Identity theft is an area of major concern for consumers and businesses alike. Roughly nine million individuals in the U.S. can expect to have their identity stolen each year. With just a few items of personal information (such as the name, social security number, and the date of birth of…
It is a day that virtually every business owner fears, when you receive word from your IT department that your company’s computer system has been hacked. A million thoughts rush through your head, but they all come back to one question: what do I do right now to protect my…
A successful New Jersey business recently retained a cyber expert to evaluate the effectiveness of its network’s cybersecurity. The expert upgraded the company’s systems and educated its employees on how to recognize, prevent and respond to a cyber-attack. The expert then tested the defenses and was unable, despite multiple attempts,…
Does your business partner owe you anything? We’re not talking about money, although that may be an ultimate outcome, we’re talking about how they treat you. Do they owe you any duty to be fair or to bring business opportunities to your company? Whether you are a shareholder in a…
Although it is presently illegal under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”) to pay people different wages for performing the same work under similar working conditions because of their gender, there is currently pending in both the State Senate and Assembly legislation “concerning equal pay for women and…
One of the questions often asked by divorced individuals, particularly at the time of their retirement or the retirement of their former spouse, is whether or not they are entitled to receive Social Security benefits based on their prior marriage. The Social Security Administration interprets the law with the philosophy…
The Appellate Division has recently issued a decision clarifying the applicability of the time of application rule. Effective May 5, 2011 the New Jersey Legislature enacted a change to the Municipal Land Use Law (“MLUL”) that provided the ordinances that would be applied to a development application are those that…
In Clark v. Rameker, the United States Supreme Court held that an inherited IRA does not fall within the definition of retirement funds under Federal Bankruptcy law and is, therefore, not exempt from claims in a bankruptcy proceeding. This decision had a considerable impact upon the estate planning world. It…
A previous article appearing in Planning Matters discussed the use of lifetime gifts to reduce New Jersey estate taxes. The article pointed out that although there can be advantages to lifetime gifts, there are situations where embarking on a lifetime gifting program in New Jersey is ill-advised. This article will…
By now, most employers had already implemented or were posed to implement the United States Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rules aimed at swelling the ranks of employees eligible for overtime payments. The rule increased the salary threshold to qualify for the executive, administrative or professional overtime exemptions from…