If you are setting up an estate plan, there are a number of different topics you need to explore, from the financial impact of choosing a particular type of estate plan to taxes and dividing assets among beneficiaries. However, if you are the parent of a young child,...
New Jersey Estate Planning and Probate Law Blog
Estate planning can help recent Powerball winner and others
New Jersey residents may recall hearing about the 44-year-old Dominican immigrant who recently won the Powerball jackpot. According to northjersey.com, the man opted for a lump sum payment of approximately $211 million, which was reduced to $152 million after taxes....
Setting up wills should be at the top of New Year resolution lists
It is that time of year again. January is typically when New Jersey residents turn their backs on the past year and focus on goals for the next. While some New Year resolutions may seem trivial, estate planning goals are not. If you do not have a will – or have not...
Know when you need to update your estate plan
After creating your estate plan, you, like many people, might have thought you would have no need to update it frequently – or at all. If your relationships are stable and your plans for your assets are firm, you may see no point in making any changes. Yet, life...
COVID-19 Disclaimer
In light of precautions related to COVID-19 and recommendations by public authorities, we are limiting our contact with our clients to either telephone conferences or remote consultation. Please feel free to contact our office at or...
Make sure your will is valid while you’re still alive and well
If you are starting to put together an estate plan and want to do your part in reducing the likelihood of estate litigation from your children or other family members, one good idea is to make sure you verify and validate your will in advance. As you may know, a will...
Don’t want to be an executor? You can turn down the role
After someone dies, an executor steps up to help administer the estate. In most cases, the executor knows that they'll be taking on the role before the other party's death. In some, they were never informed that they'd be taking on that role. So, if you're appointed...
Avoid sibling squabbles when choosing a power of attorney
Choosing your power of attorney was never going to be easy. You have three children, triplets, who all want what's best for you. Putting one of them in charge is not something you're interested in doing, but you think that having all three trying to work together...
Is there any good reason to have a revocable trust?
You have been working on estate planning over the last month or so, and you're getting ready to go to an attorney for the first time. You want to set up a trust, but you're not sure which one is right for you. Fortunately, there is a lot of information to be had on...
You can lower the value of your estate with gifts
When you're getting older and want to make sure that your estate is not so large that you face taxes, one of the options is to take advantage of the gift tax. The gift tax allows you to give gifts to others up to an allowable amount annually. You don't have to report...