Trusts & Estates – Page 3

Hidden Risks and Costs of Naming Minors as Direct Beneficiaries of an IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan

rmorris on January 9, 2020

Category: Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized

A valuable feature of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Qualified Retirement Plan (401k, 403b, etc.)(QRP) is the ability to invest without incurring contemporaneous taxes on the investments held in the account. This benefit is available to both the original owner of the account and to designated beneficiaries who inherit the account after the owner’s death. For this reason and others, it is very important to name appropriate beneficiaries for an IRA or a QRP account.

Major Changes are Impacting IRAs and QRPs – How is your Estate Plan Affected?

rmorris on January 3, 2020

Category: Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized
Tag: Retirement

Recently, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) was enacted into law. The SECURE Act makes significant changes to the administration of Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) and Qualified Retirement Plan (401k, 403b, etc.)(“QRP”), and was effective on January 1, 2020. For many people, an IRA or QRP is one of their most valuable assets. Because these assets result from hard work to create and maintain the account, owners should be aware of the changes found in the SECURE Act and how they may affect the owner’s estate plan.

Becoming a Guardian in Pennsylvania

broberto on November 15, 2019

Category: Trusts & Estates

What do you do if you believe a family member or a friend has become unable to care for themselves or their finances? This is a very stressful and troubling question that, unfortunately, many people end up asking themselves.

In some instances, the individual has an estate plan in place. This might include a power of attorney, or other directive, that indicates who will make important decisions for the individual in the event that they are unable to do so. Sometimes, there is no estate plan, but the individual does not have the capacity to execute estate planning documents, including a power of attorney. All is not lost.

What is a Holographic Will?

paulnorris on August 13, 2019

Category: Probate Litigation, Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized

When a loved one passes, questions may arise as to who possesses the Decedent’s Last Will and Testament. Read More about What is a Holographic Will?

Aretha Franklin is Reported to Not Have Left Behind a Will

stevenfriedman on August 22, 2018

Category: Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized

Last week, Aretha Franklin passed away at 76 due to advanced pancreatic cancer. This week, reports have been coming in claiming that the Queen of Soul had died without a Will or Trust. According to her long-standing attorney, Don Wilson, he had requested that she establish a trust numerous times, but she never got around to creating one.

Unfortunately, Aretha Franklin is far from the first notable individual to pass without establishing a Will or Trust, many of whom often happen to be significant celebrities and musicians. Perhaps immense fame comes with a sense of immortality. But, the sad truth is that two-thirds of estates are administered without a Will or a Trust.

The process of signing a document that identifies your beneficiaries, your executor, and the guardian for your minor children—if you have them—is not particularly difficult or overly time consuming. If anything, taking the time now will save you and your loved ones a lot of stress in the long run. Failing to properly establish this document means that you are choosing to allow state law to make those decisions for you.

A Look at President Trump’s Tax Reform Proposal

rdurkin on November 20, 2017

Category: Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized

Benjamin Franklin once famously said that, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” President Trump’s recent tax reform proposal is the administration’s attempt to alleviate one of these certainties of life.

President Trump’s proposal, which was released on Sept. 27, contained the following changes for individual taxpayers:

Division of Personal Property in an Estate

paulnorris on October 20, 2017

Category: Probate Litigation, Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized

Upon the death a loved one, the Last Will and Testament governs how the liquid assets of an Estate are distributed. It is also common that the Last Will and Testament may provide instructions as the distribution of some of the personal property of the Decedent. Even under such circumstances, however, this often leaves a large amount of personal property which has to be divided among the living heirs. There are several different ways in which the remaining items of personal property of the Decedent can be distributed which is discussed below.

Special Needs Trust Fairness Act

ekreger on December 20, 2016

Category: Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized
Tag: Special Needs Trust Fairness Act

On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act as part of the 21^st Century Cures Act. The new act allows first party special needs trusts to be established by mentally competent individuals with disabilities for their own benefit.

New Jersey Estate Tax Repeal

rmorris on October 6, 2016

Category: Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized
Tag: Estate Planning, Estate Tax

On Friday, September 30, 2016, New Jersey lawmakers held a press conference announcing significant changes affecting the New Jersey Estate Tax. The video and transcript of the conference can be accessed by clicking here.

The New Jersey Estate Tax applies to the estates of New Jersey residents and currently has an exemption of only $675,000. Under the proposal, the New Jersey Estate Tax exemption will be increased to $2.0 million per person on January 1, 2017; and effective January 1, 2018, the New Jersey Estate Tax will be eliminated entirely.

Defending a Will Contest

paulnorris on September 8, 2016

Category: Probate Litigation, Trusts & Estates, Uncategorized
Tag: Defending a Will

In many of my previous blogs I have discussed the procedure involved in contesting a Last Will and Testament. This blog shall focus on other side of the equation, the defense of a Will contest. Since there are many facets involved in the defense of a Will contest, we shall first focus on what the named Executor or Executrix must do upon being served with a Verified Complaint seeking to contest the validity of a Last Will and Testament. For the purposes of this blog, I will assume that the Executor had already taken the necessary steps to admit to probate the Last Will and Testament of the decedent.

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