last will and testament Tag

There’s a common misperception that putting all assets into joint names or “pay on death” format makes for easier estate administration if a person passes away. In fact, an estate needs cash to pay its taxes and bills. An Executor who is named in a Will to handle the administration only has authority to handle the assets that were in “probate format” —...

When the natural parent of a minor child dies, it is necessary for a guardian to be appointed. In New Jersey, the surviving parent has statutory priority to become the guardian. Sometimes there is no other parent. What happens? There is a race to the court house among the next of kin, and then litigation among the competing interested parties, who may be relatives on either side to this child,...

Countless times, clients have told me they just want things kept “simple” if they die. Yet they never signed any Last Will and Testament. Why? “too complicated.” I’ve had meetings with panicky children who are dealing with a health crisis or death of a parent, who have just learned that in mom or dad’s quest for “simplicity,” they had never...

Many times over the years, as we work on their estate planning, my senior clients have told me that they gave a substantial sum to one of their children to help them with a specific need. Perhaps it was to pay off debt, or buy a house, or start a business, or pay for college expenses for their own children. Whatever the reason, an important legal question comes up: “Was this a gift or a...