Except in the case of spouses, civil union partners and domestic partners, when a New Jersey resident dies owning a jointly held asset, whether it is real estate, stocks, bank accounts, etc., the entire value of the asset will be taxed as if it belonged to the decedent. If the…
The New Jersey Estate Tax is being phased out beginning with residents dying on or after January 1, 2017. Governor Christie signed a new law [1], the new tax laws reduce the estate tax for resident decedent’s dying in 2017 by increasing the exemption amount to $2,000,000.00, and then eliminating…
The American Bar Association Task Force on Real Property Probate and Trust Law issued a report discussing the following shortcomings of drafting your own estate planning documents using the services of a “Do It Yourself” package. Some of those short comings are as follows. Things are often more complicated than…
The irrevocable life insurance trust (“ILIT”) provides an accessible means of avoiding New Jersey and federal estate taxes on life insurance proceeds. The potential savings often outweigh the disadvantages of what you give up. The New Jersey and federal “estate taxes” are taxes on the transfer of property at your…
Estates of New Jersey residents are potentially subject to two types of state taxes: New Jersey Estate Tax and New Jersey Inheritance Tax. First, an estate is subject to New Jersey Estate Tax if the value of the estate is more than $675,000.00. This tax is based solely on the…