Category: Trust vs. Will

N.J. Passes New E-Notary Bill & We Are Fully Prepared

On Wednesday, March 25th, the New Jersey legislature passed an emergency measure authorizing the use of e-notaries to execute documents like trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and deeds. While the law excludes using e-notaries to create a Last Will & Testament, our office has consistently advocated that trusts were superior planning vehicles for most[...]

Living Trust Versus a Will: Which One is Right for Me?

If you're just getting started with your New Jersey estate planning process, one of the most common questions you may encounter is whether or not you should have a living trust or a will. Both of these tools are very important for your estate planning portfolio. One of the most important things to remember is[...]

Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Estate Plan

The Wall Street Journal is running an ongoing series of expert op/eds on the subject of estate planning, and it makes for intriguing reading. One of last month’s entries came from investment guru Mike Piper, entitled “Estate Planning Is About More Than Estate Taxes.” Piper nails the Number One reason that most people don’t put[...]

The Bravery of Living With Parkinson’s Disease

The Bravery of Those Living With Parkinson’s Disease I am spectacularly unqualified to discuss Parkinson’s disease. I don’t have it myself, and there are no close family members of mine living with it. Even so, I’ve been witness to it more than most from my position as estate planning attorney. The disease intersects my life[...]

Elder Law Is…About Having Options

Elder Law is….About Having Options When people meet with me to discuss our elder law planning, they learn that my emphasis is on giving seniors options as they get older and their care needs increase - not necessarily qualifying for one benefit or another. Here is a fantastic article from the New York Times talking[...]

Breaking News: Victor Medina is a Geek

                            Those who know me, know that I'm a tremendous geek. One of the things I do for fun is put on a conference for lawyers who use Apple products to run their office and practice called MILOfest.  I also speak at[...]

Millenials And Their Milestones

I am decidedly old school. I full well admit that some of the concepts on the new generation are lost on me. A few years ago, I attended a meeting for an organization dealing with human resources. They discussed how managing “millenial” and “Gen Y” employees was different from the past — how this younger[...]

How to Survive Retirement

The concept of retiring is a strange one. Many people work their entire lives and are ready to stop working. However, there’s always a question about: What happens next? Over the weekend, I read two articles on retirement that I thought were pretty interesting. The first one from USA Today dealt with keeping busy in[...]

The Pros and Cons of a Revocable Trust

Like most estate planning devices, a revocable living trust is not right for every estate. A recent article discusses several of the pros and cons of creating a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust is a trust that a person establishes during their life with their own assets. The terms of the trust can[...]

Why Estate Plans Fail

A common misperception about estate planning is that it is a "set it and forget it" activity. Often listed as a to-do on a long checklist of prudent adult responsibilities, creating a Will or naming guardians is a task that tends to be postponed year-to-year until something happens that causes you to visit an estate[...]