Kenneth Vercammen is a Middlesex County Trial Attorney who has published 130 articles in national and New Jersey publications on Criminal Law, Probate, Estate and litigation topics.

He was awarded the NJ State State Bar Municipal Court Practitioner of the Year.

He lectures and handles criminal cases, Municipal Court, DWI, traffic and other litigation matters.

To schedule a confidential consultation, call us or New clients email us evenings and weekends via contact box www.njlaws.com.

Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C,

2053 Woodbridge Avenue,

Edison, NJ 08817,

(732) 572-0500

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Coordinating Probate and Non-Probate Assets:

Coordinating Probate and Non-Probate Assets: A Will generally governs the disposition of assets held in the decedent’s name alone.  Thus, one can draft a Will only to learn that it will have little impact if most of the assets are governed by beneficiary designations or other arrangements.  Lawyers sometimes call assets governed by a Will “Probate Assets.”  Assets that are governed by a contract, joint ownership, a beneficiary designation or similar arrangement may be called “Non-Probate Assets” (these can include IRAs, 401ks,  joint bank accounts, homes, other real estate and insurance).  For many Americans, most of their assets may fall into these categories (all of which may be included in their “taxable estate” for estate tax purposes).  An experienced estate lawyer can guide the client through this process, helping to ensure that the client’s desired objectives comport with the structure of his assets.
source http://www.americanbar.org/groups/real_property_trust_estate/resources/estate_planning/diy_estate_planning.html