NJ Laws
Email Newsletter E300 March 25, 2009
Kenneth
Vercammen, Attorney at Law
This is our 300 th
issue of the NJ Laws email newsletter!
We started in Spring, 1999. I look forward to continuing to provide
updates in law and providing advise to friends and clients.
1. Where
there’s No Will…..there is No Way….
2. Child Support continues after age 21 unless
formal Motion filed to terminate child support
3. Police could stop car based on call by
daughter that father was drunk
State
v. Amelio
4.
Summons Must Contain Specific Statute Charged. State v. Thulin
5.
Harassment Requires Purpose to Harass. State v. Otto
6. Upcoming events, car pools and networking
1. Where
there’s No Will…..there is No Way….
If you do not write a Will,
the State has already written one for you. Your assets go to whoever a state
law says receives the assets, or to the government itself! A Will should be a testimony to the
things you truly care about: your spouse, your children, your parents, your
friends, your Church and charities.
You can consider remembering your church or school.
If You Have
No Will:
Compiled By
Kenneth Vercammen, Esq.
If you leave no Will or your
Will is declared invalid because it was improperly prepared or is not
admissible to probate:
* State law determines who gets assets, not you
* Additional expenses will be incurred and extra work will be required
to qualify an administrator-Surety Bond, additional costs and legal fees
* Judge determines who gets custody of your children
* Possible additional State inheritance taxes and Federal estate taxes
* If you have no spouse or
close relatives the State may take your property
* The procedure to distribute assets becomes more complicated
* It may also cause fights
and lawsuits within your family
When loved ones are grieving
and dealing with death, they shouldn’t be overwhelmed with Financial
concerns.
Think- Who don’t you want to
receive your assets? Without a
Will, they could receive your assets and request custody of children.
Who is not the best choice to
raise your children, or safeguard your children's money for college? Do you want children, or
grandchildren, to get money when they turn 18? Will they invest money wisely, or go to Seaside and play
games?
A Will must not only be prepared within the legal
requirements of the New Jersey Statutes but should also be prepared so it
leaves no questions regarding your intentions.
WHY
PERIODIC REVIEW IS ESSENTIAL
Even if you have an
existing Will, there are many
events that occur which may necessitate changes in your Will. Some of these are:
* Marriage,
death, birth, divorce or separation affecting either you or anyone named in your Will
*
Significant changes in the value of your total assets or in any particular
assets which you own
* A change
in your domicile
* Death or
incapacity of a beneficiary, or death, incapacity or change in residence of a
named executor, trustee or guardian of infants, or of one of the witnesses to
the execution of the Will
* Annual
changes in tax law
* Changes
in who you like
MAY I
CHANGE MY CURRENT WILL?
Yes. A Will may be modified, added to, or
entirely changed at any time before your death provided you are mentally and
physically competent and desire to change your Will. You should consider revising your Will whenever there are
changes in the size of your estate. For example, when your children are young,
you may think it best to have a trust for them so they do not come into
absolute ownership of property
until they are mature. Beware, if
you draw lines through items, erase or write over, or add notations to the
original Will, it can be destroyed as a legal document. Either a new Will should be legally prepared
or a codicil signed to legally change
portions of the Will.
A
portion of your Will and Estate Planning can be deducted on your income tax
return when it deals with tax planning. Thus, part of the fee is tax deductible
for income tax purposes.
Call
prior to April 2 for a confidential consultation on Estate Planning prior to
April 15 tax day. We help clients avoid probate problems and efficiently
transfer assets to beneficiaries. We also help senior citizens to organize
their estates to achieve a secure retirement.
2. Child Support continues after age 21 unless
formal Motion filed to terminate child support
Child support is usually
determined through a formal court order. Child support orders, wage
withholding, and other Court Orders usually continue forever until a Superior
Court Judge signs a Formal Court Order modifying the prior Order. For example,
in child support issues, even if a divorce decree states support ends when the
child ends full time school, child support does not automatically end. A new
Motion must be filed in the Superior Court. It is not sufficient for you to
simply wait for a child to finish school. Motions are required to terminate
alimony or change any prior court order or divorce decree. Many Divorce decrees
and Property Settlement Agreements state that child support will end upon
emancipation. For example, the term "emancipation" is sometimes
defined as follows: (i) The completion of the child's formal education on a
matriculated basis, whether it be graduation from a four year undergraduate
school or high school, it being understood that so long as the child is
diligently pursuing his formal education through a four year undergraduate
college education and obtaining passing grades the child shall not be
considered emancipated. (ii) Upon the completion of any of the aforesaid
segments of the child's education, and upon the failure to commence the next
segment of his education, or upon leaving school, the child shall be deemed
emancipated unless failure to continue on with his education has resulted from
injury or illness or some other cause beyond the child's control. (iii) The
marriage of the child. (iv) Entry into the military or armed forces by the
child.
Your attorney can draft
the appropriate Motion to terminate child support if the child is emancipated.
You will need to provide your attorney with relevant papers including a copy of
the Final Judgment for Divorce, any other Child Support Orders, copy of birth
certificate if available, proof of graduation from school or working full time,
etc. Sometimes the child support recipient, usually the mother, will sign a
Consent Order which your attorney can file without the need for a detailed
hearing. However, generally a Formal written Notice of Motion must be filed in
the County Superior Court where the child support Order was entered. The
requirements of the Motion are detailed and must include the correct filing
fees. Child support does not end merely if the child reaches 18 and graduates
high school. Most child support Orders continue child support if the child is
in college full time. However, don't give up. In the unreported Appellate
Division decision of Kozak v Kozak __ NJ Super. __ (App. Div. decided January
9, 2003) the court reduced child support during the period of time the child
resided at the college campus. The judge determined it was appropriate to
calculate child support only for the period of time the child was not residing
at college.
Many motions to terminate
child support are filed in June when if it becomes clear an 18 year old child
is not going to attend college.
More information at
http://www.njlaws.com/motions-in-child-support.htm.
3. Police could stop car based on call by
daughter that father was drunk
State v. Amelio 197 NJ 207 (2008)
Based
on the report to dispatch by defendant’s seventeen-year- old daughter, who
identified herself, reported that her father was driving drunk, described the vehicle, and exposed
herself to criminal prosecution if her report was knowingly false, there was reasonable and articulable
suspicion of an offense to support a constitutional motor vehicle stop by the
police.
On YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYZlrFr2_qo
4. Summons Must Contain
Specific Statute Charged. State v. Thulin (App. Div. 2008) A-1691-07T4 Unpublished.
Conviction following a
trial de novo for refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer test reversed; one of the
six summonses issued to the defendant following a single-vehicle accident
described the offense as "refusal to submit to blood" and cited the
implied-consent statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2; however, no summons was issued for
failure to submit to a Breathalyzer test; relying on the State Trooper's
testimony that he had read the "New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
Standard Statement for Operators of a Motor Vehicle" to the defendant as
required by N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2(e), the Law Division found the defendant guilty
of violating N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a; however, the Appellate Division agreed with
the defendant that his conviction had to be reversed because the failure to
accurately state the charge against which he had to defend violated due
process.
Source: NJ Lawyer Daily
Briefing November 7, 2008
5. Harassment Requires
Purpose to Harass. State v. Otto (App. Div. 2008) A-2502-07T4 Unpublished.
Conviction following a
trial de novo of the petty
disorderly persons offense of harassment affirmed; the defendant police officer
was the subject of an internal investigation that led to his discharge; a
female sergeant who had participated in the investigation told the defendant
that he was being discharged, and she escorted him to his office to gather his
belongings; the defendant first stopped at his car, where he retrieved a bottle
of green liquid; while cleaning out his desk, the defendant sprinkled green
liquid out of the bottle onto one of the sergeant's feet; the sergeant, who was
wearing open-toed sandals, began to feel a "burning" or
"tingling" sensation, and she washed her foot, told the defendant
that she was going to press charges, and took the bottle of green liquid as
evidence; the defendant lunged at the sergeant, who backed away from him until
she was up against a wall; the Appellate Division rejected the defendant's
argument that the State had failed to establish under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 the
necessary element of purpose to harass and that his only purpose was to
retrieve the bottle and not to intimidate or harass the sergeant.
Source: NJ Lawyer
Daily Briefing – October 23, 2008
6. Reminder Upcoming
events, car pools and networking
3/28/09 Rat
Race 5mile 10:00 Neptune/Wall plenty of free beer
www.jsrc.org/raceapps/ratrace.htm
March
30 NJ State Bar Mun Ct
Section Speaker- Hon. Spencer
Robbins NJ Law Center
Monday, March 30, 2009 WILLS, PROBATE AND ELDER LAW- Adult and Community Education
WHEN: 7 – 8:30P.M.
East Brunswick Adult & Community Education
Program
4/18/2009
Jersey Shore Relay For Special Olympics 5,4,3,2,1 teams 26 miles, 9am From
Seaside Hts To Asbury Park 732-681-9464
free beer! If you cant run,
you can volunteer or pay to go to party
[If your are attending one of these events, please email us. Sometimes
our groups car pool to events and network]
