Authors Posts by Heidi Sutton

Heidi Sutton

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Let it snow!

The Whaling Museum at Cold Spring Harbor  hosted a FrozenFest inspired by the ‘Frozen’ films on Jan. 19. Families with young children came from all over Long Island to attend the event which included a special visit with Elsa, a scavenger hunt, a snowball fight and a screening of the ‘Frozen’ movie. Participants also created crafts including Elsa’s crown and a snowflake wand. 

Photos by Heidi Sutton

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Photo courtesy of Heckscher Museum

Too cold outside? Then come in to the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave, Huntington for its annual free “Draw In’ WinterFest on Jan. 26 from noon to 4 p.m. Enjoy an array of art activities in the galleries including making a digital action painting while sipping hot cocoa, collage and paint your own masterpiece with artist Robyn Cooper and much more. First 50 children under age 10 will receive free art supplies! Call 351-3250 or visit www.heckschermuseum.org for more information.

East Northport Middle School invited sixth graders from Northport Middle School to view a Theatre Three theatrical touring production of “Class Dismissed: The Bullying Project” on Jan. 9.

Performers acted out scenarios to demonstrate that bullying, harassment and peer pressure can occur both inside and outside of school, including hallways, locker rooms, buses and even at home. Additionally, the production spoke about the influence social media has on one’s reputation, social cliques and rumors.

The production’s main message, however, was, “See it, say it, stop it.” The intention was to encourage students to stand up for each other to put an end to bullying. During a Q&A after the performance, the performers advised the middle school students to be upstanders rather than bystanders. “You really are the ones that can make a difference,” they said.

Theatre Three’s Educational Touring Company is available to come to your school or organization. For more information, call Marci at 631-928-9202.

Photos courtesy of the Northport-East Northport School District

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”

Simple Gifts Productions, a professional performing arts company for kids and teens, presents “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at the Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s Educational & Cultural Center, 97P Main St., Stony Brook on Jan. 25 and 26 at noon and again at 2 p.m.

This “revised” version is a fresh approach to the all-time 1967 classic, based on the beloved comic strip by Charles Schultz. Featuring all your favorite Peanuts characters, this charming revue of vignettes and songs is fun for ages 4 and up. Running time is one hour. Tickets are $15. To reserve tickets online, visit www.simplegiftsproductions.com.

Photos from Simple Gifts Productions

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Come in out of the cold and join the Smithtown Historical Society for a fun evening of Soup Making & More on Friday, Jan. 24. Create three different soup mixes in mason jars, homemade butter and old-fashioned Johnny Cakes to take home. Meet at the Frank Brush Barn, 211 E. Main St., Smithtown at 7 p.m. Fee is $25 per person, $20 members. Advance registration is required by calling 631-265-6768.

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The Town of Smithtown School Aged Child Care Program will hold its annual Preschool Fair on Wednesday, Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Community Rooms of the Smithtown Library, located at 1 North Country Road. 

The Preschool Fair will offer parents an opportunity to visit with representatives from multiple nursery schools and preschools in and around the Town of Smithtown. The expo serves as a popular event for parents to source and gather information regarding prospective programs.

The snow date is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25. Advance registration is not required.

 For further information, call School Aged Child Care at 631-360-7517. 

Walt Whitman High School hosted a performance of the new musical, “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom,” on Jan. 9.

Filled with traditional and original gospel and freedom songs, the show tells the true story of Lynda Blackmon Lowey and is based on Lowey’s award-winning memoir, “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March.” 

Lowey was the youngest person to walk all the way from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, during the Voting Rights March in 1965. This inspiring true story illustrates the strength and courage of the individuals who fought alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to secure the right for African Americans to vote.

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaching and Black History Month just a few weeks away, the event came at the perfect time. As one student said, “Since I am 17 and in two weeks will be turning 18, it really made me think about registering to vote and the importance behind it.” 

Another student commented, “It’s great to hear about what young people did in the past to help get us where we are today … in history class, you only learn about the adults who did great and important things.” The students were enthralled during the performance, gaining new insights and even participating during the gospel music, clapping and singing along to the wonderful, moving songs.

At the end of the performance, the cast stayed to answer questions. Actor Ally Sheedy (“The Breakfast Club,” “High Art,” “Psych”), who adapted the book for the stage, was there to meet the students, as well as director Fracaswell Hyman and producers Miranda Barry and Amy Sprecher. 

“Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom” was truly an uplifting performance the students of Walt Whitman High School will remember for a long time. 

Photos from Thomas Ciravolo/South Huntington Union Free School District

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Girl Scout Troop 1781 donated a dozen stuffed Fire Truck Dalmatians to the Smithtown Fire Department on Dec. 28. The stuffed animals were purchased with funds raised during the troop’s fall nut and candy sale and will be used on the ambulances when treating young children. 

“Thank you Troop 1781! There’s nothing like receiving support for the community we care so much about!” said Chief Kevin Fitzpatrick. 

Pictured from left, Assistant Chief Patrick Diecidue, Girl Scouts Kate Hebron, Nadia Tomitz, Brianna Lynch, Sarah Johanson and Chief Fitzpatrick. Not pictured, Girl Scout Aubrey Horel.

Photos by Laura Johnson

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By Nancer Burner, Esq.

Nancy Burner, Esq.

The new Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, effective Jan. 1, 2020, is the broadest piece of retirement legislation passed in 13 years. The law focuses on retirement planning in three areas: modifying required minimum distribution (RMD) rules for retirement plans, expanding retirement plan access and increasing lifetime income options in retirement plans. This article will focus on the modifications to the RMD rules and their effects on inherited individual retirement accounts. 

Before the SECURE Act, if you had money in a traditional IRA and were retired, you were required to start making withdrawals at age 70½. But for people who have not reached age 70½ by the end of 2019, the SECURE Act pushes RMD start date to age 72. By delaying the RMD start date, the SECURE Act gives your IRAs and 401(k)s additional time to grow without required distributions and the resulting income taxes.

Since RMDs will not start until age 72, the new law will give you an additional two years to do what are known as Roth IRA conversions without having to worry about the impact of required distributions. With a Roth IRA, unlike a traditional IRA, withdrawals are income tax-free if you meet certain requirements and there are no RMDs during your lifetime. The general goal of a Roth conversion is to convert taxable money in an IRA into a Roth IRA at lower tax rates today than you expect to pay in the future.

The SECURE Act also removed the so-called “stretch” provisions for beneficiaries of IRAs. In the past, if an IRA was left to a beneficiary, that person could stretch out the RMDs over his or her life expectancy, essentially “stretching” out the tax benefits of the retirement account. But with the SECURE Act, most IRA beneficiaries will now have to distribute their entire IRA account within 10 years of the year of death of the owner. 

There are, however, exceptions to the 10-year rule for the following beneficiaries: surviving spouse, children under the age of majority, disabled, chronically ill and an individual not more than 10 years younger than employee. 

The SECURE Act means it is now very important to review the beneficiary designations of your retirement accounts. You want to make sure they align with the new beneficiary rules. Prior to the SECURE Act, a spousal rollover was generally the best practice to preserve the IRA. For many with large retirement accounts, it may now be better to begin distributing the IRA earlier in order to minimize exposure to higher tax brackets. It may also be beneficial to name multiple beneficiaries on an IRA to spread the distributions to more taxpayers, so the 10-year rule has less of an impact on the beneficiary’s income tax bracket. 

Prior to the SECURE Act, many people used trusts as beneficiaries of retirement accounts with a “see-through” feature that let the beneficiary stretch out the tax benefits of the inherited IRA account. The benefit of the trust was to help manage the inherited IRA and to provide protection from creditors. 

However, many of these trusts provided the beneficiary with access to only the RMD. With the new rule that all money must be taken out within 10 years, these trusts no longer have the same effect and could be troublesome, requiring that significantly more money be distributed to the beneficiary annually than initially intended. In addition, the trust funds would likely be exhausted after 10 years rather than providing funds to the beneficiary over his or her remaining life expectancy. 

Anyone with a trust as the beneficiary of an IRA should immediately review the trust language with an experienced estate planning attorney to see if it still aligns with his or her intended goals. 

If you are not sure what the new SECURE Act means for your retirement account, you should also contact an experienced estate planning attorney to review your beneficiary designations. 

Nancy Burner, Esq. practices elder law and estate planning from her East Setauket office. Visit www.burnerlaw.com.