One of the perennial issues high-net worth families worry about is how they can pass their wealth to the next generation without spoiling their kids or destroying their drive or ambition. If you are afraid your heirs may become spoiled by their inheritances, your fear is justified. Many people are apprehensive when deciding how to […]

For millions of people over the decades, the power of attorney has been an inexpensive way to give someone the right to act on another person’s behalf. But its power is not always absolute and when it fails, the consequences can be nothing short of disastrous. Maybe your power of attorney isn’t so powerful after […]

“I saw an alarming increase in the number of probate and trust litigation cases. It was just devastating families, and the attorneys’ fee were just consuming whatever estate was there,” said Sally Mulhern, whose office is at 155 Fleet St. “I didn’t want to see this trend continue. I wanted to do something to get […]

If the SCF represents a good cross section of the country (it really tries), that means that overall about 0.95 percent of Americans have a trust fund from their parents. Have you set up a trust fund for your kids? If not, you might think trusts don’t apply to your financial situation. But what if […]

There are often particular assets in one’s estate which may require special consideration either due to its nature, value, or significance. Passing along financial assets from your estate is typically straight-forward.  However, special assets that are not so cut-and-dry require careful planning and possibly call for special estate planning tools to be used. The Lake […]

The woman wore frumpy house dresses, drove a beat-up old Chevy Cavalier, lived modestly in a two-family house on Washington Avenue across from Albany High School and harbored an astonishing secret. Few realized she was the millionaire next door, possessed of an investment portfolio that included tens of thousands of shares of Exxon Mobil and other […]

JPMorgan Chase and Co. is being sued by a historical local church after the congregation reportedly lost millions. Christ Church Cathedral claims the investment banker’s mismanagement of two trust funds and self-dealing resulted in a $13 million loss from a trust donated by humanitarian Eli Lilly Jr., the Associated Press reported Wednesday. Can your trustee […]

If you are about to send a child off to college or to a gap-year program, you’re probably busy with last-minute shopping, packing and worrying about roommates. Here’s one more thing you should do as you prepare for the big separation: Ask this young adult to sign a durable power of attorney and a health […]

The trial court held that the trustee of a perpetual charitable trust had breached the duty of prudence by investing the fund solely in bonds and awarded damages based on what the portfolio would have been worth had the trustee followed specific investment advice it had sought but ignored. What happens when trustees make poor […]

Don’t be a victim. Protect yourself by being on the lookout for estate planning scam artists. Scam alert! How do you know if your estate plan is legit? Estate planning scams are all too common in the United States. In fact, they seem to be on the rise. They normally involve non-attorneys who have a […]