10 Estate Planni ng Ideas for Divorced Persons

By Kenneth A. Vercammen, Esq

There may come a ti me when a parent is unable, due to physical or
mental incapaci ty, to take care of her minor children. If a parent dies, the
minor children will need a uardian. In these circumstances, those carin for
the children, as well as the courts will need directi on. By wri ti n and
e!ecuti n a "ill, which includes instructi ons on uardianshi p one may select
someone, either indi #i dual l y or $ointl y, with the leal authori t y to act for
minor children and assume control o#er the assets of the children. Estate
planni n, which includes the e!ecuti on of a "ill, is $ust as important for
moms with minor children as they are for senior citi%ens.
"here there&s 'o "ill (
If you do not wri te a "ill, the )tate has already wri tten one for you. *our
assets o to whoe#er a state law says recei #es the assets, or to the
o#ernment itself+ A "ill should be a statement to the thins you trul y
care about, your children, your parents, your friends, your -hurch and
chari ties. *ou can consider rememberi n your church or school.
As a#erae Americans, we work ./,/// hours in a lifeti me, or 01 to 11
years. In spite of all our resources and the assets we earn durin our
lifeti me, the #ast ma$ori ty of Americans do not take the ti me to create the
leal instructi ons to uide the court or a uardi an upon thei r death. 'ational
statistics indicate that more than 1/2 of Americans die without lea#i n a "ill
. In the absence of a "ill or other leal arranement to distri bute propert y at
death, the )tate must step in to admi nister the estate and decide who ets
custody of your children and handles your money. This process is called the
law of intestacy. The resul t can be lenthy delays in the distri buti on of your
estate, court battl es between relati #es and your children bein raised by
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someone you do not fa#or. "ithout a "ill, your famil y will ha#e to pay
substanti al costs for accountants, attorneys, bondin compani es and probate
fees.
If *ou 3a#e 'o "ill,

If you lea#e no "ill or your "ill is declared in#alid because it was
improperl y prepared or is not admissible to probate,
4. 5eople you dislike or people who dislike and inore you may et some of
your assets.
6. )tate law determi nes who ets assets, not you
7. Additional e!penses will be incurred and e!tra work will be required to
qualify an admi nistrator8 )urety Bond, addi ti onal costs and leal fees
0. *ou 9ose the opportuni t y to try to reduce Estate Ta!, )tate inheri tance
ta!es and :ederal estate ta!es
1. A ;ude determi nes who ets custody of children. A reedy brother or
cra%y mother in law could ask the court for custody.
<. It probabl y will cause fihts and lawsui ts wi thi n your famil y
=. The procedure to distri bute assets becomes more complicated
.. The father of your children may try to control the assets of your children
and not properl y spend the money
In plannin, make sure your assets o to your lo#ed ones or fa#ori te
chari ty, not an >e!>. Therefore, you may wish to do the followi n,
4? 3a#e an Elder 9aw attorney prepare a "ill to distri bute your assets to the
people you care about the most. If you already ha#e a "ill, prepare a new
"ill and ha#e the old "ill re#oked. @*our estate planni n attorney will e!plain
this to you.?
6? 5repare a 5ower of Attorney to select someone to handle your finances if
you become disabled. 3a#e your old power of attorney re#oked.
7? )elect the correct beneficiary on assets you may own, such as stocks,
bank accounts, IAA, and other financial assets.
0? -hane your beneficiary under your own life insurance, whether whole life
insurance or term insurance.
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1? -ontact your employerB s human resources and chane the beneficiary on
life insurance, pension, stock options or other employee benefi ts. 'ote that if
you are not yet di#orced, your spouse may ha#e to sin a wri tten wai #er
permi t ti n you to chane beneficiari es.
<? If you are not di#orced or separated from the father, keep your personal
papers at a location where an e!8 spouse or the childBs parent canB t destroy
them.
=? If you ha#e minor children, nominate someone under a "ill to ser#e as
uardian to the children. Althouh the sur#i #i n parent ob#iousl y has first
riht of custody of children, they may not e#en want custody.
.? Cake sure the trustee for any funds desinated for your children is the
>riht> trustee.
D? 3a#e your attorney prepare a prenupti al areement, if you decide to et
married, so your children can inheri t your assets. ? If you et marri ed, ha#e a
formal prenupti al areement prepared by an attorney so your children, not
new spouse, recei#es your assets if you pass away.
4/? In 'ew ;ersey, if you are still married and li#in wi th a spouse, under
certai n instances the sur#i #i n spouse has a riht to >elect aainst the will >.
The disinheri ted spouse may like to elect aainst the "ill and try to obtai n
one third of the estate. *our attorney can e!plai n how you can protect
yourself and your children.
ESTATE PLANNI NG TO PROTECT YOR C!ILDREN
G"ardi ans
Cost indi #i duals appoint the parent to act as Euardian of the person and
propert y of their minor children. It is suested that your "ill include a
clause which pro#i des that in the e#ent the father predeceases you, or is
unsui tabl e or ceases to act as Euardian of the person and propert y of your
minor children, you appoint a trusted famil y member or close friend to act as
successor Euardian of the person and propert y of your minor children.
Tr"stee
)elect a trusted person, a close relati #e or friends, who will in#est and
hold your childrenB s money. In your "ill you can instruct the Trustee to appl y
amounts of income and principal as they, in their sole discreti on, deem
proper for the heal th, maintenance, education, welfare, or support of your
children or other minors. Firect that the trustee shall accumul ate any income
not needed for the abo#e purposes, payi n and transferri n the porti on held
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in trust to the beneficiary upon his or her attai ni n the ae of ma$ori ty or
whiche#er ae you select.
C#ildren $orn after %o" sign t#e &ill
Cany people direct that the pro#isions of thei r "ill also applies to
afterborn children. Accordinl y, if you ha#e any addi tional children
subsequent to the e!ecuti on of this "ill, then where#er you ha#e desinated
onl y your named children, you intend that all of your children shall share
equall y in the rele#ant pro#isions of your "ill.
In addi ti on to ha#in a formal 9ast "ill and Testament indi #i duals are
encouraed to ha#e a 5ower of Attorney and also 9i#in "ill. Coreo#er, we
also recommend they plan ahead and wri te messaes to thei r famil y and
anticipated e!ecutor detaili n their specific desires reardi n funeral and
burial. "ritten instructi ons to your famil y and e!ecutor contai ni n
informati on and uidance will mini mi%e uncertai nt y, confusion, and possible
o#ersihts followi n your death.
Concl"sion
"hile the precedi n article contai ns possible items to be discussed
wi th your famil y, attorney and e!ecutor, the article is by no means
e!hausti #e. A number of these items may not be applicable in your
situati on, and probabl y there are many others that are applicable. The
essenti al element is to spend some ti me now consideri n what you should
tell those most closel y associated with you to facili tate their handlin of
your affairs upon your death.
A$o"t t#e A"t#or'
Kenneth Vercammen is a 9itiati on Attorney in Edison, ';,
appro!i matel y 4D miles north of 5rinceton. 3e often lectures for the
American Bar Association and 'ew ;ersey )tate Bar Association on personal
in$ury, crimi nal G municipal court law and practices to impro#e ser#ice to
clients. 3e has published 461 articles in national and 'ew ;ersey publicati ons
on leal topics. 3e has ser#ed as a )pecial Actin 5rosecutor in se#en
different cities and towns in 'ew ;ersey. 3e has spoken on "ills and Elder law
on numerous occasions to the Adul t -ommuni t y )chools in Cetuchen,
)ayre#i lle, Hld Bride, )outh Brunswick and EdisonG-lara Barton )eniors and
5erth Amboy )eniors.
In his pri#ate practice, he has de#oted a substanti al porti on of his
professional ti me to the preparati on and trial of litiated matters. 3e has
appeared in -ourts throuhout 'ew ;ersey se#eral ti mes each week on many
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personal in$ury matters, Cunicipal -ourt trials, arbi trati on hearins and
contested hearins.
3e is also a popular speaker for the American Bar AssociationB s
Eeneral 5ractice )ection and 9aw 5ractice Canaement )ection.
)ince 4D.1, his pri mary concentrati on has been on litiati on matters.
Cr. Vercammen ained other leal e!periences as the -onfidenti al 9aw -lerk
to the -ourt of Appeals of Caryland @)upreme -ourt?, with the Felaware
-ounty, 5A Fistrict Attorney Hffice handlin 5robable -ause 3earins,
Ciddlese! -ounty 5robati on Fept as a 5robation Hfficer, and an E!ecuti #e
Assistant to )cranton Fistrict Caistrate, Thomas 3art, in )cranton, 5A.
-all our office to schedule a confidenti al appoint ment =768 1=68 /1//
(ENNET! )ERCA**EN + ASSOCIATES, PC
ATTORNEY AT LA&
6/17 "oodbri de A#e.
Edison, '; /..4=
@5hone? =768 1=68 /1//
@:a!? =768 1=68 //7/
websi te, www.n$ laws.com
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