Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 2
In last week’s post I referred to a recent case in our office in which an administrator ad prosequendum was needed with respect to an estate whose only potential asset was a legal claim for damages resulting from a wrongful death. Not knowing how much might be recovered and there being
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 1
We recently received a call from a personal injury attorney in need of help.  The attorney had pursued a wrongful death claim on behalf of the children of their father who died in motor vehicle accident.  Their father had no  assets at the time of his death and in fact was a Medicaid
Changing Distributions After Death – Part 3
In my last two posts I have been talking about the challenge of redistributing an inheritance after death. Many people assume that they are free to accept the sum bequeathed to them or not and that is absolutely true. But as I explained last week, there are tax ramifications, specifically gift
Changing Distributions After Death – Part 1
Often when we have an estate administration matter, the will being probated is an old one.  In some cases the person never actually executed a will although he or she may have communicated to family members his/her wishes with regard to the distribution of assets.  In other cases the family members agree
The Importance of Updating Your Will – Part 2
In last week’s post, I talked about two recent estate administration cases in our office.  In each instance the decedent left a will but no living executor was available to serve. In the first case, the two children who inherited the estate equally were not named because at the time the will
Binding Arbitration and Admissions Agreements – Part 2
In last week’s post I wrote about a New Jersey Appellate Division case that was handed down a couple of weeks ago concerning an arbitration clause in an assisted living facility contract.  I explained that there is a federal law that favors and encourages arbitration but there is also a New
Why a Will is so Important in a Second Marriage – Part 2
In my post last week I began telling you about Mary’s call.  Her husband, John passed away without a will so for the probate assets - those held by John individually with no co-owner and no beneficiary upon death - New Jersey’s intestacy laws would control. As I explained last week, these
What If I Can’t Find the Original Will – Part 1
We all know the statistics. 110,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19 and climbing. Our office has received more calls in the last 3 months regarding the need for estate administration than at any time that I can recall in the past 25 years. In many instances the decedent (the person who
A Do It Yourself Will Gone Bad – Part 1
I recent call I received from Mary illustrates the risks of do it yourself estate planning. In this case Mary and john, her husband prepared their wills using Quicken’s Willmaker software which can be purchased online for less than $100. It couldn’t be easier, right? Hiring an estate planning attorney could cost several hundred to a
Is it Still Possible to Probate a Will?
Last week, I heard the statistic reported that the number of Covid-19 related deaths has now exceeded the number of people who died in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, of course, spanned 11 years while the current pandemic has been ongoing for a few months at this point. The compressed