NJ Laws Email Newsletter E272 -April 22, 2008

In This Issue
_______________
1. Confidential Will Questionnaire.

2. Recent cases: Professional Hockey Arena not liable to spectator who is hit in head with puck. Sciarrotta v. Global Spectrum, 4-10-08 (A-28-07).

3. Criminal Bias defined by Law Against Discrimination standard, not dictionary definition State v. Dixon 396 NJ Super. 329 (App. Div. 2007).

4. Statutes must be strictly construed. State v. Moon 396 NJ Super. 109 (App. Div. 2007).

5. Certain tenants can be evicted when household member charged with drug crime.
__________________________________________________________________________
Greetings,

1. Confidential Will Questionnaire.


Many Americans spend more time planning their next vacation than planning their entire future. Prepare for the legal issues that may arise for you and your family in your senior years or in death. To have a Will or Power of Attorney prepared, please fill out the following information completely and fax or mail back. Perhaps you have a parent, friend or neighbor that has been putting off doing their Will. Give them this Will Questionnaire to get started on their Estate Planning!

This form is extremely important. Your accuracy and completeness in responding will help me best represent you. All sections and information must be filled out prior to meeting with the attorney. Fees for preparation of Wills, Durable Power of Attorney and Living Will are discussed with clients at initial consult. Please be sure to check all appropriate boxes. If "NONE", please state "NONE". If "NOT APPLICABLE", please state "N/A".

"CONFIDENTIAL WILL QUESTIONNAIRE"

Please fill out completely and fax or mail back. This form is extremely important. Your accuracy and completeness in responding will help me best represent you. All sections and information must be filled out prior to sitting down with the attorney.

Please be sure to check all appropriate boxes. If "NONE", please state "NONE".

If "NOT APPLICABLE", please state "N/A".

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

1. Your Full Name:

_____________________________________________

First Last

2. IF MARRIED OR SEPARATED, complete (a) and (b) below:

(a) Spouse's Full Name:

_____________________________________________

First Last

3. Your Street Address: _____________________________________________

City ____________________ State ____ Zip Code ______________

4. Telephone Numbers:

Cell: ________________________________________

Day: ____________________/Night: ________________________

5. E-mail address: _____________________________________________

6. Referred By: _________________________ 7. Today's Date ____________

If referred by a person, is this a client or attorney? _____________________________________________

We recommend a Durable Power of Attorney in the event of your physical or mental disability to help you with financial affairs? Yes ________ No ________

We recommend a Living Will telling hospitals and doctors not to prolong your life by artificial means, i.e. Terri Schiavo; Karen Quinlan? Yes ________ No _____

How can we help you? What are your questions/other important info?

____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

[It is required by New Jersey Court Rules that all pages be filled out prior to seeing the attorney]

8. Your Sex: [ ] Male [ ] Female

9. Your Marital Status: [ ] Single [ ] Married [ ] Separated [ ] Divorced [ ] Widowed

10. Your Date of Birth: ___________________ SS # __________________

Month Day Year

11. Spouse Date of Birth: _________________ SS # __________________

Month Day Year

12. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a minor child or minor children, please check here. [ ]

2. ESTATE EXECUTOR

The person charged with administering/Probating your estate, paying taxes and/or other debts, preserving, managing, and distributing estate assets and property is called an Executor. This person should be one in whom you have trust and confidence. Your SPOUSE is usually named as primary Executor, followed by the child who lives closest to your home.

Please provide the following information about the person you wish to name to serve in this capacity.

1. PRIMARY Choice of Executor/Personal Representative:

Name:
_________________________________________

First Last

Relationship: _______________ Address: ____________________

2. SECOND Choice of Executor:

This individual will serve in the event that the primary executor/personal representative is not alive at the time of your death, or is unable to serve.

Full Name:
___________________________________________

First Last

Relationship: _______________ Address: ____________________

The two proposed Executors must be filled out prior to meeting the attorney. We do not recommend Joint Executors, which often cause conflicts and additional work for the Estate. It is best to select one primary person, then a secondary person.

Asset Information- Must Be Completed - If none, write "none"

House/Real Estate Address
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Estimate Total Real Estate Value: _____________ Approx mortgage ________________

Bank Accounts, Stocks, CDs and Assets:
____________________________________________

Approximate Amount
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Beneficiaries of Bank Accounts (if none write "none") ______________________________

Other Major Assets (if none, write "none"): _______________________________________

Approximate Life Insurance: _________________ Beneficiary ____________________

In the Will- Who do you want to get your assets:

Beneficiary (1) _______________________ Relationship _______________

Beneficiary (2) _______________________ Relationship _______________

Beneficiary (3) _______________________ Relationship _______________

It is required by New Jersey Court Rules that assets and beneficiaries be filled out prior to seeing the attorney

Any Specific Bequests of Money and Property:
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

[ ] A. MARRIED PERSONS WITH CHILD(REN) OR GRANDCHILD(REN).

Generally most married people provide that, upon their death, property will be distributed as follows:

1. Your estate (all property and assets not owned jointly with another person) will be distributed to your surviving spouse.

2. If your spouse predeceases you, then your estate will be divided in equal shares among all of your living children, If any child shall predecease you, then that child's share to their children (grandchildren).

Names of Children: ______________________________ Age: ______

______________________________ Age: ______

______________________________ Age: ______

LIST THE NAMES AND AGES OF ALL CHILDREN EVEN IF THEY ARE OLDER THAN EIGHTEEN. IF NO CHILDREN, WRITE NONE. If no minor children, skip page 4.

III. GUARDIAN(S) OF MINOR CHILD(REN)

[Skip this section if you have NO minor children and DO NOT want a trust. There are substantial additional fees for preparation of a Trust]

The surviving parent of a minor child is ordinarily entitled to be the GUARDIAN of that child. In the case of simultaneous death of you and your spouse, or if you are a single parent, you should appoint a Guardian for your minor child. It is advisable, prior to the completion of this Questionnaire, to make sure that your proposed Guardian(s) is (are) willing to serve as Guardian(s). In addition, the Guardian will also hold the monies for the minor children UNLESS you direct us otherwise. In your Will you can have any adult serve as Trustee of monies for minor children.

Provide the following information about the person(s) you select to be Guardian(s)/Trustee(s). In the event my spouse predeceases me, I name as GUARDIAN(S)/ TRUSTEE(S):

1. PRIMARY Choice of GUARDIAN / TRUSTEE:

Full Name:
____________________________________________

Relationship:
____________________________________________

2. SECOND Choice of GUARDIAN / TRUSTEE:

Full Name:
____________________________________________

Relationship:
____________________________________________

Are there any beneficiaries with special needs, or receiving SSI or SDD? Please answer in detail
____________________________________________

[ ] B. MARRIED PERSONS WITH NO CHILD(REN) OR GRANDCHILD(REN).

Generally most married people with no child(ren) or grandchild(ren) provide that upon their death their property will be distributed as follows:

1. Your estate (all property and assets not owned jointly with another person) will be distributed to your surviving spouse, but

2. If your spouse predeceases you, then your estate will be distributed to your living parent, or equally to your living parents.

3. But should both of your parents predecease you, then your estate will distributed equally to your brothers and sisters or equally to the children of a predeceased brother or sister.

Please check B above only if you wish your property distributed precisely and exactly as indicated in section B, 1 through 3, above.

Additional information on Wills, Probate and Elder Law available at www.njlaws.com

[ ] C. DIVORCED OR WIDOWED PERSONS WITH CHILD(REN) OR GRANDCHILD(REN). Generally, most divorced or widowed persons with child(ren) or grandchild(ren) provide that upon their death property will be distributed as follows: 1. Your estate (all property and assets not owned jointly with another person) will be distributed in equal shares to all of your living child(ren).

2. But if one or more of your children predeceases you, that deceased child's share will be distributed to his or her child(ren), your grandchild(ren) in equal shares

[ ] D. ALTERNATE PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION - You may list specific gifts to individuals and/or divide your estate among several individuals by listing percentages to each, making sure that the percentages total 100%. You may add additional sheets if necessary or use the back of this form. There are additional Will preparation fees if there are gifts, called specific bequests.

PLEASE WRITE DOWN ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE HERE or anything else important that we should be aware. Use back of this page for additional important information:
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

ESTATE PLANNING

Your estate may be subject to Federal Estate Taxation if the total of your assets exceeds $2,000,000. If your assets exceed $2,000,000 and you desire estate planning to avoid or reduce your estate tax or require a Trust to protect a spouse, please advise Mr. Vercammen. A Standard Will is not designed to address estate tax issues. We do not do Tax Planning or Medicaid Planning.

WILLS:

T 1- Parents with minor children and trust for children ____________

T 2- Parents no spouse ____________

T 3- Unmarried ____________

T 4- Parents without trust ____________

T 5- Unified Credit Trust over $1 million? ____________

PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY: (Please circle one)

Check, Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) or Cash

Payment is required for Will, Power of Attorney and other document preparation at the first consult and prior to any documents being drafted. We charge a $150.00 consultation fee, which is credited to the preparation of the Will or other document. This $150.00 fee is non-refundable even if the documents are not prepared. If there are any changes to a draft Will, Power of Attorney, or other document, there will be a minimum charge of $75.00 per revision. The Will needs to be signed within 21 days of initial consult or an additional fee of $100.00 will be charged.

This form was filled out by:



_________________________________________
sign name

2. Recent cases: Professional Hockey Arena not liable to spectator who is hit in head with puck. Sciarrotta v. Global Spectrum, 4-10-08 (A-28-07).

The Supreme Court held: "The limited duty rule, which concerns the provision of screened seating in certain areas of sports venues, applies to all activities on the field of play, including pre-game warm-ups. If a sports venue owner or operator complies with the limited duty rule, it has satisfied its duty of care to patrons in the stands and no action in negligence will lie for the peril of objects leaving the field of play. Furthermore, the limited duty rule does not impose a separate duty to warn of the risk of objects leaving the field of play."
3. Criminal Bias defined by Law Against Discrimination standard, not dictionary definition State v. Dixon 396 NJ Super. 329 (App. Div. 2007).


For purposes of the bias intimidation statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1, the term "handicap" should be defined with reference to the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-5q, rather than by using a dictionary definition of the term.

4. Statutes must be strictly construed. State v. Moon 396 NJ Super. 109 (App. Div. 2007).

This case required the court to consider the elements of endangering an injured victim, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.2b(2). The court concludes that the endangering crime does not apply to a person who abandons a corpse.
5. Certain tenants can be evicted when household member charged with drug crime.

A tenant in public housing that is under the control of a public housing agency may be removed from the leased premises pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1e(2) when the tenant substantially violates a covenant or agreement pertaining to illegal uses of controlled dangerous substances, provided the covenant or agreement conforms to applicable federal guidelines. Moreover, federal law permits a tenant to be evicted from public housing when a member of the household or guest engages in drug- related criminal activity in the leased premises, regardless of whether the tenant knew or should have known of the illegal activity.

Thank you for reading our newsletter! God Bless America USA #1

We have decided to try to double our subscriber list in the month of April. Our hope is that every one of our current subscribers will sign up at least one friend as a new subscriber to the NJ Laws Newsletter. If you know someone who would also like to receive this email newsletter, please have them email us at newsletter@njlaws.com, or log on to:

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/optin.jsp?v=001Jzhx8uVKgrNReKXBwbjJVqrFeOQhpqxW

Our updated law blogs:

NJLaws' Newsletter Blog-http://njlaws1.blogspot.com/

NJ Criminal Law Blog - http://njcriminallaw.blogspot.com/

NJ Traffic Law & Municipal Court Blog - http://traffic-law.blogspot.com/

NJ Personal Injury & Civil Law Blog- http://njlawspersonalinjury.blogspot.com/

NJ Elder Law Blog -http://elder-law.blogspot.com/

NJ Drug Law Blog - http://drugarrest.blogspot.com/

We appreciate continued referrals. We want to take the time to extend to our friends and clients our sincere gratitude because it is good friends and clients that make our business grow. Client recommendation is a very important source of new clients to us. We are grateful for the recommendation of new clients. We will do our best to give all clients excellent care. We shall do our best to justify all recommendations.

"Celebrating more than 21 years of providing excellent service to clients 1985-2007" Former Prosecutor

Free T- shirts and soda can holders available for all current and past clients. Please come into office.

Editor's Note and Disclaimer:

All materials Copyright 2008. You may pass along the information on the NJ Laws Newsletter and website, provided the name and address of the Law Office is included.

KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC

ATTORNEY AT LAW

2053 Woodbridge Ave.

Edison, NJ 08817

(Phone) 732-572-0500

(Fax) 732-572-0030

website: www.njlaws.com


Admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, US Supreme Court and Federal District Court

NJ Laws Email Newsletter E271 - April 7, 2008

NJ Laws Email Newsletter E271
April 7, 2008

In This Issue
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1. Car Insurance coverage liberally applied to victim of shooting.

2. Guilty plea permitted to be withdrawn where defendant not advised of plea consequences.

3. Contractors Must Register With Consumer Affairs.

4. Police May need to give 2nd Miranda Warnings.

5. Upcoming Charity Running Events.

6. Kenneth Vercammen, Edison Attorney was selected a 2008 NJ Super Lawyer.
_______________________________________________________________

1. Car Insurance coverage liberally applied to victim of shooting Livsey v. Mercury Insurance Group 396 NJ Super. 373 (App. Div. 2007).


Uninsured motorist benefits are available to a plaintiff in a random, drive-by shooting.

2. Guilty plea permitted to be withdrawn where defendant not advised of plea consequences. State v. J.J. ___ NJ Super. ___ (Decided December 11, 2007) A-2777-05T5.

When, as part of a guilty plea, defendant is subject to community supervision under Megan's Law, the court must ensure that defendant understands the particular consequences of such supervision. In this case, defendant was not informed that Megan's Law would prevent him from living with his new wife and her child. Therefore, defendant should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial on all the charges contained in the indictments.
3. Contractors Must Register With Consumer Affairs. State v. Rowland 396 NJ Super. 126 (App. Div. 2007).


The Contractors' Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-136 to -152, includes provisions under which knowingly engaging in the business of making or selling home improvements without having registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs is a fourth degree crime. Although the Act states that "a person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of this act is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree," the underlined phrase does not mean that the State must prove defendant knew about the Act and its provisions. In short, when used in a statute, the underlined phrase does not make knowledge of the law an element of the crime.

4. Police May need to give 2nd Miranda Warnings. State v. Nyhammer 396 NJ Super. 72 (App. Div. 2007).

The Court reversed a conviction for aggravated sexual assault on a girl, then nine years old, concluding that each of two rulings constituted reversible error. First, the judge should not have admitted defendant's confession. An investigator called defendant and explained he was conducting an investigation against another man in connection with the abuse of another child as well as the victim in this case. The investigator did not indicate to defendant that the victim in this case had made allegations of abuse by defendants. Defendant went to the police station. The investigator gave defendant the Miranda warnings. After defendant gave a formal statement regarding the incident of abuse by the other man, the investigator told him that the victim had made accusations against defendant as well. Defendant became distraught. Miranda warnings were not given a second time. Defendant confessed. The Court concludes that defendant did not make a knowing and voluntary waiver of his right to remain silent. Therefore, his confession was admissible.

Second, the Court concluded that the victim's hearsay videotape, which was the sole substantive evidence proving defendant's conduct, should have been excluded from evidence, pursuant to confrontation clause. The videotaped statement was "testimonial," there was no prior opportunity for defendant to cross-examine the victim, and there was no opportunity for an adequate and meaningful cross-examination at trial because the victim was unresponsive to many questions. At trial, she did not recollect questions going to the heart of the charges. Therefore, the videotape was the sole substantive evidence at trial.
5. Upcoming Charity Running Events.


April 19 - Jersey Shore Relay For Special Olympics 5,4,3,2,1 teams 26 miles, 9am From Seaside Hts To Asbury Park 732-681-9464 If you cant run, you can still help by contributing or buying a ticket for the post run party

April 26 - CASA Kids 5K Run 9am Princeton Pike Corporate Center, 1009 Lenox Drive Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, Race Hotline: 609 631-9211, Great race organized by Gerry Fennelly. When you register, write down under the team category- "RVRR Ken V."

May 3 - Farmlands 50 mile bike- Central Jersey Bike Club Middletown.
6. Kenneth Vercammen, Edison Attorney was selected a 2008 NJ Super Lawyer in the Criminal Law - DWI section for the third year in a row.

HOW SUPER LAWYERS ARE SELECTED:

Law & Politics performs the polling, research and selection of Super Lawyers in a process designed to identify lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Lawyers is a comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys, representing a wide range of practice areas, firm sizes and geographic locations. Only 5 percent of the lawyers in each state or region are named Super Lawyers

http://www.njlaws.com/superlawyer.htm

Thank you for reading our newsletter! God Bless America USA #1

Our updated law blogs:

NJLaws' Newsletter Blog-http://njlaws1.blogspot.com/

NJ Criminal Law Blog - http://njcriminallaw.blogspot.com/

NJ Traffic Law & Municipal Court Blog - http://traffic-law.blogspot.com/

NJ Personal Injury & Civil Law Blog- http://njlawspersonalinjury.blogspot.com/

NJ Elder Law Blog -http://elder-law.blogspot.com/

NJ Drug Law Blog - http://drugarrest.blogspot.com/

We appreciate continued referrals. We want to take the time to extend to our friends and clients our sincere gratitude because it is good friends and clients that make our business grow. Client recommendation is a very important source of new clients to us. We are grateful for the recommendation of new clients. We will do our best to give all clients excellent care. We shall do our best to justify all recommendations.

"Celebrating more than 21 years of providing excellent service to clients 1985-2007" Former Prosecutor

This newsletter is produced to be sent electronically. If you know someone who would also like to receive this email newsletter, please have them email us at newsletter@njlaws.com.

Free T- shirts and soda can holders available for all current and past clients. Please come into office.

Editor's Note and Disclaimer:

All materials Copyright 2008. You may pass along the information on the NJ Laws Newsletter and website, provided the name and address of the Law Office is included.

KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC

ATTORNEY AT LAW

2053 Woodbridge Ave.

Edison, NJ 08817

(Phone) 732-572-0500

(Fax) 732-572-0030

website: www.njlaws.com


Admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, US Supreme Court and Federal District Court