On June 12, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision holding that Inherited Individual Retirement Accounts (Inherited IRAs) are not exempt from creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding. In Clark v. Rameker, Trustee, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing the majority opinion, stated that the change in the status of such accounts upon the death of […]
Choosing the Right Fiduciary Arguably, the single most important task for parents who are planning for the care of a child with special needs after their passing is to ensure that they pick the right trustee to manage the trust established on behalf of such child. The temptation is to make a sentimental choice of […]
For the Children Parents who have a child with special needs often undertake estate planning to insure that any inheritance left for that child will be preserved for his or her benefit. Proper planning will preserve eligibility for needs based government programs such as SSI and Medicaid while allowing the child’s inheritance to flow into […]
Part One: For Parents Drew and Libby have two children, Becca and Corky. Corky has Down’s Syndrome. Although he is on the high end of moderate functioning, he won’t be able to handle more than a minimum-wage job. Outside of being able to purchase small items at convenience stores, he has little understanding about financial […]
Joint Tenancy With a Right of Survivorship (JTWROS) is a manner by which many of us hold bank and other financial accounts with others. It is a traditional method of account ownership that has many benefits. It commonly reflects the unity between spouses. It avoids probate when one party dies. It can be used for […]
Historically, individuals who have invested in IRAs have had the ability to roll over each IRA on an annual basis. Known as the one-rollover-per-year, the IRS’ own Publication 590 has detailed that each individual IRA can be rolled over once in any twelve month period. However, that has just changed. In 2008, Alvan Bobrow rolled […]
On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a drug overdose at the age of 46. He was an Academy Award winning actor who appeared in many productions on stage and screen. He was survived by his life partner, Mimi O’Donnell, and their three children, Cooper (10), Tallulah (7) and Willa (5). His estate […]
When someone serves as an executor, trustee, guardian or agent under a Power of Attorney, they are known as a fiduciary. By law, all fiduciaries must account for their actions. Over the years, this duty has often been ignored. However, there is an increasing trend in litigation to sue fiduciaries for alleged financial abuse. Many […]
A Buy/Sell Agreement is the legal cornerstone for the successful transition of a closely held business. A formal Buy/Sell Agreement creates a market for each owner’s interest in a business in the event of his death, disability or retirement. In the absence of such an agreement the deceased business owner’s heirs may become unwelcome or […]
A commonly asked question in both estate planning and estate administration is “How much does the executor get paid?” In order to evaluate that question, three issues need to be addressed: (1) the statutory allowance for compensation, (2) the options in drafting compensation clauses in a Will, and (3) the effect of case law of […]
Closing the Estate 62 views | | posted on 07/16/2012 How Much Does it Pay to Be Executor? 21 views | | posted on 03/14/2014 Understanding New Jersey Death Taxes: Part I 8 views | | posted on 07/08/2014 The Types of Probate Administration 7 views | | posted on 07/17/2012 Who Gets the House? 4 views | | posted on 03/19/2015 
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