Camden NJ Probate & Estate Administration Law Blog

Estate planning is not always limited to the decisions of the asset holder. New Jersey residents who know they are in line to receive an inheritance may also have some work to do. When older relatives make it known that their furniture and other personal property will be left to the family, those heirs may have to help the asset holder decide how the items should be divided. And that division of assets may depend on more than just the likes and dislikes of the heirs. Often, the best first step for everyone involved is figuring out exactly what property will make up an inheritance.

A working inventory is a good place to start. This can be accomplished while the person who is giving the inheritance is still alive, and there are various software programs and websites that are designed to give assistance.

When Cherry Hill residents create their estate plans, it is often assumed that further changes are unnecessary. But as the years go by, it can be easy to forget exactly what the original documents contain. Major changes such as marital status, childbirth and death can affect estate planning, requiring proper adjustments to avoid future problems with probate.

Reviewing an estate plan is essential as life situations change, and a recent article notes five important steps for updating estate planning documents:

• completing a review of all paperwork
• determining one's family situation
• assessing the need for trusts and sub-trusts
• updating the schedule of assets
• accounting for the current estate tax laws

An issue of growing national interest involves the inheritance rights of children born after the death of a parent. This issue impacts a number of different areas of the law across the country, including the right of individuals to claim Social Security survivor benefits and the right to be declared heirs and beneficiaries in a variety of circumstances.

As far back as 2000, the state of New Jersey chimed in when a Superior Court decision addressed the legal right of children to inherit assets when they were conceived through in vitro fertilization but were actually born after the father had died from leukemia.

Estate planning can be a complicated process that often requires planners to stay abreast of changes to the law. For example, the current estate tax exemption for taxable estates and cumulative gifts is $5 million. At the beginning of next year, that amount is set to be reduced to $1 million. This will mean a significant change in the amount of tax a beneficiary is required to pay, and residents throughout New Jersey will want to revise their estate planning documents accordingly.

Estate planners in Camden County use certain estate planning techniques to reduce a tax burden for their beneficiaries. One technique is to make mega gifts. These gifts are given to a recipient while the giver is still alive and can potentially reduce the taxable estate of an individual at the time of death. However, new so-called "clawback" policies raise important issues concerning the use of this strategy.