Appointment of a NJ Funeral Representative
In 2019, the State of New Jersey quietly updated the law with respect to the appointment of a Funeral Representative. Under the old law, in order to designate a Funeral Representative, the only way to do so was by inserting a provision in your Will. The new law allows a person to designate a Funeral […]
NJ Aid in Dying Law Goes Into Effect
New Jersey’s Aid in Dying law is officially allowed to go into effect. Last week I posted how a Mercer County judge temporarily halted the NJ Aid in Dying law from going into effect. However, yesterday, that ruling was overturned by a New Jersey Appellate Court, and shortly thereafter, the New Jersey Supreme Court denied […]
Joint Trusts – A Great Planning Opportunity for Non-Traditional Couples and Blended Families
Creating an estate plan for clients who are in non-traditional relationships or are part of a blended family can be very tricky. Why is Estate Planning for Non-Traditional Couples So Tricky? Let’s assume a hypothetical fact situation where you have a women (Jane) with $4M in assets. She is a widow and has 2 children. […]
Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax Act
New Jersey may be getting a lot tax friendlier for small business owners. I hesitate to even write this blog post, as I generally prefer to wait until legislation is actually passed before I write on a topic (mainly because it is a waste of everyone’s time to read about something that may never come […]
Repeal of the NJ Estate Tax – Should married couples update their wills?
Effective January 1, 2018, New Jersey repealed its estate tax. The question then become how does this affect you and do you need to do anything about it? For most people the change is a positive one because it means their heirs pay less taxes and they do not need to do anything to update […]
What is a Disclaimer Trust?
A Disclaimer Trust is a special type of trust often created under a Will (or as a sub-trust of a revocable living trust). In order to understand Disclaimer Trusts, you first need to understand what a disclaimer is and what happens when you make a disclaimer so that you can understand the purpose and mechanics of Disclaimer Trusts. […]
Understanding the Differences Between Special Needs Trusts and Supplemental Needs Trusts
“Special Needs Trusts” and “Supplemental Needs Trusts” are terms to describe trusts designed to provide benefits to a person in a way that will preserve the public benefits that he or she is entitled to receive. These types of trusts are most commonly created when a person has some sort of special needs or disability. […]
Will the New Jersey Estate Tax Repeal Become Permanent?
New Jersey Estate Tax As most of my estate planning clients are aware, I have been very cautious regarding whether or not New Jersey will keep a $2,000,000 estate tax exemption beyond 2017 or allow for a full repeal. However, it is worth noting that the front-runner for Governor, Phil Murphy, released part of his […]
NJ Has Finally Released 2017 Estate Tax Return and Calculator
As I know many of you have been waiting anxiously, I wanted to make sure that you are aware that the New Jersey Division of Taxation has finally released the 2017 Estate Tax Return form. They have also released an estate tax calculator so that we can accurately prepare the return. The NJ 2017 Estate Tax […]