2025 Estate Tax Changes
In my last blog post of 2024, I discuss changes to estate and gift taxes for 2025. As with Social Security and the Medicaid and VA programs which I have already detailed here in past weeks, inflation adjustments have changed some numbers applicable to estate and gift taxes. Estate tax is due
A Celebrity Estate Plan Lesson (Part 2)
In my post last week I wrote about the trial in the matter of Aretha Franklin’s estate to determine which of two handwritten wills would be admitted as her last will. The case illustrates the reasons why everyone should have a will executed in accordance with state law and preferably typewritten
A Celebrity Estate Plan Lesson (Part 1)
Over the years I have written a number of blog posts about the reasons everyone should have a will and more specifically a formal one. Too many adults don’t and high profile celebrities are no different than the general population. I wrote 10 years ago about the litigation surrounding James Gandolfini’s estate
The Importance of Updating Your Will – Part 2
In last week’s post, I talked about two recent estate administration cases in our office. In each instance the decedent left a will but no living executor was available to serve. In the first case, the two children who inherited the estate equally were not named because at the time the will
Why a Will is So Important for Spouses in a 2nd Marriage (Part 1)
I have often heard people say that they don’t need a will. “My wishes are known by my family”, they’ll say. But a recent call to our office shows how wrong that can be. Mary’s husband John had passed away from a long illness. Although he had time to prepare a will he never
How SECURE Act Changed Estate and Long Term Care Planning – Part 1
At the end of 2019 Congress passed the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act which made some significant changes to retirement accounts - some positive and some negative. I wrote about it a bit when the law was passed (See posts 1/5/20 and 1/13/20). In the year plus since
Self-Proving Will (Part 2)
Last week I wrote about the process of probate and how easy it is to admit a will to probate without the need to appear before judge if it is a self-proving one. But what exactly is a self-proving will? New Jersey law sets out clear instructions on how to make
Not as Much Time as You Think (Part 3)
A few weeks back I wrote about Mary’s call to our office regarding her dad who wanted to make a change to his will. He wanted to leave his home to Mary and everything else split equally between Mary and her sister Kate (See 5/20/19 and 5/27/19 posts.) Dad,
A Hospital Escape Story
Every year between June and September we are contacted by parents who have children that have turned age 18 and are going off to college. I have written in the past about the importance of parents having their child execute a power of attorney and health care directive because
The Right to Control Funeral and Burial Arrangements (Part 2)
In my post last week, I explained how my client Joe can insure that his burial wishes are carried out. One option is to set up a prepaid burial plan. He can set aside money in trust to cover the burial arrangement he has chosen while alive.