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When a person dies owning assets, probate is often required to transfer the title. Some assets are “probate assets.” These assets can only be transferred after an executor or administrator has been appointed by one of the New Jersey Surrogates. Each county in New Jersey has its own Surrogate. The county where probate is initiated is determined by the decedent’s residence. If that person died with a will, the executor named in the will will be appointed by the Surrogate, then the assets will be transferred to the beneficiaries named in the will by that executor. If the person died without a will, the surrogate will appoint an administrator, then the assets will be transferred according the New Jersey Intestacy Statutes by the administrator.

There are, however, assets which can be transferred without probate. These assets are transferred to a designated beneficiary under contract law. Examples include: the joint tenant of real estate automatically becomes the sole owner of that real property; the “payable on death” beneficiary on a bank account takes ownership of the entire account; the named beneficiary on a contract for life insurance will be paid the proceeds of the policy without the need for the executor or administrator to take any action. Other assets which typically pass without the need for probate include IRAs, 401(k)s, and employee death benefits. Determining if an asset must go through probate to effectuate transfer is dependent upon how the title to the asset was held at the time of the person’s death.

Personal property, including stocks, bonds and bank accounts, vehicles and real property which are held solely in the decedent’s name require probate for transfer to the beneficiary. These assets are referred to as “probate property” and are transferred to the people designated in the will, or if there is no will, to the people designated by New Jersey’s laws of intestacy.

If probate is required, this is done at the New Jersey Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent resided. A will cannot be probated until ten days following the death of the testator (the person who executed the will). The person who is named executor in the will must appear at the Surrogate’s County with the original will, an original certified death certificate, the names and addresses of the next of kin (the surviving family members), a check to pay the Surrogate’s fees for probating the will, and valid identification.
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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 value of the assets held by a person when they die, whether held individually or jointly with another person. If the value of the estate exceeds $675,000 a New Jersey Estate Tax Return (NJ IT-E) must be filed within nine months after death.

Second, the requirement to file New Jersey Inheritance Tax Return (NJ IT-R) is triggered by the classification of the estate’s beneficiaries. The NJ IT-R must be filed within eight months after death. The tax is determined by the relationship of each beneficiary to the decedent. Class “A” beneficiaries are not required to file or pay New Jersey Inheritance Tax. Class “A” beneficiaries are spouses, children (or lineal descendants), parents, grandchildren, grandparents, or stepchildren. There is also no inheritance tax on bequests to a qualified charity. Since, these are usually who most people leave their estates to, most estates are not subject to the New Jersey Inheritance tax.

If a person leaves property to a brother, sister, son-in-law or daughter-in-law (these are class “C” beneficiaries), the New Jersey Inheritance Tax Return must be filed. The first $25,000 of the bequest is not subject to inheritance tax. However, the next $1,075,000 is subject to tax at a rate of 11%; amounts in excess of that are taxed on a sliding rate scale ranging from 13% to 16%.
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New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination

New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”) protects many people, particularly employees, from discrimination because of their race, ethnicity or religion, among other things. Discrimination can take many forms, but includes direct tangible adverse employment actions, such as firing, demotion, etc., and harassment which cause a hostile work environment. In order to constitute discrimination, harassment must be either “severe or pervasive,” and severe or pervasive enough to create a “hostile work environment.”

The Law on Poorly Aimed Discrimination

The law prohibiting discrimination and harassment is well established. However, an issue arose as to whether discrimination or harassment based not on a person’s actual race, ethnicity or religion, but on his incorrectly perceived religion, race or ethnicity is also protected.

The LAD also protects against discrimination or harassment based on disability. As far back as 1982, New Jersey Supreme Court noted in a footnote, Anderson v. Exxon Co., 89 N.J. 483 (1982), that employers could not discriminate based on a perceived disability, even if the employee was not actually disabled. Although that was not the issue in the Supreme Court’s 1982 decision, the Appellate Division shortly thereafter decided another case, affirming the rule that employers could not discriminate based on a perceived, even if an incorrectly perceived, physical disability.

The LAD also prohibits discrimination in housing. In 1987, the Superior Court’s trial division found that a landlord had violated the LAD by refusing to rent an apartment to three gay men (sexual orientation is also protected by the LAD), based on the landlord’s perceived but on the mistaken perception that they would contract AIDS.
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Background: Due Diligence, Purchases and Sales of Business

In the sale of a New Jersey business, buyers normally perform due diligence such as inspecting profits, losses, revenue, expenses, bank accounts, tax returns and financial statements and the like. Contracts for the sale of a business often say that the buyer is not relying on a seller’s representations, but rather only on its own inspections. In many instances, conducting inspections and due diligence may bar recovery when the buyer believed going in to the closing turn out to be incorrect. The question then becomes, what if those mistaken beliefs were brought about by the seller’s own fraud?

Bridals Gowns Not What They Appear

Anwar and Donna Walid were looking to buy a business. Donna had worked at a high end retail clothing store in New York, studied textile design, and obtained a master’s degree in organization and development. Anwar, Donna’s husband, had a degree in electrical engineering and had worked in research and development for Lucent Technologies. They were highly educated people.
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There are limits to the assets you may own and still qualify to receive Medicaid in New Jersey. What those limits are depends on the type of Medicaid coverage you are seeking and your marital status. If you have more than the allowable amount of assets, you can only qualify by reducing them. Reducing your assets to be within the applicable acceptable limit is referred to as “spending down”. Many people think of spending the money on medical care or assisted living facilities as the only way to reduce there assets to the threshold amount. However, purchases of many items, so long as they are purchased for fair market value, and cannot be construed to be an investment, such as art or collectibles, are a valid way to reduce your assets.

If you are anticipating a need for Medicaid, the following are tried, true, and legal methods of spending down your assets, in a way that retains value for you or your family:

Purchase an irrevocable prepaid funeral plan.

Most funeral homes offer such plans. By doing this, not only do you save your loved ones that expense, but you also reduce the emotional burden on those who would have to make the arrangements after your passing.

Purchase a new car.

Only one car per person is exempt from the asset calculation, so if you already own a car, you would have to sell the old one for fair market value. If you give it to someone as a gift, the value of the car will be brought back into your asset value and will have to be spent down prior to becoming eligible for Medicaid.
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257897_whistle1.JPGNew Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”) is New Jersey’s whistleblower protection law. CEPA provides perhaps the broadest and strongest legal protections in the country against whistleblower retaliation. However, it does not protect against all employee complaints that an employer is doing something it shouldn’t. In the recent case of Powell v. Wachovia Corporation, the Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court once again defined the outer limits of what objections are protected.

CEPA: New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act, the “Whistleblower Law.”

Among other things, CEPA prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who object to or refuse to participate in an employer activity, policy or practice which they reasonably believe violates a law, regulation or public policy, or which is criminal or fraudulent.

Examples of objections which New Jersey courts have found to be protected be protected under CEPA include:

  • New Jersey’s Supreme Court held that complaints about inadequate ventilation in a school shop affecting health and safety outlined in a guide incorporating regulations constituted clear mandate of public policy.
  • New Jersey’s Supreme Court found that objections that police selectively refused to enforce laws regarding sex-industry was complaint of violation of law affecting public welfare.
  • The Appellate Division held that objections to adoption of dog which had previously been violent impacted clear mandate of public policy to protect public from vicious dogs.
  • The Appellate Division found that a grammar school custodian objecting to unsanitary conditions in a student lavatory constituted objection regarding clear mandate of public policy.

What Happened Between Powell and His Employer, Wachovia

James Powell was a “benefits producer” for several insurance companies which were eventually acquired by Wachovia. As a benefits producer, Powell’s job was to market, sell and place insurance policies provided by companies as employee benefits. Powell was an “at-will” employee. However, he and his fellow benefits producers at Wachovia’s Wayne, New Jersey, were compensated under a contract from 1993 which had long ago expired. Under this scheme, they were paid fifty per cent of the revenue they generated.
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A New Jersey bankruptcy can be a helpful solution for a person struggling with debt. A New Jersey debtor can file for Chapter 7 liquidation or Chapter 13 reorganization. Each has its own benefits. Both provide relief to New Jersey debtors by wiping out their debts, thereby providing bankruptcy’s “fresh start.”

Chapter 7 Benefits

In New Jersey a Chapter 7 liquidation is relatively quick. Most people can get a discharge several months after filing for bankruptcy protection. This means that upon the completion of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy the court will order that debts are discharged and an individual can have a “fresh start.”

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If you or a family member are injured in an automobile accident, it is important to contact an experienced New Jersey personal injury attorney to protect your rights to allow you to bring claims for compensation.

Under New Jersey automobile insurance laws, everyone who drives in New Jersey must have automobile insurance. Insurance companies are responsible to have an attorney defend a driver accused of negligence and pay any judgment or settlement. This means that the insurance company has to appoint and pay for a lawyer to defend the negligent driver and subsequently pay any settlement or judgment up to the policy limits. Typically the insurance company will try to delay and avoid and paying any claims. Even if the insurance company agrees to pay a claim it will try to pay as little as possible. It is therefore critical to speak to an experienced New Jersey personal injury attorney to ensure that your rights are protected.

If you have been involved in an accident you should not speak with the other driver’s insurance company until you have had an opportunity to speak with an experienced New Jersey personal injury attorney. The insurance company will be gathering as much evidence as it can get to use against you in court to avoid or reduce making a payment. After the insurance company learns about an accident it will attempt to contact you to obtain information. The insurance company will do this by sending you letters and calling. This can be overwhelming, especially if you have just been involved in an accident. This is yet another reason to seek representation by an experienced New Jersey personal injury attorney. Experienced attorneys can help preserve evidence by, for example, contacting witnesses and working with the insurance company to provide only the necessary information.

It is also important to seek necessary medical treatment and keep a list of all the medical providers from whom you have sought treatment after the accident. But don’t worry; New Jersey is a “no fault” state. This means that the medical bills for injuries you sustained in an automobile accident are paid by your own insurance company under what is known as “Personal Injury Protection” (“PIP”). Therefore, if you have auto insurance it is important that you advise your own automobile insurance company if you have been in an accident. You should also advise your medical provider that you were involved in an automobile accident when seeking treatment. The medical provider should submit the bill to PIP for payment.
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In 1978 Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in an effort to eliminate the abusive tactics used by unscrupulous consumer debt collectors. The Act also provides consumer debtors with a procedure for which they may dispute and obtain verification of the debt. New Jersey business owners need to be aware of its requirements.

The FDCPA applies only to consumer debt, which means that the debt was incurred primarily for personal, household, or family purposes, rather than commercial purposes. Therefore, collections against a corporation are not governed by the provisions of the FDCPA. Further, the FDCPA only restricts the conduct of “debt collectors” which includes only third-party collectors who regularly collect the debts of another, and does not include original creditors. Sheriffs are also not considered debt collectors. This means a New Jersey business owner trying to collect its own debt need not comply.

One question that is often raised is what constitutes “regularly” collecting the debts of another. There is no black and white answer and the courts have refused to set forth a hard and fast rule on the matter. For instance, in one case, the court found that a firm was a debt collector when four percent of its business was dedicated to debt collection, while in another case the court found that the firm was not a debt collector when six percent of its business was comprised of debt collection, partly because that six percent was met by a single case. It is ultimately determined on a case-by-case inquiry.
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New Jersey employment law is a comprehensive system which provides some of the strongest protections in the nation for New Jersey employees. New Jersey employees are protected against discrimination and whistle-blowing retaliation. New Jersey employment law provides for leave of absence for childbirth, adoption of a child, or serious health conditions. New Jersey has its own wage and hour laws that regulate minimum wage and overtime pay for New Jersey employees.

New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (the “LAD”) applies to all employers. The LAD prohibits discrimination or harassment in employment for a prohibited reason, including race, religion, color, gender, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, marriage status, domestic partnership or civil union status, sexual orientation, identity, and disability. The list of protected job-related activities is expansive and includes recruitment, interviewing, hiring, promotions, discharge, compensation, and any term, condition or privilege of employment.

The LAD prohibits both intentional and inadvertent discrimination because of a discriminatory animus or bias. Intentional discrimination includes different treatment of individuals, as well as harassing statements or overt conduct. Indirect discrimination can include practices or policies that have an adverse impact on employees of protected categories. For example, requiring workers to be over six foot tall may have a disparate impact on woman and therefore violates the LAD. If, however, an employer can establish that the requirement is necessary to perform the job and there is no alternative available, then the policy would not violate the LAD.

New Jersey Whistle Blowing Protection

The Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”) prohibits New Jersey employers from retaliating against employees who disclose, object to, or refuse to participate in actions which they reasonably believe are either illegal or in violation of public policy. CEPA protects all New Jersey employees and independent contractors. The New Jersey Supreme Court has described CEPA as the most far-reaching whistleblower statute in the nation. CEPA has been found so expansive that it even protects employees who erroneously accuse their employer of a wrong doing in good faith. New Jersey employees should beware, however, that in most circumstances they must advise a supervisor, in writing, and give reasonable time to correct the problem.
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