Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. Firm News & Events
Elizabeth Candido Petite recently spoke with the New York Times for an article The Unequal Inheritance: It Can Work, or It Can ‘Destroy Relationships’. In the article Elizabeth shares her insights on estate planning strategies that can be used when someone decides to bequeath different amounts to their heirs. The strategies she shares come from her experience helping estate planning clients navigate the intricacies of early inheritance, gifting for caregiving children and second marriage families.
The Impact of a Divorce on Estate Planning
Births, deaths, marriages, and divorces reshape the definition of family for individuals on a constant basis. It’s no wonder, then, that family law and estate planning often go hand in hand. Estate planners and divorce attorneys alike are often presented with “what if” questions that span both areas of law. Here, a few common questions are explored which can help guide people faced with these life transitions as they make decisions to protect their spouses, children, and assets.
Can I change my Will while I’m getting divorced? Should I?
Although the last thing that many people want to do once the divorce action has begun is engage another attorney, it is actually a good idea to revisit your estate plan at this time. Public policy prohibits disinheriting your spouse, so a spouse who is not named in the other’s Will could file a claim for the “spousal elective share” to receive a portion of the deceased spouse’s estate. The filing of a divorce complaint does not prevent a soon-to-be former spouse from inheriting an equitable share of marital assets. The New Jersey Supreme Court has analyzed what should happen in this situation and applied a remedy which does not allow the surviving spouse a windfall, but at the same time recognizes that at the time of the death, the parties were in fact still married.[1]
Proposed Estate & Gift Tax Reform
On March 25, 2021, Senators Sanders and Whitehouse introduced a bill titled “For the 99.5% Act.” If enacted, the following are among some of the significant provisions:
- Federal estate tax exemption reduced from $11.7 million to $3.5 million
- Gift tax exemption reduced from $11.7 million to $1 million
Mask Mandates Are Falling – What Are Employers To Do?
On May 13, 2021 the CDC unexpectedly recommended that, with limited exceptions, fully vaccinated individuals can resume all indoor and outdoor activities without wearing masks or social distancing, except where required by law or workplace guidance. Individuals are deemed fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their final dose of the vaccine.
Under the new guidance, vaccinated individuals can resume pre-pandemic activities even if other individuals in the workplace are not fully vaccinated. In addition, vaccinated individuals are no longer required to undergo COVID-testing or quarantine after travel within the United States.
Not so fast: The collective cheers heard in offices last Thursday afternoon following the CDC’s announcement were short-lived for some jurisdictions that were following the CDC guidance. New York, Illinois and Massachusetts are among the states that have announced that they have or will imminently lift their states’ mask and social distancing mandates for vaccinated individuals. California has announced that it will keep the mandates in place for indoor settings outside the home until June 15th. New Jersey’s Governor Murphy is taking a more cautious approach, stating that all workplace requirements of EO 192 (mandatory masks, social distancing, daily health screenings, sanitation of work areas) remain in effect and he has not announced any timeline for the lifting of restrictions.
Post-Divorce Modifications & Mediation
It is not uncommon in these difficult times for one ex-spouse to seek a modification of the divorce decree. COVID has caused changes in everyone’s life. A party may have lost income or even their job and seek to decrease alimony and child support. Or concerns over the safety of unvaccinated children or the failure of an ex-spouse to receive a vaccination may lead a party to seek to modify visitation.
Litigation over these issues was already time consuming before the pandemic caused a backlog of matters before the courts. You and your family may be better served by bringing your issues to mediation with a retired judge. During my 27 years on the bench I served 6 years as the Family Presiding Judge where I tried hundreds of cases and assisted in the settlement of many more. These cases involved alimony, child support, equitable distribution and custody. I also ruled on hundreds of post judgment applications. I believe my experience can be beneficial to ex-spouses who wish to reach a mutual resolution of their family law issues in a timely manner.
The Challenge Of Being A Sympathetic Divorce Lawyer
Nicole Kobis, Partner in Lindabury’s Divorce & Family Law group, recently contributed an article to Above The Law on the challenges of being a sympathetic divorce lawyer.
The task of the compassionate divorce lawyer is not easy: it requires balancing sympathy and acknowledgment of the emotional turmoil occurring in my clients’ lives while at the same time ensuring that they understand the boundaries of the law. I work even harder now to make sure that when a client leaves my office, they know that divorce is not the end of their lives. Instead, I help them finish one chapter and immediately turn the page to begin a new chapter which though different, could be even better than the one before.
You can read Nicole’s entire article here.
Divorce and the Business Owner
Divorce attorneys are often asked the following question: “I am thinking about getting divorced. I own part of a family business. What should I be doing?”
There are two questions to ask before answering.
Do you have a buy-sell agreement?
The New Jersey Cannabis Microbusiness License: An Entrepreneur’s Guide
On Feb. 22, 2021 Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, which established the framework for a legal, adult-use cannabis industry in New Jersey. By some estimates, recreational cannabis may grow to be a billion-dollar industry in the state over the next few years. Many have worried that much of this growing economic pie may be grabbed by large, well-capitalized cannabis companies from out of state that have already established themselves in those other markets where recreational cannabis was legalized earlier than New Jersey.
Enter the microbusiness license.
Per New Jersey’s cannabis licensing laws, a microbusiness is a cannabis business with strong established connections with New Jersey that is subject to certain size and operational limitations. A significant number of licenses to operate in the cannabis industry will be earmarked solely for such microbusinesses. As such, microbusinesses will only need to compete against one another during the application process, rather than needing to compete directly with larger, more established businesses. This potentially gives entrepreneurial start-up companies seeking to delve into the cannabis industry a path forward without getting pushed aside by multi-state operators (MSOs) in the frenzy once New Jersey begins accepting applications.
Zero Tolerance Policy? Not So Fast. Proposed Cannabis bill offers Clarification and Possible Relief to Some Employers.
After much anticipation, New Jersey’s Governor Murphy signed the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” into law on February 22, 2021. While this law made adult use recreational cannabis legal, the extensive law, together with a few “clean up bills,” did a whole lot more than legalization. In hundreds of pages, this law created the broad framework for the development and regulation of the entire cannabis industry including licensing, manufacture, distribution, taxation, enforcement, as well as criminal and social justice reforms for the possession and use of cannabis. It is therefore not surprising that some issues of particular importance to employers, such as drug testing and carve-outs for certain industries, are still hazy.
Importantly, while some provisions of the law became effective immediately, the provisions governing employment and those “activities associated with the personal use of cannabis,” are not operative until the newly appointed five member Cannabis Regulatory Commission adopts initial rules and regulations. These regulations, which will interpret and instruct how the law will be implemented, are required sometime within 180 days of the law’s adoption, or by mid-August 2021.
How does recreational marijuana impact Zero Tolerance Marijuana Policies?
Estate Planning With Family Businesses
To the owners of family businesses, estate planning can sometimes be an after-thought. Owners are often so involved in building their business and managing its daily operations that they do not have time to devote to the planning that will become important when the owner is ready to hand over management control and ownership to successors. It is often the case with successful family businesses that there has been little or no thought given to the transition of management and ownership, with the result being there is no succession plan in place. Further, available strategies to transfer the ownership of the business to younger generations of the family in a tax-effective manner may not have been utilized.
When a family business is one of the assets, or perhaps the primary asset, a well thought out strategic and financial plan for the business and an estate plan for the family are critically important. The following is a brief and by no means exhaustive outline of some points to consider.
Strategic Planning