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