Written by Laura Bogart, GoBankingRates. Featuring Asher Rubinstein, Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, LLP. When we think of love letters, we might imagine grand declarations of passion between partners, or maybe a parent’s expressions of pride and joy in the growth of a beloved child. Rarely do we think of a will and testament, information about trusts, advanced directives or healthcare proxies. Yet providing this kind of detailed information about how to handle your estate is one of the most loving gestures you could offer your family. In a moving essay, writer Laura Wheatman Hill described the ..read more

By Michael Kaplan featuring Asher Rubinstein Big Apple wine lovers are enduring a sour season. It’s been a rough year for people who spend big bucks on rare bottles and entrust them to New York City’s ritzy wine merchants for storing and proper aging. First, in February, the venerable Sherry-Lehmann wines was raided by the FBI and exposed for bad practices that are alleged to have included the mishandling of bottles. Potentially among them: two cases of 1982 Petrus Bordeaux, valued at $90,000. Then Chelsea Wine Storage, a facility entrusted to hold millions of dollars worth of rare vintages ..read more

As the year comes to a close, we offer some planning tips to our clients, colleagues and friends of the firm regarding their assets, tax and estate concerns. Foremost, there are some time-sensitive ways to save taxes that could result in much more money for your family. Download the 2023 Year-End Notes ..read more

By Gregg Greenberg featuring Asher Rubinstein First, it was the King of Rock and Roll’s family battling over the legitimacy of his daughter’s will. Now it’s the Queen of Soul’s kids clashing in a courtroom over handwritten wills found scattered around her house. Seriously, and with all due R-E-S-P-E-C-T, will somebody explain why music’s royalty can’t pass down their estates without their heirs getting all shook up? It’s barely been two months since a settlement was reached over the will and multimillion-dollar estate of Lisa Marie Presley, the late daughter of music legend Elvis Presley and ..read more

Imagine the IRS discovering your “secret” offshore bank accounts.  Imagine further that instead of the IRS assessing a penalty of $10,000 for failing to file the “FBAR”, which is the proper banking disclosure form, the IRS hits you with $10,000 in penalties for each account.  In the case of a taxpayer named Bittner, who had 272 foreign accounts, the IRS assessed $2,720,000 in penalties, rather than $10,000 for failing to file the FBAR.  In Bittner v. United States, decided this week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided against the expansive position of the I ..read more

Clearly, 2022 was a troubling year for cryptocurrencies, digital assets like NFTs, and their investors. The crypto markets declined in value, and significant crypto ventures like FTX, Voyager, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and BlockFi declared bankruptcy, leaving investors empty-handed. We can expect 2023 to bring much-needed governmental regulation. Historically, the Great Depression was followed by the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which introduced regulations and protections (including, for example, FDIC insurance). We expect the crypto “winter” of 2022 to ..read more

As another unprecedented year comes to a close, we offer some planning tips to our clients, colleagues, and friends of the firm regarding their assets, tax and estate concerns. Foremost, there are still some time-sensitive ways to save taxes that could result in much more money for your family. You can download the full planner here after providing your email address. Download the Planner ..read more

The premium wine sector is a go-to for high-net-worth individuals looking for hedge. Kathleen Willcox  The world’s top wines have been steadily increasing in value despite the choppy economic conditions.  The global economy has been on a stomach-churning roller-coaster ride this year with higher-than-expected inflation and increased interest rates in the world’s three major economies: the US, China and the Euro zone. No surprise, stocks are tanking too: the S&P 500 was down 17.02 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 13.29 percent, the S&P MidCap 400 was down 14 ..read more

When he hit his 62nd home run in this year’s American League season, New York Yankee Aaron Judge broke Roger Maris’ 1961 home run record. Cory Youmans caught the ball and was filmed high-fiving those sitting next to him in the stands. But who owns the now this historic souvenir with a $2 million offer on the table? That’s what WGN Radio AM’s Legal Face-Off Co-hosts Rich Lenkov and Christina L. Martini asked Gallet Dreyer & Berkey Partner Asher Rubinstein in this wide-ranging conversation about the ball’s ownership, economics, and potential tax implications.   ..read more

By Leslie Quander Wooldridge, @lesliequander Featuring Asher Rubinstein Partner, Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, LLP That piece of paper with your private keys isn’t going to cut it. So I talked with New York attorney and law firm partner Asher Rubinstein about estate planning steps to consider.  Do you know what will happen to your crypto, NFTS, or other digital assets when you die? And how you’ll pass along these assets to your heirs?  Or, if your loved one dies, and you’re the beneficiary, do you know how you’ll access your inherited holdings?  While estate plannin ..read more