There are so many considerations you have to keep in mind when planning your estate. You need to think about all of the assets you have and the needs of the people you love. You may also have to think about whether creditors or government insurance programs can make a claim against your estate.
For those with relatively large estates, the main concern might be related more to the potential for taxation on what they leave behind for their loved ones. As a New York resident, will your estate be subject to an estate tax after you die?
New York is one of a minority of states that assesses an estate tax
While the average person leaving something behind for their loved ones in New York will not have to worry about the state tax, there is an estate tax that can affect larger estates. If the total value of your assets, including financial investments and real estate, is more than $5.85 million, you will likely have to think about the New York estate tax.
It is a progressive tax that increases as the amount of wealth in your estate goes up. In other words, the more that you exceed that limit, the greater the amount of tax that your executor will have to pay on your behalf. You may also have to worry about a federal estate tax, which currently exempts slightly less than twice what the state of New York does from estate taxes.
Careful estate planning can drastically reduce or even eliminate the estate tax that could apply to what you leave behind for your loved ones. The sooner you take action and begin planning, the more secure the resources you leave behind will be.