Estate planning is never a one-size-fits-all affair, and should be individualized to suit the financial and health situations of the individual. In doing this, one should also be concerned about the estate laws of their state. Estate laws vary from state to state and if you live in New Jersey, zip code 07653, your estate plan should be one that takes into consideration the laws surrounding estate planning 07653, NJ. Your estate plan should be such that these laws are taken advantage of, and that your best interests are realized instead of hampered. One of the best ways to ensure that you get the best of estate planning in New Jersey is to consult with an estate planning lawyer, NJ.
In the light of this, here are important elements you should consider in estate planning in New Jersey.
Wealth transfer
After toiling through your years, you must have at least a property to your name, and a loved one (could be a relative or non-relative) that you’d be leaving behind when you die. That property would not follow you to the Great Beyond, and so has to pass on to someone when you die. You may desire that that friend, loved one or charity organization receives all or a part of your estate, and to make sure this happens, you have to state it clearly in your estate plan. If you do not express these wishes, then someone else who you do not really like might end of receiving your property. When you die without an estate plan, the laws of New Jersey allow only your closest family i.e. spouse and kids, to inherit your property. In the absence of spouse and kids, property would go to your parents, grandparents or next of kin. If you do not want the court to determine who receives your property when you die, then you have to create a will or trust, specifying who inherits from you and what exactly they will inherit. An estate planning attorney 07653 can help in creating these documents according to New Jersey laws. You must name your beneficiaries and an executor who will execute your will at your death.
Probate
Probate is a court process by which the court validates your will and carries out its instructions. Probate is complex, demanding, time-consuming, and highly costly. In some US states, The Uniform Probate Code has been adopted (a system used for easing and speeding up the probate process) but in New Jersey, all the steps must be followed and your loved ones may end up inheriting just a fraction of your estate, and probably very late. If you do not have an estate plan or you have a will, probate must be done if your estate values over $675,000. To avoid probate, consider creating a trust. With a trust you can transfer property outside probate.
Guardianship and Conservatorship
In New Jersey, children below the age of 18 cannot receive property, so you would have to name a Guardian or trustee who will hold and manage assets on their behalf in the event you die before your child attains 18. This ensures that the court does not choose a Guardian for your children. When you get old and incapacitated, the court would also have to appoint a Conservator for you through a tedious court process, if you do not appoint for yourself a fiduciary. You can obtain one by creating a living trust or durable powers of attorney. Your fiduciary becomes responsible for managing your finances and making health care decisions on your behalf. Your estate planning lawyer can also help with all these.
Tax planning
In New Jersey, there are estate taxes and inheritance taxes. Estates valuing over $675,000 attract estate taxes; and property going to any person other than your spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent or stepchild, attracts inheritance tax. So if you desire to pass wealth to a friend, charity, or some other loved one, then you should plan towards avoiding inheritance tax. Estates valuing above $5,000,000 in New Jersey attract federal estate taxes. Below this value, there is estate tax exemption. So to avoid, federal estate tax, you can cut down your estate value through gifting, or you can place some of your assets in an irrevocable trust. An irrevocable trust claims ownership of assets placed in the trust. In that case, those assets will not be counted as part of your estate, therefore reducing your estate value. Assets placed in a trust will also pass outside probate, offering a quick, cost-effective, and efficient option for wealth transfer.