E607 Newsletter
2. You also need a Power of Attorney.
3. Happy New Year and Thank you Clients for a decent year.
4. Will Seminar Jan 13 via Facebook Live, watch at home live online.
5. Recent cases State v Nyema: Mere report of black males robbing 7-11 store not sufficient to stop car.
6. Welcome Christmas break 3-week law clerks.
1. New Year's Resolution: Put your Will, Power of Attorney and Estate Planning in order.
Don't put off having a proper Will prepared and your Estate Planning. With a Will we can save the family over $1,000 with a no bond required clause and self-proving Affidavit. Our office can typically prepare your Will and provide the documents within three weeks of payment. Many persons have put this off for thirty years. Don't wait until you are in the hospital to think about taking care of your family.
2. You also need a Power of Attorney.
A Power of Attorney is a written document in which a competent adult individual (the "principal") appoints another competent adult individual (the "attorney-in-fact") to act on the principal's behalf. In general, an attorney-in-fact may perform any legal function or task, which the principal has a legal right to do for him/herself. You may wish to sign a Power of Attorney giving your spouse, children or partner the power to handle your affairs if you become ill or disabled. More info at http://www.njlaws.com/power_of_attorney.htm
An important part of lifetime planning is the Power of Attorney. The power may be limited to a particular activity (e.g., closing the sale of your home) or general in its application, empowering one or more persons to act on your behalf in a variety of situations. It may take effect immediately or only upon the occurrence of a future event (e.g., a determination that you are unable to act for yourself). The latter are "springing" Powers of Attorney. It may give temporary or continuous, permanent authority to act on your behalf.
Why would anyone give such authority to another person? The most important reason to use Power of Attorneys to prepare for situations when you may not be able to act on your own behalf due to incapacity, illness or absence. Such a disability may be temporary, for example, due to accident, or illness or travel, or it may be permanent. If you are buying or selling assets and do not wish to appear in person to close the transaction, you may take advantage of a Power of Attorney.
If you do not have a Power of Attorney and become unable to manage your personal or business affairs, it may become necessary for the family to have to spend $4,000 for a Guardianship Complaint and petition the Superior court to appoint one or more people to act for you. People appointed in this manner are referred to as guardians or conservators. Few people want to be subject to an expensive public proceeding in this manner so being proactive to create the appropriate document to avoid this is important. A Power of Attorney allows you to choose who will act for you and defines his or her authority and its limits.
Who Should Be Your Agent?
Most people choose a family member to act on your behalf. Many people name their spouses or a child. We do not prepare Powers of Attorney with Joint agents.
You should always name a successor person to address the possibility that the person you name as agent may die, be unavailable or unable to act when the time comes. Similarly, in a Will there is Executor #1, then an Executor #2, not joint executors.
There are no special qualifications necessary for someone to act as an attorney-in-fact except that the person must not be a minor or otherwise incapacitated. The best choice is someone you trust and not far away. Integrity, not financial acumen, is often the most important trait of a potential agent.
Finally, there may be reasons not to limit the gifts your attorney-in-fact may make to annual exclusion gifts in order to facilitate Medicaid planning or to minimize or avoid state estate tax beyond what annual exclusion gifts alone might permit.
Source: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/real_property_trust_estate/resources/estate_planning/power_of_attorney.html
[Kenneth Vercammen is Chair of the ABA Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Committee of the American Bar Associations Solo Small Firm Division with over 20,000 members.]
You also need a Living Will/ Advance Directive. Modern medicine and machinery can keep a person alive for long periods of time. Sometimes a person is often kept alive in 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 different than 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 Living Will/ Advance Directive prepared.
3. Happy New Year and Thank you Clients for a decent year.
I would like to thank my clients and friends for a devout year despite COVID 19 and the courts closing in person trials. We switched to online preparation of Wills and documents.
We appreciate all the many referrals we received. So many of you were kind enough to tell others about our services and recommend us. Since 1985, [Over 35 years], I have helped individuals and families with legal matters. With changing laws, it is important that your estate planning documents are updated to reflect your family. As you know all businesses 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 bring happiness and good health to you and those you love.
After January 7, we will be shredding Municipal Court and Litigation files that are more than 7 years old. If you are a past client and there is a file in our office that you do not want us to shred, please email us so arrangements can be made for you to pick up by appointment. Closed files are not stored in the physical office.
4. Will Seminar Jan 13 via Facebook Live, watch at home live online.
As our clients and friends mature, we do more Estate Planning & Probate, Estate Administration. Many individuals have not taken the time to have a Will or Power of Attorney prepared. Please accept an invitation to you and your guests to join us at the "2021 Update -Wills and Estate Planning” Seminar on January 13, 2021 from 12:15-1:00 pm and 5:00-5:45 pm. We will discuss the current changes in Wills and Estate Law. Please email the office if you plan on attending the seminar or if you would like us to email the updated materials.
January 13, 2021 at 12:15-1:00 PM and again 5pm sharp----Free
Law Office of Kenneth Vercammen,
2053 Woodbridge Ave, Edison, NJ 08817
Program can be watched on your computer or IPhone via Facebook live
https://www.facebook.com/Kenneth-Vercammen-Associates-PC-Law-Office-Edison-NJ-08817-149816077985
New Main Topics:
1. Handling Probate during Covid and while Government offices closed
2. Dangers If You Have No Will or documents invalid
3. Getting your Estate Planning Documents done when you can’t go into a law office
4. What goes into a Will
5. Power of Attorneys recommendations
6. Living Will & Advance Directive for Medical Care
7. Administering the Estate/Probate /Surrogate
8. Avoiding unnecessary expenses and saving your family money
We now also prepare Wills online without clients having to come to the office!
5. Recent cases State v Nyema: Mere report of black males robbing 7-11 store not sufficient to stop car.
The police received a dispatch transmission that a 7-Eleven store had been robbed by two black males, one of whom had a gun. A subsequent dispatch indicated the two men fled on foot. The police officer was familiar with the 7-Eleven store and responded.
Police officers seized the evidence following an investigatory stop of an automobile in which defendant was a passenger. The arresting officer testified he stopped the car because he was advised two black men had robbed a store. The officer used a spotlight mounted to his car to illuminate the interiors of passing vehicles as he traveled to the store. In one car, he observed three black men who did not react to the light. The officer stopped the car based on those observations.
Following the denial of his motion to suppress physical evidence, defendant pled guilty to first-degree robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1.
The court holds that knowledge of the race and gender of criminal suspects, without more, does not establish a reasonable articulable suspicion that the men in the car had robbed the store. Accordingly, the court reverses defendant's conviction, vacates his sentence, and remands for further proceedings. (A-0891-18T4)
6. Welcome Christmas break 3-week law clerks.
Nicole Pellicane- Ohio State University
Amarillisz Tymofeev- Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Alexander Romero- St. Josephs University
Luke Nagy- Rutgers Uiversity
Staff and Law Clerks continuing to help clients:
Michael DePinto- Acting Office Manager New Jersey City University
Andrei Pilipetskii- St. John’s Law School grad
Patrick Foy Book- Editor Seton Hall University School of Law
Spring Law Clerks:
Gurjinder Singh- Rutgers University grad, New Brunswick
Catherine DePaola- U Penn grad
Michael Glaser- Yeshiva University
Emilia Martinez- Temple University
Nicole Graham- Rutgers University
Winter 2020/2021 Law Clerks
Back Row: Michael Glaser of Yeshiva University, Luke Nagy of Rutgers University, and Andrei Pilipetskii of St. John's Law School
Middle Row: Michael DePinto of New Jersey City University, Emilia Martinez of Temple University, Catherine DePaola of the University of Pennsylvania, Nicole Pellicane of Ohio State University, and Amarillisz Tymofeev of Rutgers University
with Kenneth Vercammen and Lexi
KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC ATTORNEY AT LAW
2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817
732-572-0500 - Website: www.njlaws.com
