Two years before his death in 2004, singer Ray Charles created a $500,000 trust for each of his 12 children. In exchange, they were to relinquish and waive any further claims to his estate. That, at least, is what The Ray Charles Foundation claims in a lawsuit it...
Let Our Attorneys Provide The Legal Help Your Family Deserves
Ridgewood Estate Planning Blog
Qualified domestic trusts help international couples keep money in the family
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Apr 3, 2012 | Estate Planning, Inheritance And Estate Tax
The unlimited marital deduction allows married persons to pass on as much of their wealth as they see fit, free of estate taxes. Taxes will eventually have to be paid on the property once the surviving spouse dies. There are, of course, a number of estate planning...
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: an uncertain asset protection vehicle
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 31, 2012 | Asset Protection, Trusts
As we have pointed out before on this blog, asset protection planning is a discipline that often goes along with estate planning and which involves a number of techniques that have the goal of protecting one's assets from claims of creditors, though without engaging...
Winehouse’s lack of will a reminder of the importance of estate planning
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 30, 2012 | Estate Planning, Wills
Our Bergen County readers may remember the news which came last July of the death of English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, who tragically died of alcohol poisoning. According to recently released probate records, Winehouse had about 4.6 million in U.S. dollars...
Whitney Houston will contains several surprising features
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 23, 2012 | Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills
The recent death of Whitney Houston has been an occasion for the music industry to mourn one of its greatest talents. For estate planners, it has been an occasion to learn from mistakes she and her attorneys made in her own estate plan.Two weeks ago, Whitney Houston's...
Techniques high-powered executives use to avoid taxes
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 22, 2012 | Estate Planning
A recent Forbes article explored the various tactics used by wealthy men and women, particularly those with high-growth investments, to minimize tax liability. As our New Jersey readers know, avoiding estate and gift tax liability is an important aspect of estate...
Aging parents, blended families present challenges, uncertainties for estate planning, P.2
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 19, 2012 | Estate Planning
In our last post, we began looking at the increasing problem of caring for elderly parents, and how this can financially affect the adult children who care for them, as well what those children can expect for an inheritance. As we've noted, adult children are often...
Aging parents, blended families present challenges, uncertainties for estate planning, P.1
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 16, 2012 | Estate Planning
Estate planning is sometimes a relatively simple process. In other cases it can be downright complicated. The complication may come from managing a variety of complex assets, but it can also come from complication in the family itself.Whether it is blended families,...
Estate planners can help noncitizens minimize estate, gift tax
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 9, 2012 | Inheritance And Estate Tax, Trusts
Minimizing estate and gifts taxes is an issue which is on the minds of a lot of those with estate plans. And minimizing estate and gift taxes is a central goal of estate planning attorneys, who employ a number of tools and approaches to get the job done.For those who...
Testamentary trusts can help keep inheritance in family
On Behalf of The Manna Helmy Law Group | Mar 8, 2012 | Estate Planning, Trusts
As some of our readers have experienced firsthand, divorce can have an impact on how one approaches estate planning. Conversely, the way one constructs one's estate plan can impact divorce. One of the ways it can do this is in the area of property distribution. For...