Embedded Files
Below is a Google Sheet that explains the New York State estate tax cliff and the role of the Santa Clause, which can be added to one's will, in increasing the size of the inheritance. This file is view only, but should be able to log in to your own Google account and duplicate it to your account so that you can edit it. To open sheet below (bottom of page) in Google, click on the upper right corner of the spreadsheet window below. Please send comments and feedback to j.dana@northeastern.edu.
The graphs don't translate perfectly to Excel if you save the Sheets version to Excel. So if you prefer to use Excel you can download the spreadsheet using the dropbox link below.
or if prefer to download a compressed copy, use the dropbox link below (the compressed file should go straight to your downloaded file folder).
If you determine that you want to add a Santa Clause to your will, here is an example taken from the will that lawyers created for my mother-in-law. Neither I nor anyone else is guaranteeing that this language is sufficient, nor that you should consider preparing a will with a Santa Clause without legal advice.
EIGHTH: My executor shall distribute to one or more charitable organizations described in Sections 170(c), 2055(a) and 2522(a) of the Code that my executor shall select, in his or her sole and absolute discretion, the smallest amount of property, if any, that will reduce the New York estate tax that would be imposed on my estate but for the provisions of this paragraph and reduce total applicable taxes by more than the amount of such distribution.
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