Law Offices of Stefanie A. Sovak

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Law Offices of Stefanie A. Sovak A Different Kind of Law Firm…Where Compassion and Education Provide the Best Protection For Those That Matter Most.

This is the question I hear most often, and I want to be honest about the answer.A will names a long-term guardian for y...
10/06/2026

This is the question I hear most often, and I want to be honest about the answer.

A will names a long-term guardian for your children. It doesn't address who has legal authority with them in the first 72 hours if something happens to both of you. A will names beneficiaries for assets in your estate. It doesn't touch your retirement accounts or life insurance.

Those pass by beneficiary designation, regardless of what your will says. A will does nothing if you're incapacitated rather than gone. And a will doesn't update itself as your life changes.

Getting a will is not the same as getting your family protected. Most people don't find that out until it's too late. ...
10/05/2026

Getting a will is not the same as getting your family protected. Most people don't find that out until it's too late.

Did you know how differently trusts and individuals are taxed?For 2026, estates and trusts enter the 37% federal margina...
10/02/2026

Did you know how differently trusts and individuals are taxed?

For 2026, estates and trusts enter the 37% federal marginal income tax bracket above $16,000 of taxable income.

A single individual doesn’t enter that bracket until taxable income exceeds $640,600.
That doesn’t mean every dollar is taxed at 37%. The brackets are marginal. It also doesn’t mean you should remove your trust as your IRA beneficiary. Your trust may be protecting the inheritance from divorce, creditors, lawsuits, addiction, or poor
financial decisions.

Giving up those protections to reduce the income-tax rate may not serve the people
you created the plan to protect. The number matters. But it isn’t the whole story.

📞 Call us today at 845-534-3334
🌐 Visit us at Sovak Law

Your will may not control your IRA. The beneficiary form you filled out years ago probably does. That form may still nam...
10/01/2026

Your will may not control your IRA. The beneficiary form you filled out years ago probably does. That form may still name:

• A former spouse
• A child outright
• A trust that was later amended or replaced
• Someone selected before the SECURE Act changed the rules

Your retirement account generally passes according to that beneficiary designation, regardless of what your will says. So you can have an excellent plan sitting in a binder while one old form directs one of your largest assets somewhere else.

When I review an IRA beneficiary decision, I’m not looking at a tax bracket in isolation.I’m looking at the retirement a...
09/30/2026

When I review an IRA beneficiary decision, I’m not looking at a tax bracket in isolation.
I’m looking at the retirement account, the trust, your other assets, the people who will inherit, the protections they may need, and what you want your wealth to make possible.

Your CPA, financial advisor, insurance professional, and estate planning attorney may each see a different part of that picture. Because this isn’t only about where your money goes. It’ s about helping the people you love receive it with the structure, guidance, and protection needed to become good stewards of what you built.

📞 Call us today at 845-534-3334
🌐 Visit us at Sovak Law

If your plan uses an accumulation trust, the trustee may be able to keep IRA withdrawals inside the trust. That can crea...
09/29/2026

If your plan uses an accumulation trust, the trustee may be able to keep IRA withdrawals inside the trust. That can create a higher income-tax cost, but it may also keep the inheritance protected during a divorce, lawsuit, addiction crisis, or period when your child isn’t ready to manage it.

If your plan uses a conduit trust, withdrawals generally pass through to your beneficiary. That may move the taxable income onto the beneficiary’ s individual return, but it also puts the money directly into their hands.

Neither structure wins for every family. The right decision depends on your beneficiary, the terms of your trust, your other assets, and what you want this wealth to make possible.

📞 Call us today at 845-534-3334
🌐 Visit us at Sovak Law

Did you know that most people who have a will followed the same process: they found an attorney, paid a fee, signed some...
09/24/2026

Did you know that most people who have a will followed the same process: they found an attorney, paid a fee, signed some documents, and never heard from that attorney again?

That's the old model of estate planning. And for most families, it's quietly failing them, because life changes, and the documents don't. A beneficiary designation pointing to a parent who passed away years ago. A guardian who's moved across the country. An incapacity provision that no longer reflects what you want. A trust that was never properly funded.

The documents exist. The plan doesn't.

⏳ The best time to plan for the future is before a crisis occurs.Join Attorney Stefanie A. Sovak for a FREE Estate Plann...
09/23/2026

⏳ The best time to plan for the future is before a crisis occurs.

Join Attorney Stefanie A. Sovak for a FREE Estate Planning & Elder Law Seminar and learn strategies that may help protect your assets 🛡️, preserve your legacy 🏡, and prepare for long-term care.

📅 Wednesday, September 23rd at 6 PM
📍 500 Westage Business Center Drive, Fishkill, NY 12524

✅ Plan now for greater peace of mind later.

🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/eRC3jwhF

Address

55 Quaker Avenue, Suite 206
Cornwall, NY
12518

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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