Basic Estate Planning for the Young Family

Posted on August 28, 2012

Being part of a young family I know how difficult it is to discuss putting together a Will with your spouse and I do this for a living. It is not an easy subject to talk about your passing or your spouses. Who will be an alternate executor if you and your spouse pass at the same time? Who will be the guardians of you children? What kind of care do I want it if I am incapacitated? And who wants to spend money on attorney to put these things in place when you have bills to pay and diapers to buy. The fact of the matter is people are more comfortable paying a $200 cellphone bill than an attorney to help them plan for the unthinkable.

Wills, Living Wills, Health Care Directives, all these things should take priority to the cable bill or the cellphone bill. Preparing for the unthinkable or unimaginable may seem difficult but we can help. By the time we have walked you through the process and helped you answer the difficult questions to put together a basic estate plan for your family you will rest easier.

Keeping coming back to this blog for more posts concerning demystifying the estate planning process and planning for you families future.

 

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Is it a matter of Trust or a matter of trust?

Posted on August 20, 2012

When is a it the right time to start putting together an estate plan? If you are asking yourself that question the answer is yesterday. Estate planning should not be a taboo or scary subject to an individual or a family thinking about the future. An estate plan should be created to give you piece of mind. However not all estate plans are equal.

 

For many people the word “Trust” sounds like what they need to do. Without considering goals or other options they run to their attorney and ask for a trust. The attorneys who oblige them are doing them a disservice. A trust is a great estate planning vehicle but it will not accomplish anything if it is not part of an estate plan that takes into account what your estate planning goals.

 

Most trusts cannot even be explained by the attorney that drafted it and even more often these trusts are not even funded with assets that were meant to be placed in trust. If your attorney did not explain the trust property or the basic terms of the trust how do you know it is accomplishing your estate planning goals. When going to your attorney it should be more about you trusting your attorney to get the information out of you to use his or her expertise to accomplish your estate planning goals.

 

At Green & Green this is the approach we take. Identify your estate planning goals. Determine what assets you have and then we create a plan for you that accomplishes these goals. If we cannot explain it to you then we are not doing our job. Estate planning should give you piece of mind not confusion.

 

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Distilleries & New York State

Posted on April 4, 2012

There is a new Spirits Movement in New York and craft distilleries could be the new microbreweries.  For the first time since prohibition New York is producing spirits and like the craft brewery movement that has come into it’s own artisanal distilleries have the potential to be the next big thing.  Farm Distillery Licenses allow New York micro distillers to act much like small wineries, producing spirits, conduct tastings and sell their own products on-site. The Farm Distillery License requires the use of 80% local ingredients in the production process but the upside is the possibility of a new sustainable industry in New York.

Is this the next craft-brewing movement?  With the price of a micro-distillery license coming down and the increased popularity of buying local New York may see distillery hobbyists become the next class of entrepreneurs.

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