E384 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 1. New Year's Resolution - Put Your Estate Planning in Order. 2. Thank You to Friends, Client and Family for a Great Year.

E384 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 1. New Year's Resolution - Put Your Estate Planning in Order. 2. Thank You to Friends, Client and Family for a Great Year. 3. Recent Cases. DV Reversed where Court Permitted Testimony of Acts not set forth in Complaint. January 1, 2012 Office Phone Number: (732) 572-0500 www.njlaws.com In This Issue: 1. New Year's Resolution - Put Your Estate Planning in Order. 2. Thank You to Friends, Client and Family for a Great Year. 3. Recent cases. DV Reversed where Court Permitted Testimony of Acts not set forth in Complaint. Greetings! Happy New Year Friends, Clients, and Family!!! 1. New Year's Resolution - Put your Estate Planning in Order. Add to your "to do" list having your Will prepared. You need a Power of Attorney and Living Will/ Advance Directive. Modern medicine and machinery can keep a person alive for long periods of time. Unfortunately, a person is often kept alive in great pain or under circumstances that render him or her unconscious as to everything around them, while causing pain and anguish to the family. Our state has passed a "Living Will" law, often called a "Death with Dignity" law, which allows a person to direct that heroic measures not be taken to prolong life in these unhappy situations. This "Living Will" is not a substitute for a regular Will, which affects property rights. The "Living Will" is an independent document to be signed in addition to your regular Will. Please let us know if you want a Will, Living Will/ Advance Directive or Power of Attorney prepared. My friends have put this off years. ______________________________________________ 2. Thank You to Friends, Client and Family for a Great Year. I would like to thank my friends for another good year in 2011, despite the difficult economy. So many of you were kind enough to tell others about our services. Since 1985, I have helped individuals and businesses with legal matters. With changing laws, it is important that your estate planning documents are updated to reflect your most valuable investments. As you know, all business must grow, and one of the safest ways to grow is to get referrals from satisfied clients. Thank you for referring friends and family. May the New Year 2012 bring happiness and good health to you and your family. 2011 was another exciting year for me. I was a speaker at the Municipal Court College Seminar sponsored by NJ State Bar Association. Ken's son Brendan is now on an academic scholarship at U of Miami in Florida. He was County wrestling champ at 171 lbs. and All-State. Daughter Shannon has an A average and has already been accepted to the highly regarded University of Scranton. 3. Recent Cases. DV Reversed where Court Permitted Testimony of Acts not set forth in Complaint. J.D. v. M.D.F. 207 NJ 458 (2011) N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 a. requires proof of a single communication that was made anonymously, at an extremely inconvenient hour, or in a coarse or offensive language, for the purpose to harass and in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm. Subsection c. requires proof of a course of alarming conduct or repeatedly committed acts with the purpose of alarming or seriously annoying the victim. Distinguishing between acts that constitute harassment for purposes of domestic violence and those that are ordinary domestic contretemps can be difficult. Such a determination may depend on the second inquiry required for complaints under the Act. Due process requires that a party in a judicial hearing receive notice defining the issues and an opportunity to prepare. It forbids the trial court from converting a hearing on one act of domestic violence into a hearing on other acts that are not alleged in the complaint. Trial courts should use the allegations in the complaint to guide their questions, and avoid inducing plaintiffs to abandon that history in favor of new accusations. Not all offensive or bothersome behavior constitutes harassment. Here, the trial court did not identify which subsection of the harassment statute it was applying. The evidence is not sufficient to support a finding under subsection a. because merely being outside of the home in the morning hours is not harassment and J.D. was unaware he was outside until R.T. alerted her, after which he beat a hasty retreat. 4. 2012 update Wills and Estate Planning Lunch and Law Seminar Free Lunch and Law Program! Friends, Neighbors, Clients and individuals involved in providing services to seniors are invited to the "2012 Update-Wills and Estate Planning" Seminar. Our annual Lunch & Law program is on January 11, 2012 from 12:15-1:00PM. Please email us if you plan on attending or if you would like us to email the materials. Complimentary sandwiches and materials will be provided. Main Topics: 1. The New Probate Law and Preparation of Wills 2. 2012 Changes in Federal Estate and Gift Tax Exemption 3. NJ Estate Tax $675,000 4. Power of Attorney 5. Living Will 6. Administering the Estate/ Probate/Surrogate 7. Question and Answer COMPLIMENTARY MATERIAL: Brochures on Wills, Answers to Questions about Probate and Administration of an Estate, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Real Estate Sales for Seniors, and Trusts. In lieu of the $35 fee previously charged by the Adult School, please bring a canned food donation, which will be given to the St. James Food Bank on Woodbridge Avenue in Edison, NJ. Editor's Note and Disclaimer: All materials Copyright 2012. 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 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kenneth.vercammen?ref=name