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

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

2016 update Wills and Estate Planning- Free Seminar June 15


2016 update Wills and Estate Planning- Free Seminar June 15


2016 update Wills and Estate Planning- Free Seminar June 15


2016 update Wills and Estate Planning- Free Seminar Wednesday June 15, 2016 12:15-1:00 PM and again 5:15pm-6pm
Law Office of Kenneth Vercammen, 2053 Woodbridge Ave, Edison, NJ 08817
COST: Free if you pre-register by email. Complimentary materials provided at 12:00 sharp. We previously held this seminar for the Metuchen and Edison Adult schools. These programs are limited to 15 people. Please bring a canned food donation, which will be given to a community food bank. Please email us if you plan on attending or if you would like us to email the materials. For attorneys, a more detailed program will be held April 18 5:00 PM- 9:00 PM NJ Law Center
SPEAKER: Kenneth Vercammen, Esq.
(Author- Answers to Questions About Probate)
The NJ Probate Law made a number of substantial changes in Probate and the administration of estates and trusts in New Jersey. Main
Topics:1. The New Probate Law and preparation of Wills
2. 2016 changes in Federal Estate and Gift Tax exemption
3. Reducing NJ Estate Tax on estates over $675,000
4. Power of Attorney
5. Living Will
6. Administering the Estate/ Probate/Surrogate
7. Question and Answer
COMPLIMENTARY MATERIAL: Brochures on Wills, Answers to Questions about Probate and Administration of an Estate, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Real Estate Sales for Seniors, and Trusts. Co-Sponsor: Middlesex County Estate Planning Council To attend email VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com for Information: Mike McDonald 732-572-0500 Cant attend? We can email you materials Send email to VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/189376084731220/
Kenneth Vercammen is author of the ABAs new book Wills and Estate Administration Straightforward and to-the-point, Wills and Estate Administration provides step-by-step guidance that firms can use to handle all aspects of an estates practice, from initial client intake to closing the file.
Topics are defined in six parts for ease of use: Preparation for Wills/Estate Planning Interviews Interviewing Clients Additional Estate Planning Issues Estate Administration Guardianship of Disabled or Incompetent Parents Marketing Your Wills and Estate Administration Practice Making this an essential resource for solo and small firm practitioners, the author includes numerous forms for each topic, and they are also available for download online. The book is basic and written to help new and transitional attorneys. In addition, tips on practice management will help seasoned attorneys.Author: Kenneth A Vercammen Edison, NJSponsor: Solo, Small Firm and General Practice DivisionPublisher: ABA Book Publishing List Price: $79.95ABA Price: $69.95ISBN: 978-1-63425-380-2Product Code: 51504842015, 290 pages, 7 x 10, Paperbackhttp://shop.americanbar.org/eBus/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?productId=224827061ABA Service Hotline 800-285-2221312-988-5000 Sample chapter available http://shop.americanbar.org/Have just finished Ken Vercammens excellent book on Wills, Estate Administration, and Guardianship. It is a very practical book that examines the business of an estate and trust practice. This step-by-step analysis is complete with forms and helps even the seasoned practitioner streamline his practice.-Thomas D. Begley, Jr., Esq., Begley Law Office, NJAbout the Author: Kenneth A. Vercammen is a trial attorney in Edison, NJ. He is co-chair of the ABA Probate & Estate Planning Law Committee of the American Bar Association Solo Small Firm Division. The is the author of the ABA book Wills and Estate Administration, available at http://shop.americanbar.org/.He is a speaker for the NJ State Bar Association at the annual Nuts & Bolts of Elder Law & Estate Administration program. He was Editor of the ABA Estate Planning Probate Committee Newsletter. Mr. Vercammen has published over 150 legal articles in national and New Jersey publications on Wills, litigation, estates, probate law and trial topics. He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation and probate law for the American Bar Association, NJ ICLE, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published in noted publications included New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer. He established the NJlaws websitewww.njlaws.com which includes many articles on Estate Planning, Probate and Wills.KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PCATTORNEY AT LAW2053 Woodbridge Ave.Edison, NJ 08817(Phone) 732-572-0500 (Fax) 732-572-0030www.njlaws.comhttp://www.njwillsprobatelaw.comTable/ of Contents ABAs new book Wills and Estate Administration Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiPART 1Preparation for Wills/Estate Planning Interviews . . . . . . . . . . 1Handling Telephone Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Initial Responses to Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Calls from New Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Subject Matter of Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Reminder Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Telephone Consultations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Rejected Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Referrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Estate Planning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Exhibit 1-1: Will Appointment Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . 7Exhibit 1-2: Estate Planning Appointment CoverLetter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Exhibit 1-3: New Client Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Exhibit 1-4: New Client Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Exhibit 1-5: Confidential Will Questionnaire . . . . . . . . 14Exhibit 1-6: Estate Planning Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . 21Exhibit 1-7: Power of Attorney Questionnaire . . . . . . . 26Exhibit 1-8: Will Estate Planning Consult Bill . . . . . . . 29Exhibit 1-9: Agreement to Provide Estate PlanningLegal Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31PART 2Interviewing Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Initial Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Wills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Importance of Wills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Will Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Will Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39IV Wills and Estate AdministrationPreparing Drafts of Estate Planning Documents . . . . . . . . . 40Guardianship of Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Need for Periodic Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Cost Reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Revisions in Wills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Children from Prior Marriages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Separated or Divorced Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Gay and Lesbian Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Referring Cases Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Explaining Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Will Preparation Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Power of Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Importance of Power of Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Gift-Giving Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Going into Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Living Wills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Statute Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Health Care Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Advance Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Organ Donor Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Estate Planning for Alzheimers Patients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62The Missing ClientBe Wary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Tax Matters and Credit Shelter Trust Preparations . . . . . . . . . . . 64What Is a Credit Shelter Trust? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65State Estate Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Document Signings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Wills Signings Outside Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Follow-up after Signing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Newsletter to Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Referrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Uniform Probate Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Exhibit 2-1: WillHusband to Wife with Trust forMinor Children and Guardians Selection . . . . . . . . 83Exhibit 2-2: WillWidow/Widower Spouse withChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Exhibit 2-3: WillUnmarried Couple with NoChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Exhibit 2-4: WillBasic to Spouse and Childrenwith No Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Contents vExhibit 2-5: WillUnified Credit Trust to ReduceEstate Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Exhibit 2-6: Will Revision Services Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Exhibit 2-7: Codicil to Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Exhibit 2-8: Will Services Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Exhibit 2-9: General Durable Power of AttorneyForm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Exhibit 2-10: Revocation of Previous Wills andPowers of Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Exhibit 2-11: Living Will and Durable Power ofAttorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Exhibit 2-12: Power of Attorney Taking Effect . . . . . 119Exhibit 2-13: Will Draft Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Exhibit 2-14: Will Signings Outside Office . . . . . . . . . 123Exhibit 2-15: Post-Will Signing Letter to Clients . . . . 125Exhibit 2-16: Client End-of-Case Questionnaire . . . . 128Exhibit 2-17: Brochure Request Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Exhibit 2-18: Referral Thank You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133PART 3Additional Estate Planning Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Preparation of Letters of Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Content of Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Confidentiality of Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment . . . . . . . 138Patient Information Disclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Prenuptial Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Problems of Probate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Revocable Living Trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Transferring Property into the Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Irrevocable Trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Marital Tax Deductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Special Needs Trusts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust . . . . . . . . . . . 148Medicaid Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Impact of Divorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Medicaid Spend-Down and the Mentally Incompetent . . 151Long-Term Care Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Questions to Ask about Long-Term Coverage . . . . . . . . . 152VI Wills and Estate AdministrationSigning House Over to Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153Providing for Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153Unexpected Illness/Disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Exhibit 3-1: Letter of Last Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Exhibit 3-2: Confidentiality of Files/Requests forCopies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Exhibit 3-3: Acknowledgment of Receipt ofDocuments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Exhibit 3-4: HIPAA Authorization to DisclosePatient Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165Exhibit 3-5: Irrevocable Trust [Wife to Husband] . . . 167PART 4Estate Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Filing a Probate Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180Qualifying the Executor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Probate Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Inheritance Renunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Assets That Do Not Pass under a Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Tax Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Finalizing the Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Testamentary Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Consulting Fees for Probate Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189Intestacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190Elective Share of Spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194Undue Influence Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194Caveat to Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198Removing an Executor of an Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Complaint for Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Executors Commissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Unsold Real Estate and Other Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Exhibit 4-1: Condolence/Will Revision Letter . . . . . . 202Exhibit 4-2: Probate/Inheritance/EstateAdministration Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Exhibit 4-3: Retainer Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Exhibit 4-4: Agreement to Provide Probate LegalServices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210Exhibit 4-5: Executor Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214Contents viiExhibit 4-6: Notice of Probate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Exhibit 4-7: Certificate of Mailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221Exhibit 4-8: Transfer Inheritance Tax BureauLetter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222Exhibit 4-9: Release and Refunding BondLetter/Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Exhibit 4-10: Real Estate Waiver Filing . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Exhibit 4-11: Agreement to Provide LegalServicesProbate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Exhibit 4-12: Will/Estate Consultation Bill . . . . . . . . . 231Exhibit 4-13: Renunciation for Administration . . . . . . 232Exhibit 4-14: Complaint to Remove Executor,Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Exhibit 4-15: Complaint to Replace Executor . . . . . . 245PART 5Guardianship of Disabled or Incompetent Parents . . . . . . . 249Exhibit 5-1: Guardianship Interview Form . . . . . . . . . 252Exhibit 5-2: Guardianship Legal Services Fees . . . . . 257Exhibit 5-3: Complaint for Guardianship . . . . . . . . . . 260Exhibit 5-4: Affidavit of Next of Kin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261Exhibit 5-5: Letters to Doctors to Be Deliveredby Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Exhibit 5-6: Affidavit of Doctor 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263PART 6Marketing Your Wills and Estate AdministrationPractice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Seminars Sponsored by Community Organizations . . . . . . . . 265Hosting Seminars in Your Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265Seminar Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Seminar Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266American Association of Retired Persons Membership . . . . . 267Happy Hour Networking with Professionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267Marketing via Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268Setting up a Blog on Wills and Probate for Free . . . . . . . . 268Gift Certificates for Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269Maintaining Client Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270viii Wills and Estate AdministrationConclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270Exhibit 6-1: Sample Letter to Senior Groups . . . . . . . 271Exhibit 6-2: Confirm Will Seminar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273Exhibit 6-3: Sample Flyer for Will Seminar . . . . . . . . 275Exhibit 6-4: Items to Bring to Wills and Elder LawProgram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276Exhibit 6-5: Law Office Seminar PromotionalFlyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Exhibit 6-6: Wills and Estate AdministrationSeminar Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279


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