Our Practice Areas
Practice includes all legal aspects related to NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY Estate Planning.
Last Will & Testament (Will)
At the very least, all married couples should have valid Wills in place to ensure that they determine- and not the State- who receives their estate’s assets upon their death.
In addition, it is essential that couples or single parents with minor children have Wills executed to legally establish who would assume guardianship of their minor children should they perish before their children reach majority age.
The Law Office of Evan Benjamin, LLC, prepares Wills based on the individual circumstances of each individual or couple, whether domiciled in New York or New Jersey.
Revocable & Irrevocable Trusts
For many individuals and married couples or partners, having a legally binding and fully funded Revocable or Irrevocable Trust Agreement as the backbone of their Estate Plan- in addition to or instead of a Will- is recommended for a number of reasons.
First off, there are tax considerations to consider, particularly for high-net-worth individuals and couples. A properly drafted Trust Agreement may save both you and your heirs lots of money.
Another reason many individuals choose to use a Trust instead of a Will is the desire to avoid the probate process which may be drawn out, cumbersome and expensive. As opposed to a Will, which becomes part of the public record once it is submitted for probate, a Trust is a private document, which may be administered in a third of the time of a probated Will.
For many senior citizens, a properly drafted Irrevocable Trust may allow them to protect their assets while maintaining their eligibility for Medicaid long-term care.
The Law Office of Evan Benjamin, LLC, prepares NY or NJ Revocable Trust Agreements for both high net worth and other individuals and couples who want the tax advantages and privacy and ease of administration of a Trust versus a Will.
We also prepare NY or NJ Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts for our senior citizen community to help them protect their hard-earned assets while maintaining their ability to access the long-term medical care offered by their respective State’s Medicaid program.
Estate & Probate Administration
Undertaking the responsibilities of an Executor under a Will or as Successor Trustee of a Trust can be daunting, confusing, aggravating, and time-consuming. We guide you and handle all the legal requirements associated with proper estate administration so that you as Executor or Trustee can relax and count on us to do the heavy lifting.
Health Care Directives & Living Wills (End-of-Life Instructions)
End-of-life documents should always be part of a complete Estate Plan so that your loved ones have clear instructions as to how you wish to be treated under certain specific, enumerated terminal health care crises.
The Law Office of Evan Benjamin, LLC, has experience preparing both NY & NJ end-of-life documents which provide comfort and certainty to the individual executing the documents and to the family members who are nominated as health care proxies.
Power of Attorney (POAs)
A Durable POA is a valuable and essential component of a complete Estate Plan. By appointing an individual- in whom you have complete trust- to act in your stead with regard to financial matters, you ensure that your final wishes as to the disposition of your estate is carried forward even upon your incapacity or incompetence.
The Law Office of Evan Benjamin, LLC, routinely prepares POAs as part of a comprehensive Estate Plan. We draft the POAs taking into consideration the unique facts surrounding that client’s needs, whether that individual is domiciled in New York or New Jersey.
Pre & Post Nuptial Agreements
By executing a Prenuptial Agreement, a couple supersedes the marital laws that would otherwise apply in the event of a divorce, such as the laws governing division of property, retirement benefits, and the right to seek alimony, with agreed upon terms that provide certainty and clarify their marital rights.
The prenuptial agreement also may protect some property during marriage, for instance in case of a bankruptcy.
A postnuptial agreement is similar to a prenuptial agreement in that it provides clarity to the married couple regarding their respective marital rights, except that it is entered into after the couple is married rather than before they marry.
At the Law Office of Evan Benjamin, we have experience preparing Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements for couples in both New Jersey and New York.
Family Limited Partnerships
A family limited partnership (“FLP”) is a holding company owned by two or more family members, created to retain a family’s business interests, real estate, publicly traded and privately held securities, or other assets contributed by its members.
The purpose of creating such an entity is generally to achieve creditor protection and reduce gift and estate taxes while maintaining control over the management and distribution of the partnership’s assets.
At the Law Office of Evan Benjamin, we have experience preparing Family Limited Partnerships for families in both New Jersey and New York.