Wills and Estate Planning

Important Reasons to Consider an Estate Plan

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Avoiding Conflict

Avoiding conflict between your heirs can be accomplished with a specific estate plan. Careful estate planning can help you to assess your personal needs and circumstances, and resolve such issues as choosing your beneficiaries, deciding who should be your executor, trustee, and resolve other questions such as naming a guardian to provide care for minor or disabled children, providing for a spouse or a domestic partner.

Controlling Your Estate

Establishing an estate plan gives you the power to accomplish the goals you have in mind, such as providing support for a spouse or domestic partner, providing for a child’s college education, or making gifts to a charitable organization.

Taking Care of Health and Financial Issues

The Advance Health Care Directive is a document that names an individual who is authorized to make decisions regarding your health care if you become incapacitated or are unable to make these decisions for yourself.

Durable Power of Attorney

This document allows you to grant authority to the individual you appoint to manage your financial affairs such as writing or depositing checks, paying bills and making mortgage payments. You may also grant more authority to your appointed agent such as the power to finance or sell real estate.

Reducing or Eliminating Estate Taxes

The most common estate tax saving trust is the Credit Shelter trust, also known as the bypass trust. An AB or bypass trust can significantly reduce federal and New Jersey estate taxes when couples have a combined estate worth more than the New Jersey threshold of $2 million for decedents in 2017 and the federal estate tax threshold (currently over $5.45 million per decedent) which Congress may change in the future.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

This trust is a legal entity which holds the life insurance that you previously owned in your own name, or you may purchase a new policy at the creation of this trust. Because the trust owns the policy, the proceeds will not be included in your taxable estate. Your beneficiaries will remain as you originally designate, and will benefit from the full amount of the policy.

Premarital Agreements

Premarital (also known as Prenuptial) agreements are enforceable contracts that define the rights and responsibilities of the spouses or partners during the marriage, separation or divorce. They cover areas such as wealth acquired prior to the marriage, ownership of property and predetermination of spousal inheritance rights. It is important to understand your rights as a premarital agreement can supersede New Jersey family and inheritance laws.

GST Trusts

Generation-skipping trusts leave property in trust for grandchildren and avoid estate taxes on the trust property when your children die.

Uri Hugo Taenzer, of the Law Offices of Taenzer & Ettenson, P.C. counsels clients on estate and tax planning, wealth preservation, multigenerational tax and estate planning, asset protection planning, business succession planning, and related legal matters. We encourage the active participation of clients in the estate planning process and work closely with outside accounting, investment, insurance and banking professionals, as client interests dictate.

Using proven estate planning and wealth preservation techniques to assist individuals and families, professionals and closely held business owners to preserve and protect their assets, we tailor plans to meet each client’s objectives.

The Law Offices of Taenzer & Ettenson, P.C. handles all phases of estate administration, including probate of estates, collection of estate assets, funding of trusts, assistance in executor and trustee accountings, distribution of estate assets to beneficiaries, and representation of estates in tax audits. We use appropriate tax planning options to further our clients’ interests.