What Constitutes a Validly Executed Will (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about an Australian case in which the court held that a deceased man’s unsent text message found on his phone was considered to be a valid will. How might a New Jersey court rule on these facts? New Jersey law generally establishes that
A Simple Estate Matter? Not so Fast (Part 2)
Last week I was telling you about Mark’s call regarding the administration of his sister, Melanie’s estate. He had gone to the Surrogate to get appointed as administrator of the estate but had listed only 4 of 5 siblings as heirs, thinking his brother, Frank should not be listed
A Simple Estate Matter? Not so Fast
Mark called because he needed assistance with an inheritance tax return. The attorney he had hired to assist him in selling his sister, Melanie's home was unsure how to complete it. A little bit of background is helpful. Melanie died without a will. She had never married and had
Estate Planning – Changing as We Age (Part 3)
Last week I was talking about what we call senior estate planning and something called a tax waiver. New Jersey probate – the process of administering an estate after someone dies – is easy in some respects but not so easy in others. Let’s go back to Jack and
When the State Decides Who Gets Your Assets
Last week we were discussing whether and under what circumstance a person who is mentally impaired can execute a will. So what happens if a person dies without a will? How are assets passed in that case? New Jersey has a law that predetermines how assets are passed in
The Bank Told Me I Need a Tax Waiver
George called me because his father had recently died. He told me that his mother was having difficulty accessing all of Dad’s accounts. “The bank where he has most of his accounts wants a tax waiver,” George told me. I asked a few more questions. Dad had a few accounts at
The Problem of the Do it Yourself Will (Part 2)
Last week we were discussing Mary’s call to me about her Uncle Joe’s unsuccessful attempt to execute a will he obtained on the internet. The will was not admitted to probate and Joe had no previous will. So what happens in that case? Without a will Uncle Joe’s estate passes according
The Problem of the Do it Yourself Will
“I can do the will myself. It’s pretty simple and I can get the form online.” I’ve heard that comment more than a few times in my career. Recently, however, I received a call from someone whose family member did just that and created a huge problem. Mary called concerning her
Reading the Will – An Urban Myth?
There is an amusing Direct TV commercial which takes place in an attorney’s office that highlights a practice that doesn’t exist any longer in New Jersey (if it ever did) and, to my knowledge, isn’t practiced in most other states. The attorney is conducting what is known as “the reading
How Jane’s Simple Estate Matter Turned into a Complicated Mess
There are many misconceptions about estate administration and probate. So often when someone asks me about it, they’ll typically tell me that their family member’s estate matter is not that complicated, that they can handle it themselves. The following is a cautionary tale for the do-it-yourselfer. Mary died without a