Estate Planning
Insolvent Estates in New Jersey: What You Need to Know When the Estate Has No Money
One important responsibility for the executor or administrator of a New Jersey estate is to deal with insolvent estates, that means to pay the deceased person’s debts. Debts can include credit cards, mortgages, loans, funeral costs, and medical expenses among other things. Some creditors may make formal claims against the estate while others may forgive […]
Read More....Specificity is Key in Estate Planning
A Will and other estate planning documents provide you with the opportunity to make decisions that will affect your loved ones and beneficiaries after you have left this earth. You decide who gets what and you decide how much each person gets. You can even decide to leave something or everything to charity. A Will […]
Read More....Do You Have a Will? You Should.
Do You Have a Will? You Should. No one enjoys talking about death, but it is an inevitable fate everyone will eventually face. Having your affairs in order through the drafting of a Last Will and Testament will help to ease the stress in administering your estate. A Will is an organized document that outlines […]
Read More....Ancillary Probate: Are additional steps required to sell a decedent’s property located in another state?
Handling the loss of a loved one is already a difficult time, but there can be additional stress if you find yourself appointed as executor in the decedent’s Will, or you must apply to be an administrator if there is no Will. Probate is the court-supervised process an executor or administrator takes in settling a […]
Read More....Tiger King Highlights Intriguing Estate Planning Issues
From a legal perspective, the hit documentary ‘Tiger King’ is intriguing due to the twisted legal, criminal and ethical issues raised throughout the show, among other things, of course. One of the more interesting legal issues is the claim that a husband’s estate planning documents, including a will and power of attorney, disappeared at the […]
Read More....Yes, You May Have to Pay Taxes Even After Death
Estate planning can be tedious, but it is incredibly important. Without an appropriate plan in place, your heirs may not receive an appropriate distribution of assets, and poor planning could have unintended monetary impacts on your loved ones. Estate tax and inheritance tax are two considerations that you should always factor into your estate plan. […]
Read More....Another Sibling Squabble in Estate Litigation
Be careful who you allow control over your money. It can come back to haunt you. In a recent case, the New Jersey Appellate Court held that a sister could not establish unlawful conversion by her brother because she did not prove that she ever had ownership over the property in dispute. Conversion is the […]
Read More....Proving Undue Influence in New Jersey Estate Litigation
In a recent decision, the New Jersey Appellate Court made two separate findings regarding undue influence on an elderly mother (“decedent”), even though all of the alleged events happened within the same general time period. The decedent’s Last Will and Testament (“Will”) appointed her daughter, Cathy Timpone (“Timpone”) as executrix of the estate and split […]
Read More....My Loved One Died Without a Will. What Now?
When a loved one dies, their Last Will and Testament (“Will”) governs the distribution of their estate. But what happens when a loved one dies without a validly executed Will? In New Jersey, a law was enacted specifically to address this situation. A person that dies without a Will is referred to as having died […]
Read More....Basic Guide for the Guardian of a Loved One’s Estate
In order to become a guardian of the estate, you must file an application with the Superior Court of NJ. A judge will determine whether you qualify as a guardian. If you do qualify, the judge will issue a judgment to confirm guardianship. The judge may also require you to post a surety bond, which […]
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