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Taxation & Estate Planning

New Jersey Estate & Elder Planning Blog

Thoughts and comments on Business, Estate and Elder Law
By Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, Esq.

Post Frequency: 0.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:46:55

Slow Medicine - A Different Approach to End of Life Care

Posted on May 06, 2008
Category: Elder LawA recent New York Times article "For the Elderly, Being Heard About Life?s End" describes the benefits of of "?slow medicine,? an approach that encourages less aggressive ? and less costly ? care at the end of life."There is an institutionalized bias to give any and all medical care...

Survey Says! Majority of Americans don't have Wills

Posted on May 05, 2008
Category: Estate PlanningIn looking for some statistical evidence of the extent to which Americans don't have an estate plan, I came across this Lexis-Nexis Press Release: Majority of American Adults Remain Without Wills, New lawyers.comSM Survey Finds...

Paid Family Leave now Law in NJ

Posted on May 02, 2008
Category: Elder Law, Business Law and PlanningHot from njbiz.com, Corzine Signs Paid Leave Bill in 'Legacy Moment' New Jersey's Governor Corzine today signed paid family leave into law. "Calling it a "legacy moment" and a "moral necessity," Gov. Jon S...

Tax Evasion - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

Posted on May 01, 2008
Category: Tax Law and PlanningActor Wesley Snipes has been given the maximum jail sentence of 3 years in federal prison for his failure to pay over $15 million in taxes. Snipes legal team essentially relied on the age old excuse of "but he said it was OK" in trying to sway the judge that he shouldn't be held responsible for following some one's advise to just stop filing tax returns...

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Parsippany lawyer's practice a senior matter

Posted on April 28, 2008
Category: Elder LawElder law is pressing for seniors and their families. The biggest barrier to planning is lack of information. I was happy to do my part this past Sunday in the Daily Record article "Parsippany lawyer's practice a senior matter".Parsippany lawyer's practice a senior matterShe's one of 39 N...

Mandatory Arbitration May be Coming Out of Nursing Home Contracts

Posted on April 18, 2008
Category: Elder Law, Estate Planning, Estate and Inheritance Tax, Business Law and Planning, Tax Law and Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Financial Planning, Miscellaneous MusingsAs I have blogged before in Nursing Home Admission Contracts, Be Aware, Be Very Aware, a careful review of these contracts is a must...

Is your Life Insurance Rated due to Travel?

Posted on March 27, 2008
Category: Financial PlanningLife insurance companies are allowed to "rate" policies, i.e.: charge higher premiums, based on factors such as health or lifestyle. Up until yesterday, in New Jersey, one of those lifestyle factors was travel. However, Governor Corzine just signed legislation prohibited insures to rate policies based on travel...

Estate Tax in the Spotlight Again

Posted on March 26, 2008
Category: Estate and Inheritance TaxCongress is again considering a permanent modification to the federal estate tax.At present, US residents have a $2 million exemption from federal estate tax. That exemption is scheduled to increase to $3.5 million in 2009...

Enticing the "elderly" to turn in their driver's licenses?

Posted on March 19, 2008
Category: Elder Law, Miscellaneous MusingsWe all complain about other drivers, particularly here in New Jersey where we probably have the most awful traffic, road conditions and convoluted traffic patterns (we can't just turn left - we have a lovely invention called jug-handles instead) in the country...

Seniors - File a Tax Return with "Stimulus Payment" at the Top to get your Rebate

Posted on March 13, 2008
Category: Tax Law and PlanningDailyrecord.com tells Seniors about the Tax Rebate: "Get this straight: If you can pick up an easy $300 or more by summer, it's worth the trouble."As the Article illuminates, the problem with the tax rebate ($300 for singles, and $600 for couples) is that to get the tax rebate you need to file a return...

Ledger's will leaves nothing to daughter - Parental Responsibility to Prepare a Will?

Posted on March 10, 2008
Category: Estate PlanningWhile Heath Ledger's death may have been an accident, his failure to provide for his minor child is an example parental hubris I see all too often in parents of young children.Yahoo News reports that Ledger's will leaves nothing to daughter : "Heath Ledger's will leaves nothing to his former girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter because it was never updated after they became part of his life...

February Dubbed "Let's Review our Will Month"

Posted on February 28, 2008
I have dubbed February as "Let's Review our Will Month" and it is rapidly coming to an end. To help you and those in your network look at this critical document and determine if what the Will says continues to meet the maker's goals and needs, I have developed an Estate Plan Review Checklist...

Economic Stimulus Package now Law

Posted on February 13, 2008
Category: Tax Law and PlanningPresident Bush signed the new Economic Stimulus Package into law today. For an excellent and detailed summary look to CCH 2008 Tax Alert.Some quick hallmarks:Tax Rebates for induvidual taxpayers with incomes less than $87,000/$174,000: At least $300 to almost everyone earning a paycheck, including low-income earners...

Estate Planning - Men v. Women (these are the jokes)

Posted on February 01, 2008
Category: Miscellaneous MusingsA totally non-serious estate planning tale, but good for a chuckle....Estate PlanningDan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune...

How Long Should you be keeping Financial Documents

Posted on January 15, 2008
Category:Tax Law and Planning, Financial PlanningI met with a client yesterday to go through decades of files to answer the question of "what papers do I still need to keep?" This seems to come up often around tax time, so much so that the question was posted on Yahoo Answers today...

Key NJ Medicaid Figures - Starting 2008

Posted on January 08, 2008
Category: Elder LawIn starting 2008, some key Medicaid figures for New Jersey:Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance - $20,880.00Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance - $104,400.00Resource Allowance for an Individual - $2,000.00Resource Allowance for a Couple (both husband and wife in a nursing home) - $3,000...

Your Estate is Going to the Dogs

Posted on December 30, 2007
Category: Estate PlanningThis news story about estate planning for pets is not as rare as you might think. For many people, the care of their beloved pets is a primary concern should they become ill or pass away.3 Md. dogs enjoy $800,000 inheritance - Yahoo! News: "The dogs ? named Buckshot, Katie and Obu-Jet ? inherited $400,000 and a house in Hagerstown with the death last year of owner Ken Kemper...

Whats missing from the Candiates Quick Fixes for the tax code?

Posted on December 27, 2007
Category: Tax Law and PlanningOp Ed pieces about taxation are usually so "Opinion" and so "Editorial" that they might better be called infomercials for a better tax system. So, when I stumble on a piece that is equally critical of all of the candidates vying for the Oval Office in 08, I stop to take a look...

Good - Avoiding AMT; Bad - Waiting for your Tax Refund

Posted on December 21, 2007
Category: Tax Law and PlanningAs with all things dealing with tax law, when the government giveth, it also takes away. Per USATODAY.com - Tax change may mean delay in refunds : "More than 20 million taxpayers will escape the alternative minimum tax this year, thanks to a stopgap measure Congress approved Wednesday...

3 New Years Resolutions for the Small Business Owner

Posted on December 19, 2007
Category: Business Law and Planning,I am always in favor of lawyers who can speak English instead of Legalease - here is a 1-2-3 New Years Resolutions for Small Business owners, courtesy of Jean D. Sifleet, Esq. I added some emphasis here and there for some points to really take to heart...

In NJ Continuing Care Retiremetn Communities must have a Resident on Board

Posted on November 05, 2007
Category: Elder LawUnder newly enacted S-425/A-3989, New Jersey's 27 Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) must now have at least one resident of the CCRC on their governing board. In addition the CCRC is required to discuss certain items, including the financial condition of the CCRC, with the governing body, as well as with the residents themselves at least quarterly...

Do your heirs a big favor: Choose IRA (and other) beneficiaries

Posted on October 22, 2007
Category: Estate PlanningWhile I have blogged on this idea before (Retirement Accounts and Beneficiary Designations - Myths and Misconceptions ), the intro to this article Do your heirs a big favor: Choose IRA beneficiaries reminds me of what we commonly see at the death of the second spouse - the Will had provided for contingencies, so no new estate planning was done...

Death and taxes - A British Perspective

Posted on October 11, 2007
Category: Estate and Inheritance TaxAs the Estate Tax Debate is likely to heat up as we head into the 2008 election season, I found the below articleNew Statesman - Death and Taxes from British political philosopher Martin O?Neill debating Great Britain's Inheritance Tax (which is structured similarly to our federal estate tax) excellent reading and very enlightening...

When do I need to look at my Wills again?

Posted on October 08, 2007
Category: Estate PlanningCongratulations! Unlike the vast majority of Americans, you have a Last Will and Testament. You have created an appropriate distribution scheme to take into account your family, assets, and goals. Now what?To continue to fit your needs, a Last Will and Testament, and indeed your entire Estate Plan, need to evolve over time...

Long Term Care Insurance Premiums on the Rise

Posted on October 02, 2007
Category: Elder Law, Financial PlanningJust like in the mortgage market where making mortgages too cheap in years past is making them more expensive today, the Long Term Care insurance market is in the midst of an upward adjustment. While many people may think that Long Term Care insurance is expensive, having to pay out of pocket for long term care is much more so ($100k - $120k a year is not unusual in northern NJ)...

Do the Presidential Candidates think like you do?

Posted on September 26, 2007
Category: Miscellaneous MusingsMuch of what I blog about here is subject to the whims of Congress and the President, particularly in the area of Taxation and Elder Law. One of the greatest things about our country is that we have the opportunity every 4 years to say who should be the President who will represent us...

The Presidential Candidates on Taxes - A look at what might be

Posted on September 19, 2007
Category: Tax Law and Planning,A look at positions of some of the 2008 presidential candidates on taxes. Note that there is no real secret to tax laws - its like dieting where you eat less and exercise more to lose weight. Either spend less and to tax less, or tax more to spend more...

Family Contracts to Make Siblings Get Along for the Care of Aging Parents

Posted on September 17, 2007
Category: Elder LawOne of the biggest issues an Elder Law attorney faces is not how to plan for their elderly clients to reach their goals, but how to implement the plan with the dynamics of the family. Gender equalization not-withstanding, daughters (and daughters-in-law) bear most of the brunt of caregiving...

Credit Crunch and the Mortgage Industry - How did this happen?

Posted on September 07, 2007
Category: Financial PlanningCourtesy of Valerie & Carolyn Messina at Millenia Mortgage (973-575-5557) an excellent summary, in plain English, about how we got to where we are in the mortgage industry today. They take us back 8 years so the lightbulb will go off about how the mortgage industry created the credit crunch of today...

House Bill to Modify Estate Tax

Posted on September 04, 2007
Category: Estate and Inheritance TaxCourtesy of Elderlawanswers.com, the House has introduced a bill to modify the federal estate tax as follows:With the estate tax set to expire in 2010, a bipartisan bill (H.R. 3170, click here. ) has been introduced in the U...

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