In an interesting ruling by the New Jersey Appellate Division in the Matter of Estate of Richard D. Ehrlich, it was determined that a will that was neither dated nor signed could be admitted to probate. Richard Ehrlich, a trust and estates attorney, passed away on Sept. 21, 2009 leaving Todd and Jonathan Ehrlich, and Pamela Venuto, his niece and nephews, as his only next of kin. After his passing, Jonathan discovered a copy of a purported will in a drawer. It was typed on legal paper and included Richard Ehrlich’s name and law office address on each page, although it wasn’t dated or signed. It did include, in decedent’s own handwriting, a notation “Original mailed to Harry Van Sciver 5/20/2000”. The document named Harry Sciver as Executor of purported will. Van Sciver predeceased the decedent and the original of the document was never returned. The purported will stated that Jonathan was to receive a significantly larger portion of the estate than Todd or Pamela. For a complete copy of the case, click here: Estate of Richard D. Ehrlich [Read more…] about Unexecuted Will Admitted to Probate by NJ Superior Court
NJ Inheritance Taxes
Gifts in Contemplation of Death: The Burden of Proof is on You
An important and commonly misunderstood law regarding gift giving prior to one’s death was recently highlighted in a NJ case. As background, when a child inherits from a parent there is no New Jersey inheritance tax, whereas there is a tax if any other relative or friend inherits. As a result, if one gifts an unusually large amount of money within three years of his or her death to someone other than a child, the possibility that the gift was made to avoid paying state inheritance tax comes into question. A common misunderstanding is that unless there is reason to assume the giver was aware of his impending death the transfer is not a taxable one. In fact, the truth is quite to the contrary. [Read more…] about Gifts in Contemplation of Death: The Burden of Proof is on You
NJ Court Clarifies Contingent Interest for Estate Asset Valuation
NJ Inheritance Tax is computed on the clear market value of property transferred, valued at the date of death. In the Estate of Claire Schinestuhl,the NJ Division of Taxation determined that the shares of a publicly traded company inherited by the decedent, Claire, from her brother, Prescott Schinestuhl must be separately valued as of the date of Claire’s death and not about two years later when the sale proceeds of the shares were distributed by her brother’s estate. [Read more…] about NJ Court Clarifies Contingent Interest for Estate Asset Valuation