from the future spouse.   The attorneys at Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C. set up an indirect prenuptial agreement. This was accomplished by creating trusts in which to place family assets, with a flexible distribution plan for the benefit of the son.  A friend of the family was appointed as trustee.  In this way, his son can enjoy the benefit of the assets without exposing the trust assets to being lost or dissipated, if the son’s marriage were to end in divorce.

Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C.’s philosophy generally is to promote family harmony through equalization of assets to heirs.  This reduces the chance of hurt feelings, family squabbles, as well as unwanted and expensive litigation.

There are occasions when a client wishes to transfer wealth  upon death, not to his or her children--who may already be well situated-- but to charity.   The following is an example of an efficient method to transfer wealth to charity, while serving the couple’s needs while they were still alive.

A company executive had 80 percent of his net worth in his company’s publicly traded stock.   He was 60 years old, but not yet ready to retire. Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C. created a charitable remainder trust for the client. The trust was funded with a portion of the client's publicly traded stock, which was sold in order to diversify the trust assets. The sale of the stock did not result in immediate income taxation due to the structure of the CRT.

The husband and wife retained an annuity for their joint lives, and benefited from an increase in cash flow and a diversification of assets.   The trust provided that at the end of the second to die, the remainder of the assets would be transferred to the couple’s favorite charity without any estate tax consequences.  The annuities received were taxed like ordinary income, but the couple also received an income tax deduction at the time the trust was created for the present-day value of the assets designated for charity.

The attorneys at Maurice Kassimir & Associates, P.C. know how to find creative solutions to your particular estate planning  problems, and provide the proper follow-through to implement the solutions. Contact them now to see how they can meet your estate planning goals.