Courtesy of Stamm Law
- Assemble a list of your assets and liabilities. This is required for calculating your net worth and whether you have a potentially taxable estate. This list indicates whether your loved ones will have difficulty paying the estate tax or other debts after your death, and helps identify problems regarding your property title, what assets need to be funded into a Revocable Living Trust, and accounts requiring a change of beneficiary to match your estate plan.
- Determine who will receive your assets. In New York, you can disinherit anyone except your spouse, unless your spouse waived their rights to your estate in a premarital or post-marital agreement. You must identify your beneficiaries and who will inherit your assets if a beneficiary predeceases you, or a charity you selected no longer exists at the time of your death.
- Decide how and when your beneficiaries will receive your assets. You can leave your assets to your beneficiaries outright or in trust, depending on their age, health, family, and financial situation. For a trust, you must decide if it should continue for a fixed number of years, until the beneficiary reaches a specific age or goal, or for the beneficiary’s lifetime. You must also determine what happens to the assets remaining in the trust if your beneficiary dies before all trust funds have been used.
- Who will be in charge? You must choose someone to act in your and your beneficiaries’ best interests should you become disabled or after you die. You must also select a fiduciary to act on your behalf, either during your lifetime or after your death. You must also select a backup if your initial choice is unable to serve.
