Jerome and Sandra Murray signed a “joint will” in 1993. It provided that if one of them died, the other would inherit all the property. It also said that the will couldn’t be modified unless they both agreed to any changes. Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 2001. In the divorce settlement, Sandra received a condo in New York. In 2006, she put the condo into a trust. The trust document said that if she died, the

Many power of attorney and health care proxy documents that were created years ago should be revised now as a result of a federal medical privacy law. The law, known as HIPAA, generally prevents health care providers from disclosing your personal medical information to anyone but you and someone you’ve named as your “personal representative.” Medical privacy may be a good thing – but the law can create complications.

As part of their estate planning, many people want to give away property during their lifetime in order to reduce the size of their taxable estate. In general, you can give $13,000 a year to anyone you like without having to pay gift tax, and you can make additional gifts over this limit, over the course of your lifetime, up to the amount of your gift tax exemption (although these larger gifts will reduce your estate’s

If you’re moving (or considering moving) to another state, it’s a good time to update your estate planning. Of course, your estate plan should be updated any time you make a major change, such as buying or selling real estate. But even if you’re not buying or selling anything, it’s wise to review your estate plan when you move because different states have different laws about how estate documents are interpreted. For instance, New Yorker Rosanne