DLA In The News

David DePinto has been named one of New York Metro Super Lawyers of Estate Planning of 2015!! He is also featured in the Super Lawyers magazine! 

(c) 2008 Newsday. Reprinted by Permission
ASK THE EXPERT
KAREN E. KLEIN

The problem: I’m the trustee of an “irrevocable grantor trust” created a year ago by my father-in-law with his two daughters as beneficiaries. Circumstances have changed and we’re considering paying out the trust principal and having the beneficiaries gift the entire amount back to my father-in-law. Is this legal? What about taxes?

The expert: Bridget T. Faldetta, estate planning attorney, DePinto Law Associates, P.C.

(c) 2008 Newsday. Reprinted by Permission
LONG ISLAND BUSINESS
Newsday.com/Business
JAIME HERZLICH

If you’re like many who own small businesses, you might have started out as a sole proprietorship.  But as your business has grown, you may be thinking about whether it’s time to incorporate.

One of the biggest advantages of incorporating is the personal liability protection it can provide, but it does require more work on your part and an investment to get started, say experts.

“It’s not a lot of money and time to incorporate, but it is money and time,” says Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and author of “The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors & Policy Makers Live By” (Yale University Press; $26).

(c) 2007 Newsday. Reprinted by Permission
ASK THE EXPERT
KAREN E. KLEIN

The problem:  My parents jointly owned a $550,000, two-family home outright when my father died in December.  Mom wants to sell, but an accountant told her since she didn’t sell by Dec, 31, 2006, she will owe taxes on my father’s share of the proceeds.  True?

The expert: David J. DePinto, CPA and certified elder law attorney, DePinto Law Associates, Melville. 

(c) 2007 Newsday. Reprinted by Permission

REAL ESTATE
SELLING TIP – Interview by LAURA MANN

“When selling a home, seniors should consider the income tax implications if they paid very little for the home, which is common for a house purchased 40 or 50 years ago. The maximum income tax exclusion is $250,000 per person, and $500,000 for a married couple.

. . . Consider compiling a list of all improvements . . . to increase the cost and minimize the tax if the gain exceeds the exclusions.”

David DePinto, attorney, certified public accountant and managing partner, DePinto Law Associates, Melville

(c) 2006 Newsday. Reprinted by Permission
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY
Monday, November 20, 2006
SMALL BUSINESS - JAMIE HERZLICH

You’ve paid your dues and poured everything into your business.

You’ve scrimped and saved over the years and sacrificed all but your sanity to grow your company to where it is today.

But what happens tomorrow?

At some point you may want to retire.  Or unforeseen events may force you to retire.

Without a successor, your business can be in jeopardy.

“Planning is prudent” says David J. DePinto, a partner at the law firm of DePinto Nornes & Associates, LLP in Melville who specializes in trusts and estates and succession planning.  “Those who plan reap the benefits and those who don’t plan and wait until they die usually have a mess on their hands.”  Still, experts say about two-thirds of small businesses don’t have a succession plan in place.

(c) 2008 Newsday. Reprinted by Permission
ASK THE EXPERT
PETER KING