If you're thinking about making a will, here are few things that you should think about before drafting the will (or having an attorney help you think about these things and draft the will for you): 1. What assets will you be putting in the will? Take an inventory of your significant assets. These should[...]
Many clients come into the office saying that they need "a living trust" - often without a good understanding of what they are and when there are used. Here is a brief primer on living trusts for the uninitiated. 1) What is a living trust? Well, breaking it down, a trust is simply an arrangement[...]
Having practiced in this area for a while, here are some practical tips for selecting an estate planner. I promise that this is not a thinly-veiled way of describing my practice. Although we have many of these qualities, I believe that these tips have universal value. 1. Select an attorney who is an excellent listener.[...]
Estate planning is typically divided into two categories: (1) Estates large enough to require tax planning (which in New Jersey, because of decoupling, occurs on estates with as little as $675k in assets) and (2) Estates that require little or no tax planning. Good estate plans should also consider an additional sub category of complexity,[...]
A common tool for a sophisticated estate plan is the creation of a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) or Family Limited Liability Company (FLLC). Basically, these entities allow grantors to get a discount on the assets that they contribute to the FLP or FLLC. That discount is based on a number of factors, but two of[...]
Two good posts coming from Leanna Hamill in Massachusetts and Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle in California on planning for children with special needs. Among the excellent suggestions are the following: Special Needs Trust - allowing parents, grandparents and guardians to provide funds for a special needs child without disrupting eligibility for government aid. Exploring the[...]
This post is important enough that I might run a variation of it every month for year. Let me spoil the surprise and give you the answer up front. You should have: A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care A Durable Power of Attorney for Finances A Living Will The first and second one[...]
The NC Estate Planning Blog, has a good list of 10 things you should do in 2007. I've tweaked them a bit here, but all of the credit goes to them for the post. Here are 10 things you can do in 2007 to keep your estate planning on the right track. 1) Last[...]
Here begins a blog for Jersey Estate Planning. This blog is maintained by the law offices of Medina, Martinez & Castroll, LLC, located in Pennington, New Jersey. For contact information, go to our website and fill out the contact form. We will contact you within one business day. For faster service, call us. Lots more[...]