Who is Responsible for Administering My Trust or Will in New Jersey?

The administration of a trust and will likely fall to two different people in New Jersey, depending on how your estate plan is structured. The executor that you name in your will is responsible for carrying out those instructions inside your will. A trustee, however, plays a similar role, but typically until all assets inside the trust have been distributed to beneficiaries.

This means that a trustee might serve in their role for a much longer period of time. A child, financial institution, friend, family member, or other professional could also be named as co-trustee or co-executor. While both the titles of trustee and executor might sound relatively simple, these are substantial responsibilities, and it is important for the person who has been chosen to serve in these roles to understand this position and to feel comfortable serving in this role on an ongoing basis.

A trustee, in particular, is especially important because they are usually given some discretion over trust funds and when distributions should be made to beneficiaries. Only a trusted individual should serve in this role and someone who is comfortable communicating with any and all of the beneficiaries on your estate. The support of an experienced and knowledgeable estate planning lawyer can help to create a strategy to encompass the appointment of an executor, as well as a trustee.

Contact an experienced New Jersey estate planning lawyer for further support as you create these documents and name the important people to serve in these roles.

What To Know About Leaving Funeral Instructions

It might initially make sense to you that leaving behind instructions for your loved ones when it comes to your funeral plans with your will is an easy way to keep like-minded papers together. However, in the heat of the moment it is unlikely that your loved ones will be able to find this important information with the short period of time they have to make funeral decisions. 

This makes it very important for you to document these plans in advance, or even better, to invest in them and make sure that your loved ones know where to find these details. One of the main reasons this could be a problem for your estate planning purposes is that wills are often not even read or found until days or weeks after a death.

This is too late to be of important help to those family members who must make critical decisions about the disposition of a body as well as scheduling memorial or funeral services. You might want to make a separate document laying out your wishes and whether or not you have made any investments or plans already in your funeral plans.

This will make it easier for your loved ones to get access to this critical information sooner rather than later. You can document more long term and comprehensive estate planning strategies with the help of an experienced and dedicated estate planning lawyer. This will help you avoid many of the most common problems that many people face and allow you to incorporate your individual intentions in a plan for the future.

Most Americans Today Have an Estate Plan That Is Outdated; is Yours?

When is the last time you really sat down and reviewed your estate plan? It’s probably been awhile. If anything has changed in your life since the last time you made this plan, now is a great time to review. Whether you’ve adopted, had grandchildren, had a change in marital status, or simply accumulated more possessions, you need a plan.

Most people have not updated their estate plan recently and may not have even considered some of the important questions about what would happen to them, their medical care, their children or their property if something happens to them. If you are unable to make decisions at a future point in time, you may need those estate planning documents to be in place for your family members to make important and quick decisions.

Many people get overwhelmed by estate planning or assume they don’t need it and these are big mistakes that could block you from getting the important benefits of the estate planning process. It’s a good idea to instead consult with a knowledgeable lawyer to discuss the opportunities available with estate planning. You can start by writing down what is most important to you and if you have any specific requests around what you want to happen to certain pieces of property.

Likewise, if you and your spouse can agree on who would be responsible for taking care of your minor children, it is vital to document this in at least a basic will. The support of a lawyer can go a long way for answering many of your most common questions and helping you to understand the next steps available to you. If you haven’t updated your plans in several years, it is now the perfect opportunity to schedule a consultation. If you’ve never created a plan at all, there is no time like the present. Reach out to a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer today to learn more.

 

Have You Thought Through Your Final Arrangements and Documented it for Your Next of Kin?

One of the hardest parts of dealing with the loss of a loved is being asked to make decisions and make financial commitments about final arrangements. Unfortunately, however, this is also one of the first decisions that comes up when a loved one passes away. You can minimize the possibility of challenges with this by having a consultation with an estate planning attorney well in advance and talking through your options.

The support of a lawyer can help you to clarify your wishes when it comes to final arrangements and you can make things much easier for your loved ones during this challenging time to be able to act quickly and follow through on those wishes that you have. The endless options can be overwhelming to confront when dealing with the loss of a loved so by putting this in writing and making it easy for your loved ones to find after you pass away, you won’t leave your family to guess.

You can create a declaration of disposition of last remains to help give these important instructions to your family members quickly. This is very important if cremation is desired because otherwise some funeral homes or next of kin might have to petition the county’s district court for permission to cremate remains depending on your location. You can make this much easier on your family by giving them exact instructions so that they do not have to deal with the additional confusion.

What Is Proving a Will?

There are many different terms you may hear in connection with the estate planning process and one of these is proving a will. This means that a witness to the will itself gives testimony to a state government official that they indeed did see the signing of the will. This might be done with the clerk of the probate court, the clerk of the surrogate’s court or the register of wills.

It can be difficult to locate witnesses if the original will was signed many years ago. This is because that person may no longer be able to give testimony, might have moved away or be deceased. The will can be accepted without being proved in some states if all interested heirs and parties give consent. If the witnesses are not available in other states, the will can be proved by the testimony of two persons who did not witness the will signing directly but can identify the decedent’s signature. These people are known as non-subscribing witnesses.

When thinking about getting witnesses to see the signing of your will, make sure you think carefully about people who will be relatively easy to locate in the event that something happens to you sooner rather than later. For more information about creating your own estate plan, schedule a consultation with an estate planning lawyer today.

What Not to Include When Writing a Will

Your will is the most basic component of your estate plan, but it doesn’t cover all your primary needs. In this official legal document, you can state a lot of things about your intentions, such as who you intend to take over as the executor of your estate and who you’d like to have the responsibility of caring for your minor children if something happens to you.

But it’s a mistake to assume that your will encompasses every aspect of your planning. Leaving your will as the only document might not accomplish all the goals you intended, leaving your loved ones to handle the rest.

Many things pass to loved ones or intended organizations outside of your will. Some do this by default based on the ownership of those assets at the time, but others will require you to fill out additional paperwork. This includes your IRA or your life insurance policy, where you’ll need to direct the managers of those accounts how to handle the transfer of your assets or funds.

In addition to those accounts, there are other things your will cannot accomplish, such as:

  • Adding privacy to your estate plan. A will is public record in your state, so other people can legally request access to that documentation and see what’s in your estate.
  • Pass on property designated as joint with right of survivorship. This will automatically go to the joint owner when you pass away.
  • Pass on property that technically belongs to a living trust. The trust and the trustee are responsible for adhering to the terms of the created trust in these circumstances.

If you have more questions about what a will can do and cannot do, run these questions by an experienced estate planner today.

Defining Testamentary Capacity

One of the most common reasons for a will contest are claims about testamentary capacity. These are usually brought by heirs who allege that the person who created the will did not have testamentary capacity to create that document. If this challenge is successful in court, the will is deemed invalid.

Capacity is a general term and one that is not subject to a precise definition, but generally refers to someone not being in a sound mind to understand their estate planning documents or decisions. In these cases, documents executed by a person in this state are not valid. 

Multiple factors might be explored to determine whether or not a person is of sound mind at the time they executed their will. This can include information from the doctor regarding the testator’s mental state at that point in time, whether or not the testator understands the nature and extent of the property they own and whether or not the testator understands the ordinary affairs of life. It falls to the person who is alleging that the creator did not have testamentary capacity to illustrate this in court. 

This makes it all the more important to ensure that when crafting your own estate planning documents, you have the support of an experienced estate planning attorney. An estate planning lawyer can help you consider the many different elements that go into crafting your estate plan and special steps that you can take to help minimize the chances that your loved ones will file a will contest after you pass away.       

 

What Are the Requirements for Signing a Will in New Jersey?

Many people have different conceptions about what is required to create a will. Mistakes made in the will creation or signing process can prove problematic for your loved ones so it’s important to educate yourself first and to schedule a consultation with a trusted estate planning lawyer.

Although you do not need an attorney to create a New Jersey will, you might want to speak with an attorney if you are concerned about taking specific steps like disinheriting someone or you are worried about family members contesting your will. The basic requirements for signing a will in New Jersey include:

  • This document must be signed in front of two witnesses and,
  • Per New Jersey statutes 3(b):3-2, the witnesses must sign the will within a reasonable time after the testator has created or acknowledged it.

You are not required to notarize your will to make it legal. New Jersey does, however, allow you to make your will self-proving and you will need to obtain a notary in the event that you wish to do that.

If you want your will to be a self-proving will, since it might speed up probate and the court is eligible to accept the will without contacting the signature witnesses, you and your witnesses will need to go to a notary and sign an affidavit that states who each of you are and that you all knew that you were signing a will.

 

How Can I Change My New Jersey Will?

Have you had significant changes in your life circumstances that are making you rethink your existing estate planning documents? You are not alone. There are many different reasons why you might contemplate updating your New Jersey will.

In any of these cases, make sure you set aside time to speak to an experienced estate planning lawyer in New Jersey about your options. You may want to make changes to your will if:

  • You’ve adopted a child or had a child since you first created your documents.
  • You’ve gotten divorced or married since initially creating this will.
  • A personal representative or trustee passes away before you.
  • You have acquired a property that you wish to pass in a very particular manner rather than inside the terms of your will.

The process matters when you make updates to your will. Unfortunately, many people believe they can informally change their document by doing things like marking up an existing will or including an additional note, but these attempts are often unsuccessful. You have two options to update your will in New Jersey. The first of these is writing a new document and the second is adding an amendment to the will. If you are changing numerous terms inside the will, it is recommended that you create a new one to replace that older document. An amendment is used when you want to make a relatively straightforward change to a will. Your estate planning attorney can be the first one to help you update or revoke your will.

A knowledgeable New Jersey estate planning attorney can talk to you about whether an amendment or a freshly drafted will is the most appropriate way to view this situation. Schedule a consultation today with a New Jersey estate planning lawyer.

 

Is it safe to Create Online Will

An online will makes it simple to be under the impression that you can complete all of your estate planning in a matter of just a few hours and be completely protected if something happens to you. However, as any estate planning lawyer can tell you, review of hundreds of estate planning documents that have been created in a variety of ways can show some of the gaps in creating an online will. 

You don’t want your loved ones to find out that you made estate planning mistakes, which is why it is recommended that you think carefully about whether or not an online will service is right for you. 

What seems like a minor mistake, omission or wrong term used in an online will created document could become very problematic for your loved ones who will be on the receiving end of all of these problems when you pass away. While attorneys might be on staff for online will creation services, you might need specific help to create your personal documents. 

This includes thinking about your individual goals, your beneficiaries, your assets and the tax implications of all the choices that you make. The support of an experienced estate planning lawyer can guide you through this process and ensure that you have considered all of the most important aspects of drafting your own will. 

While some people might be able to use an online will service to get started or cover their basic estates, the risks of making a mistake could be costly for your loved ones. 

The support of an attorney is instrumental in answering these key questions and giving you peace of mind that when something happens to you, your loved ones will be able to have a clear path towards resolving your estate. Think about both incapacity planning and planning for your assets after you pass away by leveraging the services of an estate planning lawyer.       

How to Get Your Will Done Quickly

The pandemic has opened many people’s eyes to how unexpected health circumstances can change the scope of the foreseeable future for you and your family members. If you’ve been putting off creating a will, here are a couple of tips to finally get that important document done. First of all, think about who you are doing it for.

Yes, your will is your document determining you will pass on assets but it’s really your beneficiaries or your heirs who will ultimately benefit from the work you do in creating it. You are potentially saving your beneficiaries from expensive costs and delays of hiring a lawyer after the fact to try to sort out your estate. Even many people who have procrastinated on their estate planning can see the positive benefits of thinking about how it could serve your loved ones better in the future. If you’re finding yourself demotivated to approach it on your own, think about helping your family. Another way to jump into the act of creating your will is to visualize what might happen without it.

Thinking about worst-case scenarios can spur some people into action. Without an estate plan your family could wind up in court determining who takes care of your minor children. Furthermore, state law will determine who inherits your belongings and the distribution might not be the way that you intended for it to look. Avoiding these common challenges are big reasons why it is beneficial to schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney.

Creating a will doesn’t have to be difficult or take a long time. Make sure that you have a list of all of your assets to the best of your knowledge before sitting down with your estate planning lawyer to talk through some of the aspects of creating your will.

An easy way to hold yourself accountable is to just set up a meeting with a lawyer. This step alone gives you a chance to get it on your calendar and off of a revolving to do list.

What Are the Downsides of Challenging a Will?

It might seem like an initial gut reaction to challenge a will that you don’t believe is in line with what a parent or other relative had told you prior to passing away. It is important to realize that there are circumstances in which you are legally eligible to challenge a will but this is not necessarily the same thing as knowing when it is appropriate to challenge a will. You could risk spending a lot of time and money for the result of being completely disinherited depending on the terms inside that will.

You may be eligible to challenge the will of a deceased person but the outcome of this case could be very uncertain. First of all, you must have a basis for the challenge.

You must show that there was something wrong about the conditions under which the will was made or something wrong with the will itself. For example, you might argue that the will doesn’t meet formal requirements, that the will maker created it under suspicious conditions or that the will maker didn’t have the legal capacity to create a will. You could argue undue influence, fraud or mistake, lack of capacity or a flaw in document requirements.

Challenges are handled in probate and each state has unique laws about the procedures for a will challenge and these can even vary from one county to another. If you challenge a will that contains a section known as a no contest clause, you could risk losing any inheritance that would have otherwise been available to you through the will.

Plenty of wills contain such a no contest clause which means that anyone who attempts to file a will challenge could be completely disinherited. Schedule a consultation with an estate planning lawyer if you are curious about adding a no-contest clause to your own will.

 

Does A Will Oversee the Distribution of All of Your Assets?

Are you thinking about using a will? It is one of the most important estate planning tools and yet is also one that is frequently overlooked by people who could benefit from a will and other estate planning strategies. One of the biggest myths about estate planning is that a will oversees the distribution of each one of your individual assets.

Estate Planning – Businesswoman hand pressing button on touch screen interface. Business, technology, internet concept. Stock Photo

A will allows you to establish how your belongings should be distributed. Whether it’s family heirlooms, a vehicle or something else, wills do have limitations, however. The will has control over the assets that are in the person’s individual name alone. If an owner has joint accounts or accounts listed with beneficiaries on them, the will has no controlling power over these accounts. This is a lesson that many people have had to learn the hard way when their loved ones expected to receive benefits outlined for them in the will but instead, these materials were passed on according to the beneficiary designation forms filed directly with appropriate companies.

Many different types of companies and accounts do use beneficiary designations that override what is established in the original will. These include retirement accounts, certain types of brokerage accounts and life insurance policies. A regular review of the beneficiary designations on these policies is helpful for figuring out whether they are outdated or include a former spouse. Since the only information that those companies have to pass on your assets are in the form of beneficiary designations, you must protect yourself by regular review of these materials.

Furthermore, you’ll want to establish a primary as well as a contingent beneficiary. The biggest reason for doing this is because if something happens to your primary beneficiary, you will want someone else to be able to receive those assets quickly and effectively.

What Happens to Basic Wills/Trusts After I Pass Away?

Basic trusts and wills are value estate planning tools that essentially assure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes after you pass away.  If you do not have estate planning documents like this in place, you could make mistakes that could leave your heirs paying the price. 

This also increases the chances that your heirs may argue about who has a rightful claim over the property included in your estate, and you are essentially handing over the opportunity to make decisions about these issues to the state.  

The state may not come to a conclusion about what is in your best interest or the — what is in your beneficiaries best interest or what you might have listed yourself. Properly written trusts and wills go a long way towards articulating your individual goals and giving you a clear path going forward. If you do not have an experienced estate planning attorney to help you with these various documents, you could be exposed to a number of different challenges.  

Properly written trusts and wills should be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure these strategies are still in line with your individual needs. The support of an extended planning attorney during this time is extremely valuable for identifying possible problems.

Why Do Wills Need to Be Recorded?

 

You may not need to necessarily record a trust although an important component of your trust strategy is to fund it after you have put it together. Far too many people stop after the establishment of a trust and fail to follow through with the funding. There are many different estate planning concepts included in the answer to the question about why a will needs to be recorded or filed. When you leave a will, you leave a clear set of instructions that help to determine how your property is distributed to your heirs after you pass away. estate plan and legacy

Someone must have the authority to transfer this property and this authority is granted by a court after the will is appropriately filed. The process of presenting the official will triggers the beginning of the probate process. A trust, however, is an entity that is generated when a trustee and a settlor enter into a trust agreement. A person who does not control the trust may have more challenges than a person who establishes themselves as a key player in the trust. Although you can’t touch or see a trust as you would a printed will, this is a legally recognizable entity that contains some distribution instructions after you pass away.

However, the court does not have the authority to grant the settlor’s final instructions included in a trust. This is a major departure from a will. Since the trust can survive the settlor and the trustee is granted the authority in such an agreement under state law, no court involvement may be required. Schedule a consultation today with an experienced estate planning attorney to learn more about your options with regard to estate planning.

Should Married Couples Have Separate Wills?

 

You and your spouse might have the same intentions for your future estate planning, but there’s plenty of good reason to set aside your own will for the purpose of protecting your loved ones. You need to ensure you have the right documents to protect your interests and plans. hire a lawyer in NJ for your individual will

When putting together a will for a husband and a wife, your estate planning attorney will probably recommend that each person has their own will. Although a married couple may reference a will as a joint document, the word will in the New Jersey probate code is usually used in the singular tense to refer to the last will and testament of a woman or a man. Establishing an individual will is extremely important particularly as your life circumstances change.

Although there is history for joint wills in New Jersey, it is not entirely clear how this would work unless both parties passed away the same time, such as in an accident. Because of this, you may wish to articulate similar goals as your spouse in your own individual will but it is powerful and preferred that you have your own estate planning document. You and your spouse can sit down and discuss the goals that you intend to accomplish and putting together a last will and testament together.

Is My Will a Shield Against Probate?

There are so many different myths out there surrounding the process of estate planning that it is often too late after someone realizes that a mistake has been made. You may have experienced a loved one who has passed away and left inadequate estate planning instructions. These can be catastrophic and extremely difficult emotionally for family members to handle in the wake of grief. planning with a will

For this reason, you need to engage in the process of estate planning early and update your estate plan on a regular basis. One common mistake that people make is thinking of their will as their only tool and shield against probate. Many people are under the impression that if they have a will that they do not need to go through the court system or probate.

Revocable living trusts are a tool that enable you to avoid probate; however, the revocable trust is not effective unless your assets are retitled into the trust name. If you hold the assets in your name alone without a beneficiary designation then the assets are distributed in accordance with the terms of your will.

Before any assets can be collected or distributed with the help of your executor, you have to go through the court system and probate. You may be able to express who is eligible to receive what in your will but this situation could still end up in the courts determining the distribution of assets. It is much better to engage in the process of estate planning now by scheduling a consultation with an attorney who can walk you through the pros and cons of various tools and ensure that the strategies you select are in line with your personal needs and wishes for the future.

What Are the Primary Purposes of a Will?

As the most basic of estate planning documents, most people will benefit from a will. There are a number of different goals that can be accomplished by establishing this tool and it may become the sole component of your estate plan or it may work in conjunction with other tools and strategies. First of all, your will provides for the direction of distributing your assets to beneficiaries in the family after you pass away. An attorney can be utilized to customize its provisions. 

You are also enabled to appoint a personal representative to account for your liabilities, taxes, final expenses, and assets as well as distributing your remaining assets. A will is the only way to designate guardians for your minor children. If something happens to you, a judge may still have to approve this appointment but you will have articulated your wishes. If there are any minor children, you might also establish a trust to manage assets for them in conjunction with the will. A will has to be filed in probate court in order to remain effective. This is the judicial probate as your judicial process for managing the assets to transfer them effectively if you pass away or for managing assets if you are incapacitated.

A court is responsible for overseeing the distribution of assets and payment of liabilities. Typically, an executor will need to employ an attorney. Although your will is an important component of your overall estate plan, it is not the only tool that you may wish to use. Your unique circumstances will dictate what you need to use in order to accomplish your estate planning goals and scheduling a consultation today with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney is the only way to have the peace of mind that someone is working on your behalf and that you have the appropriate tools to help you if you become incapacitated or suddenly pass away.

 

You Need to Ensure That Your Estate Plan is Accessible

Doing all of the necessary work to put your things in order and to ensure that you have carefully considered all of the different tools and strategies that can be used to accomplish your estate planning goals is only a piece of the puzzle. It is equally important to consider the many different tools and how you will be able to share these with your loved ones. If something were to happen to you unexpectedly, would your family members know where to locate the necessary information? find a safe place to store your will

For most people, the answer is no. While many people understand the value of putting together an estate plan and ensuring that it is in a safe location such as a safe deposit box, it is common for individuals to put these items in a safe place and then to forget where that safe location is. While you’re assuming that you may never do that, unfortunately, many different estate planning attorneys can share their experience of digging through old boxes and storage looking for a copy of a living will or a power of attorney for people who would have said the same thing. In a case where a client only executes one copy of a will, it should also be copied and stored in several safe locations.

Furthermore, your family members must know where to access these details if something were to happen to you unexpectedly. No one anticipates being in the position of having to put together estate planning documents, however, articulating these in a safe deposit box in a safe location within your home such as a safe that is protected from fire and in your attorney’s office gives your loved ones the necessary materials to take action as soon as possible if something were to happen to you unexpectedly.

 

 

The Dangers of an ‘I Love You’ Will

In the event that you want to ensure that your spouse gets access to your wealth after your death, this may be referred to as an ‘I love you’ will. In this situation your spouse will receive the assets outright and it will initially appear as if those assets will be handled according to the spouse’s current estate plan when he or she passes away.

 

However, that surviving spouse could alter their estate plan at any time. That means that any verbal agreements about what will happen with those assets could disappear immediately.

 

There are several other negative aspects of ‘I love you’ wills that should prompt you to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney about other strategies. These include:

  •       These wills will still have to go through the probate process.
  •       Basic planning could mean very little or no asset protection.
  •       Basic plans put more assets into survivor’s estate, possibly leading to increased taxes.
  •       Inadvertent disinheritance can occur.
  •       Conservatorship or guardianship involvement may be necessary.

 

A lifetime beneficiary trust is a better option than outright inheritance because it avoids all of the disadvantages associated with ‘I love you’ wills.
Your New Jersey estate planning lawyer can help you with this process.