A Celebrity Estate Plan Lesson (Part 1)
Over the years I have written a number of blog posts about the reasons everyone should have a will and more specifically a formal one. Too many adults don’t and high profile celebrities are no different than the general population. I wrote 10 years ago about the litigation surrounding James Gandolfini’s estate
The Time and Expense of Having No Will
People will sometimes ask me why they need a will if they don’t have any probate assets. This might be because they believe everything is owned jointly with right of survivorship or because they own nothing. It usually turns out, however, that they do own something. It might be a car that is
Real Estate Tax Problem – Part 3
In this third post of three, I go back to the problem caused by the death of an owner of real estate and the subsequent deaths of the next two people who were to inherit that property. As I explained last week, A died in 1994 and her interest in
Real Estate Tax Problem – Part 2
In my post last week I began to tell you about a real estate sale that we were asked to help finalize because the deceased owner’s estate administration process had never been completed. Actually, the person who inherited ownership had also died as did the person who inherited it from that
Real Estate Tax Problem – Part 1
I wrote two posts last November about a common problem we see. A real estate transaction is about to close when someone - usually the title company - determines that no one has been appointed as administrator or executor with authority to sign the closing documents on behalf of the deceased
Real Estate Sale After Death (Part 2)
In my blog post last week, I told you about a number of cases in our office in which we were contacted to help with a real estate closing that was delayed at the last minute. Shortly before the closing it was discovered that the person who signed the real estate
Real Estate Sale After Death (Part 1)
Real Estate Sale After Death (Part 1) In recent months we have had a number of calls coming to our office with the following problem. The caller explains that he or she is attempting to sell a home owned by another family member. A buyer is found but then shortly before the closing
Unintended Consequences – Part 2
In my post last week, I started to tell you about an interesting estate administration case involving an heir who had legally adopted the decedent a number of years before the decedent died. This was an adult adoption in which the adopted parent was only 10 years older than the adopted
Unintended Consequences (Part 1)
In this week’s post I’ll tell you about an interesting issue that came to our office involving an estate administration matter. The decedent left a portion of his estate to his friend. What I also learned is that the friend who was 10 or so years older than the decedent, legally adopted
The Executor who is Neither a Resident nor a Citizen (Part 2)
My post last week was about a call we received from someone named as executor in a sibling’s will. While the decedent was a New Jersey resident and U.S. citizen, the executor was not. As I explained last week, there is no New Jersey statute or rule requiring it, however, there are