Determining Your New Worth
Knowing the value of your estate is essential in making strategic decisions in your estate plan. Your net worth (assets minus liabilities) dictates not your lifestyle but also what your ...
Providing Tuition and Medical Expenses for Loved Ones
It is common for grandparents to leave their grandchildren gifts of property, assets or cash. It is also common for grandparents to want children to spend the gifts wisely, rather ...
Annual Gift Tax Exclusion
Many people wait until they die to leave assets and cash to their loved ones but you can start giving to your loved ones now and enjoy actually giving them ...
Gifts to Pets in an Estate Plan
Animal Companions Cannot Own Property While most of us consider our pets to be part of the family, animals cannot own property legally. For example, an animal cannot open a ...
New Jersey Statutory Definition of Distributee
Distributee is a term used commonly in estate planning but rarely used outside of estate planning. Every state includes a definition section to their laws to clearly convey the intent ...
Stepchildren Defined for New Jersey Estate Planning
Under New Jersey law, stepchildren are not treated as “children” for intestate succession and therefore have no automatic right to inherit when someone dies without a will. To ensure a ...
Things Your Will Should Not Include
When considering what you might want to include in your will, you should know some things are better addressed in a different document, or not included at all in your ...
Four Things Your Will Cannot Do
In understanding what you can accomplish in your will, it is important to understand the things you cannot do. Below are four important things to know you cannot do in ...
Often Overlooked Provisions in a Will
A Provision Disposing of your Residuary Estate. Your residuary estate is all of your property that is not otherwise specifically disposed of in the will. You may acquire more property ...
Estate Planning for Married Couples
When planning for your future and working on an estate plan, married couples have options not otherwise available to unmarried couples. Understanding how estate taxes work between spouses is important ...