NJ LAWS EMAIL NEWSLETTER E465
Kenneth Vercammen, Attorney at Law
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E465
1. Ten Estate Planning Ideas for Divorced or Separated Persons
2. Recent Cases: Driver is not subject to criminal driving while suspended if DWI suspension period expired prior to driving.
3. Court permits police to ignore guidelines requiring Alcohol influence report be given to DWI suspects.
4. New YouTube educational videos, Making Changes to Last Will and Testament, Pre-Trial
Intervention, Conditional Discharge of First Time Drug Arrests, Defense
to criminal charges committed while someone intoxicated.
1. Ten Estate Planning Ideas for Divorced or Separated Persons
Under the
laws of most states, if a married person dies without a Will and without
children, their spouse will inherit all assets, even if they are
separated from the spouse. In addition, if you have children from a
previous marriage, but no Will, your separated spouse often will get
half your estate. In planning, make sure your assets go to your loved
ones or favorite charity, rather than a soon to be ex.. Therefore,
recommend the following:
1) Have an Elder
Law attorney prepare a Will to distribute your assets to the people you
care the most about. If you already have a Will, prepare a new Will and
have the old Will revoked. ( Your estate planning attorney will explain
this to you.)
2) Prepare a new
Power of Attorney to select someone to handle your finances if you
become disabled. Have your old power of attorney revoked asap, with
written notice to the ex and the attorney who drafted the original
document.
3) Prepare a new Living Will prepared
4) Change your
beneficiary on assets you may own, such as stocks, bank accounts, IRA,
and other financial assets. Change your beneficiary under your own life
insurance, whether whole life insurance or term insurance.
5) Contact your
employer's human resources and change the beneficiary on life insurance,
pension, stock options or other employee benefits. Note that if you are
not yet divorced, your spouse may have to sign a written waiver
permitting you to change beneficiaries.
6) Keep your personal papers at a location where family can find them and can't be stolen or destroyed by angry spouse..
7) Have your attorney prepare a prenuptial agreement if you decide to get married again.
8) Make sure the trustee for any funds designated for your children is the right trustee, not your former brother in law.
9) In New Jersey
and many states, if you are married and living with your spouse, under
certain instances the surviving spouse has a right to elect against the
Will. The disinherited spouse may like to elect against the Will and try
to obtain one third of the estate. Your attorney can explain how you
can protect yourself and your children.
10) If you have
minor children, nominate someone under a Will to serve as guardian to
the children. Although the surviving parent obviously has first right of
custody of children, they may not even want custody.
For
single moms, they should have these documents prepared so they can
select first choice as guardian for their kids. Example, select your own
mother as guardian, rather than the deadbeat father who does not timely
pay child support or pick up the child for visitation.
2. Driver is not subject to criminal driving while suspended if DWI suspension period expired prior to driving. State v Perry __ NJ Super. ___ (App. Div. 2015)Docket A-1767 -13T2
N.J.S.A.
2C:40-26(a) and (b) make driving while suspended under specified
circumstances a fourth-degree crime, punishable by a mandatory minimum
jail term of 180 days, where the underlying suspension arose from
driving while intoxicated (DWI), N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, and/or refusal to
submit to chemical testing, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4(a). The court concluded
in these appeals that prosecutions under the statute can be brought only
if the act of driving while suspended occurs during the court-imposed
term of suspension.
Note- Ken V
successfully represented four of the winning parties before the Law
Division. The Appellate Division affirmed the well-reasoned opinion of
Hon. Douglas Wolfson JSC.
3. Court permits police to ignore guidelines requiring Alcohol influence report be given to DWI suspects. State v Sorensen __ NJ Super. __ (App. Div. 2015) A-3797-13T4
After the
Law Division suppressed defendant's blood alcohol content (BAC) results,
it sentenced her on her guilty plea to driving under the influence.
Nonetheless, the State's appeal of the suppression was not barred by
double jeopardy because defendant had entered a conditional plea to, and
been sentenced for, the per se violation in Municipal Court.
The Law
Division suppressed the BAC results because the Alcotest operator did
not give a copy of the Alcohol Influence Report (AIR) to the arrestee in
the police station. Although State v. Chun,
194 N.J. 54, 82 (2008), said the operator "must" do so, that comment
about recommended Alcotest procedure did not override the statutory
standard only requiring the police to give a copy of the breath test
results upon request. N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2(b). In any event, the timing of
copy delivery does not affect the validity of the test results.
Moreover, police must advise arrestees of their ability to request a
copy and to get an independent test. Therefore, suppression is not
warranted in the absence of prejudice. Furthermore, a suppression remedy
should not be imposed retroactively.
Judge
Sabatino concurs in the result. Given the time-sensitive dissipation of
alcohol in the bloodstream, he believes Chun sensibly requires the
operator to provide a copy of the AIR contemporaneously, consistent with
the policies of the Attorney General and the State Police, and that the
statute does not foreclose affording such added procedural protection
to tested drivers. He agrees that suppression in this case and retroactive relief are not warranted
4. New YouTube Educational Videos
Pre-Trial Intervention
Conditional Discharge of First Time Drug Arrests
Defense to criminal charges committed while someone intoxicated
More at:
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Editor's Note and Disclaimer:
All
materials Copyright 2015. 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
