Annual Update Wills and Estate Planning Free Workshop & Seminar in person in Edison Law Office and Facebook Live

 Annual Update Wills and Estate Planning Free Workshop & Seminar in person in Edison Law Office and Facebook Live

 

on June 25, 2025 from 12:30-1:30 pm   Live in Vercammen Law Office

Wednesday.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1766175414320971

 

         Program also can be watched on your computer or IPhone via Facebook live

 

Law Office of Kenneth Vercammen, 

2053 Woodbridge Ave, Edison, NJ 08817  

   The “In office” program is limited to 9 people.  Free sandwiches and snacks for past clients

 

      COST: Free for in person if you pre-register by email. Complimentary materials provided at 12:15 sharp. Please bring a canned food donation, which will be given to the St. Matthews’s St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank.  

Main Topics:

1.   What’s new in 2025

2.   Administering the Estate/Probate /Surrogate

3.   Dangers If You Have No Will or documents invalid

4.   Getting your Estate Planning Documents done without driving to law office

5.   What goes into a Will

6.   Power of Attorneys recommendations

7.   Living Will & Advance Directive for Medical Care

8.   Avoiding unnecessary expenses and saving your family money

       Please email us if you plan on attending or if you would like us to email the materials. 

   SPEAKER: Kenneth Vercammen, Esq.                 

(Author- ABA Wills and Estate Administration)

      COMPLIMENTARY MATERIAL: Brochures on Wills, Probate and Administration of an Estate, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Elder Law, and Trusts.   

 

          Co-Sponsor: Middlesex County Estate Planning Council

To attend in person email VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com

Other Information call 732-572-0500

 

 

Can’t attend?  We can email you materials Send email to VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com

 

  Free Will Seminars and Speakers Bureau for Groups

SPEAKERS BUREAU

         At the request of senior citizen groups, unions, and Middlesex County companies and organizations, the " Speakers Bureau " is a service designed to educate citizens about how laws affect their lives and how the judicial system operates.  We have attorneys available to speak to businesspersons, educational, civic and social organizations on a wide range of topics during business hours.  If your organization in Central NJ would like to schedule a Will & Estates seminar, call Kenneth Vercammen’s Law Office at 732-572-0500 or email Vercammenlaw@njlaws.com

 

     10 years ago the AARP Network Attorneys of the Edison/Metuchen/Woodbridge area several years ago established a community Speakers Bureau to provide educational programs to AARP and senior clubs, Unions and Middlesex County companies. Now, Ken Vercammen, Esq. and volunteer attorneys of the Middlesex County Estate Planning Council have provided Legal Rights Seminars to hundreds of seniors, business owners and their employees, unions, clubs and non-profit groups 

Details on free programs available

 

     These quality daytime educational programs will educate and even entertain. Clubs and companies are invited to schedule a free seminar. The following Seminars are now available: 

1. WILLS & ESTATE ADMINISTRATION-PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND 

MAKE PLANNING EASY 

2. POWER OF ATTORNEY to permit family to pay your bills if you are temporarily disabled and permit doctors to talk with family 

       All instructors are licensed attorneys who have been in practice at least 25 years. All instructors are members of the American Bar Association, New Jersey 

State Bar Association, and Middlesex County Bar Association. All programs include free written materials. 

 

       You don't have to be wealthy or near death to do some thinking about a Will. Here is your opportunity to listen to an experienced attorney who will discuss how to distribute your property as you wish and avoid many rigid provisions of state law. 

 

      Topics discussed include: Who needs a Will?; What if you die without a Will (intestacy)?; Mechanics of a Will; "Living Will"; Powers of Attorney; Selecting an executor, trustee, and guardian; Proper Will execution; Inheritance Taxes, Estate Taxes $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion,  Bequests to charity, Why you need a "Self-Proving" Will and Estate Administration/ Probate.

 

       Sample materials: Hand-outs on Wills, Living Wills/Medical Advance Directive, Power of Attorney, Probate and Administration of an Estate, Real Estate, Working with your Attorney, Consumers Guide to New Jersey Laws, and Senior Citizen Rights. 

 

SPEAKERS BUREAU 

 

At the request of senior citizen groups, unions, and Middlesex County companies and organizations, the " Speakers Bureau " is a service designed to educate citizens about how laws affect their lives and how the judicial system operates. We have attorneys available to speak to businesspersons, educational, civic and social organizations on a wide range of topics during business hours. 

 

In today's complex world, few people can function successfully and safely without competent legal advice. In order to insure your estate plans are legally set up, you need to know exactly where you stand so that you can avoid possibly catastrophic mistakes impacting both you and your family. 

 

About the speaker: Kenneth A. Vercammen is a trial attorney in Edison, NJ. We is the author of the American Bar Association’s book “Wills and Estate Administration”

He is co-chair of the ABA Probate & Estate Planning Law Committee of the American Bar Association Solo Small Firm Division.  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 litigation, elder law, probate 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 website www.njlaws.com which includes many articles on Estate Planning, Probate and Wills. He is a member of the AARP and often lectures to groups on the importance of an up to date Will, Power of Attorney and Living Will.

 KENNETH  VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC

ATTORNEY AT LAW

2053 Woodbridge Ave.

Edison, NJ 08817

(Phone) 732-572-0500

 (Fax)    732-572-0030

www.njlaws.com

 

   Kenneth Vercammen is author of the 

ABA’s 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, NJ

Sponsor: Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division

Publisher: ABA Book Publishing

   List Price: $79.95

ABA Price: $69.95

ISBN: 978-1-63425-380-2

Product Code: 5150484

2015, 290 pages, 7 x 10, Paperback

http://shop.americanbar.org/eBus/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?productId=224827061

ABA Service Hotline 800-285-2221 312-988-5000

Edison Senior Center Wills, Estate Planning & Probate Seminar Presentation June 11, 2025 11am-11:30

 Edison Senior Center

Wills, Estate Planning & Probate Seminar Presentation 

June 11, 2025 11am-11:30

 

   Edison Senior Center      

2963 Woodbridge Ave, 

Edison, NJ 08837

Join the Edison Seniors to attend.

 

Main Topics:

 

1.   What’s new in 2025

2.   Dangers If You Have No Will or documents invalid

3.   Getting your Estate Planning Documents done when you can’t go into a law office

4.   What goes into a Will

5.   Power of Attorneys recommendations

6.   Living Will & Advance Directive for Medical Care

7.   Avoiding unnecessary expenses and saving your family money

 

Speaker: Kenneth Vercammen, Esq. Edison, NJ (Author-Wills and Estate Administration by the ABA)

 

    COMPLIMENTARY MATERIAL: Brochure on Wills, “Answers to Questions about Probate” and Administration of an Estate, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Real Estate Sales for Seniors, and Trust. 

 

Info contact 

<JWeimer@edisonnj.gov>

Senior Center Supervisor

Township of Edison

2963 Woodbridge Ave, Edison NJ 08837

  732-248-7346

 

 

Can’t attend?  We can email you materials Send email to VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com

 

 

 

COMPLIMENTARY MATERIAL: Brochure on Wills, “Answers to Questions about Probate” and Administration of an Estate, Power of Attorney, Living Wills, Elder Law, and Trust. 

 

Can’t attend?  We can email you materials Send email to VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com

 

  Free Will Seminars and Speakers Bureau for Groups

SPEAKERS BUREAU

         At the request of senior citizen groups, unions, and Middlesex County companies and organizations, the " Speakers Bureau " is a service designed to educate citizens about how laws affect their lives and how the judicial system operates.  We have attorneys available to speak to businesspersons, educational, civic and social organizations on a wide range of topics during business hours.  If your organization in Central NJ would like to schedule a Will & Estates seminar, call Kenneth Vercammen’s Law Office at 732-572-0500 or email Vercammenlaw@njlaws.com

 

     10 years ago the AARP Network Attorneys of the Edison/Metuchen/Woodbridge area several years ago established a community Speakers Bureau to provide educational programs to AARP and senior clubs, Unions and Middlesex County companies. Now, Ken Vercammen, Esq. and volunteer attorneys of the Middlesex County Estate Planning Council have provided Legal Rights Seminars to hundreds of seniors, business owners and their employees, unions, clubs and non-profit groups 

Details on free programs available

 

     These quality daytime educational programs will educate and even entertain. Clubs and companies are invited to schedule a free seminar. The following Seminars are now available: 

1. WILLS & ESTATE ADMINISTRATION-PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND 

MAKE PLANNING EASY 

2. POWER OF ATTORNEY to permit family to pay your bills if you are temporarily disabled and permit doctors to talk with family 

       All instructors are licensed attorneys who have been in practice at least 25 years. All instructors are members of the American Bar Association, New Jersey 

State Bar Association, and Middlesex County Bar Association. All programs include free written materials. 

 

       You don't have to be wealthy or near death to do some thinking about a Will. Here is your opportunity to listen to an experienced attorney who will discuss how to distribute your property as you wish and avoid many rigid provisions of state law. 

 

      Topics discussed include: Who needs a Will?; What if you die without a Will (intestacy)?; Mechanics of a Will; "Living Will"; Powers of Attorney; Selecting an executor, trustee, and guardian; Proper Will execution; Inheritance Taxes, Estate Taxes $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion,  Bequests to charity, Why you need a "Self-Proving" Will and Estate Administration/ Probate.

 

       Sample materials: Hand-outs on Wills, Living Wills/Medical Advance Directive, Power of Attorney, Probate and Administration of an Estate, Real Estate, Working with your Attorney, Consumers Guide to New Jersey Laws, and Senior Citizen Rights. 

 

SPEAKERS BUREAU 

 

At the request of senior citizen groups, unions, and Middlesex County companies and organizations, the " Speakers Bureau " is a service designed to educate citizens about how laws affect their lives and how the judicial system operates. We have attorneys available to speak to businesspersons, educational, civic and social organizations on a wide range of topics during business hours. 

 

In today's complex world, few people can function successfully and safely without competent legal advice. In order to insure your estate plans are legally set up, you need to know exactly where you stand so that you can avoid possibly catastrophic mistakes impacting both you and your family. 

 

About the speaker: Kenneth A. Vercammen is a trial attorney in Edison, NJ. We is the author of the American Bar Association’s book “Wills and Estate Administration”

He is co-chair of the ABA Probate & Estate Planning Law Committee of the American Bar Association Solo Small Firm Division.  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 litigation, elder law, probate 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 website www.njlaws.com which includes many articles on Estate Planning, Probate and Wills. He is a member of the AARP and often lectures to groups on the importance of an up to date Will, Power of Attorney and Living Will.

What is L8 Inheritance form: Form L-8 (Affidavit & Self-Executing Waiver)

  

L8 Inheritance form: Form L-8 (Affidavit & Self-Executing Waiver) This form may be used in most cases to transfer bank accounts, stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts, when the transfer or release is to a Class "A" beneficiary. You must file this form directly with each bank, financial institution, broker or transfer agent holding the assets. Form L-8 is used instead of a tax waiver (Form 0-1).

However, the Form L-8 cannot be used for:

• The transfer of real estate, or
• Decedents who die after December 31, 2001, but before January 1, 2017, with a taxable estate, plus adjusted taxable gifts, that exceeds $675,000 for Federal Estate Tax purposes under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code in effect on December 31, 2001.
• Decedents who die on or after January 1, 2017, but before January 1, 2018, with a taxable estate that exceeds $2 million for Federal Estate Tax purposes under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code in effect on January 1, 2017.

NOTE: If you are qualified and use Form L-8, you will not need or receive a waiver (Form O-1) from the Division.

 

Tax waivers (Form 0-1) are required to transfer assets from a decedent's name to a beneficiary. Such assets can include:

•   New Jersey real property (such as real estate);

•   Funds held in New Jersey financial institutions;

•   Brokerage accounts doing business in New Jersey;

•   Stock or bonds of a company incorporated in New Jersey, or a New Jersey institution.

A summary of the laws that require the waiver are as follows:

 

Inheritance Tax (N.J.S.A. 54:35-5, N.J.S.A. 54:35-19)

New Jersey Transfer Inheritance Tax is a lien on all property owned by the decedent as of the date of their death for a period of 15 years unless the tax is paid before this, or secured by bond. The lien exists whether the tax is levied and assessed or not.

The law requires that, with certain exceptions, banking institutions and other institutions, corporations, and persons must receive written consent (i.e., a tax waiver) from the Director of the Division of Taxation before delivering or transferring any assets from a resident decedent to a beneficiary.

Specific Waiver Situations:

1 Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's): A waiver is required to transfer any IRA that is held in a bank or other financial institution which would otherwise require a waiver. IRA's in the form of an annuity administered by an insurance company do not require waivers.

2 Brokerage Accounts: Waivers will be issued only for the total date of death value of the account. No waivers will be issued for individual securities held within a brokerage account. See "Brokerage Account" tab for further details.

3 Qualified Tuition Programs (529 Plans): Waivers are required to transfer any 529 Tuition Program in which the funds are held in a financial institution which would otherwise require a waiver.

Blanket Waiver – provides for the release of certain funds from banks without a waiver.

1 Authorized parties: An institution, association, organization, corporation, or person holding a decedent's funds may release up to 50 percent of the entire amount of funds on hand, without a waiver, to any of the following:

•                     An executor;

•                     Administrator;

•                     Legal representative of the decedent;

•                     Surviving joint tenant;

•                     Cestui que trust; or

•                     The estate of a minor in which title to funds are held in the name of a custodian for the minor.

2 50% of funds provision: The Blanket Waiver is limited to no more than 50 percent of the total funds in the entire account, whether the account is held in the decedent's name only or jointly with another.

3 Payment of tax: In addition to the amount permitted to be released by financial services firms under the above, institutions may honor any checks made payable to New Jersey Inheritance and/or Estate Tax without written consent of the Director. Payment can be in any amount for which there are sufficient funds held on deposit in any account owned by a decedent or their estate.

4 Payment of checks issued prior to death: When a check written by a decedent prior to their death is presented to a bank within 10 days of the decedent's date of death, the bank may honor the check. These payments can then be deducted before calculating 50% of the funds available for release under the Blanket Waiver provisions.

5 Stock exception: Securities of a New Jersey corporation registered in the name of a decedent and issued by any bank, or savings and loan association situated in this State, are not subject to the Blanket Waiver rule provided for in this section. Therefore, the written consent of the Director must be obtained in order to transfer or release all such assets.

6 Informant provision: The Director reserves the right to require the informant (the person who provides information about the decedent) to withhold any amount not yet distributed, pending further order of the Director.

Transfers permitted by banks and financial services institutions prior to receiving a tax waiver

Accounts: When making the transfers described below, the bank is required to retain the same control over the substituted account as the original account, until it has received a New Jersey Inheritance and Estate Tax waiver indicating the date of death balance of the original account.

1 Funds of a decedent on deposit in a checking account in any bank may be transferred to an interest-bearing account in the same bank in the name of the decedent or their estate without obtaining a tax waiver.

2 Funds of a decedent on deposit in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or Keogh retirement plan account may be transferred to another account in the same bank without obtaining a tax waiver.

3 Any certificate of deposit or any type of a preferred account containing funds of a decedent may be transferred to another account in the same bank without obtaining a tax waiver.

The transfers permitted above are subject to the requirement that the banking institution promptly file a notice with the Division of Taxation, Inheritance and Estate Tax Branch, PO Box 249, Trenton, New Jersey 08695-0249, containing the following information:

1 Decedent's name;

2 Date of death and domicile;

3 Name and address of executor or administrator of estate;

4 The account number, or certificate number, sought to be transferred, and the balance on deposit or the maturity value as of the date of death.

 

Last Updated: Tuesday, 08/02/22

How to Obtain a Waiver

Waivers (Form 0-1) can only be issued by the Inheritance Tax Branch of the NJ Division of Taxation. It is not a form you can obtain online or fill out yourself. In most circumstances, some kind of return or form must be filed with the Division in order to have a waiver issued.

 

Form L-8 (self-executing waiver for certain Class A beneficiaries ) can be substituted for Form 0-1 to obtain the release of financial (non-real estate) assets. An L-8 is valid only when the form is properly executed and used by or for the Class A beneficiaries indicated on the form.

Waiver Requirements - Brokerage Accounts

The New Jersey Inheritance Tax and Estate Tax statutes do not allow property owned by, or in the name of, a resident decedent to be transferred without written consent – in the form of a tax waiver – from the Director of the Division of Taxation. A lien remains on the decedent's property until taxes are paid.

An Inheritance/Estate Tax waiver is required to release the funds for all brokerage accounts held – individually or jointly – in a resident decedent's name. This tax waiver is required if the brokerage firm had an office in New Jersey, regardless of where the account was opened.

However, funds can be released without a waiver if a brokerage account passes to a decedent's :

•   Surviving spouse/civil union partner or domestic partner;

•   Child, stepchild, or legally adopted child;

•   Grandchild or great-grandchild, (but not a step-grandchild or a step great-grandchild);

•   Parent or grandparent.

Under the above circumstances, funds can be released if the executor, administrator, or certain beneficiaries of the estate, provides a properly completed Form L-8 to the brokerage firm. The L-8 form is an affidavit and self-executing tax waiver that is filed directly with the brokerage firm.

Assets are often held in a brokerage account registered in “street name” (i.e., when a brokerage holds a security – on behalf of a client – which is registered in the name of the institution). Those assets may be bought and sold within the account without first obtaining a tax waiver. However, until a tax waiver is obtained, these assets may not be transferred or released to the estate or beneficiaries, other than those permitted by the blanket waiver provisions of N.J.A.C. 18:26-11.16.

All blanket waiver provisions are applicable to brokerage accounts. The brokerage institution must retain assets worth half the value of an account on the decedent's date of death. The retained assets may not be released without a tax waiver. The institution may release whatever assets remain in the account, without a tax waiver, to:

•   An executor;

•   Administrator;

•   Legal representative of the decedent;

•   Surviving joint tenant;

•   Cestui que trust (the beneficiary of a trust); or

•   The estate of a minor, when the account is titled in the name of a custodian for the minor.

Examples:
A decedent's brokerage account held 1,000 shares of XYZ Corporation stock valued at $100,000 on the date of death:

•   If, three months after the decedent's death, the account is valued at $200,000, assets valued at $150,000 may be released without a tax waiver. Assets valued at $50,000 must be retained pending receipt of a tax waiver;

•   If, three months after the decedent's death, the account is valued at $60,000, assets worth $10,000 may be released without a tax waiver. Assets valued at $50,000 must be retained pending receipt of a tax waiver;

•   If, three months after the decedent's death, the account is valued at $40,000, no assets may be released without a tax waiver.

The provisions of N.J.A.C. 18:26-11.8 also apply to brokerage accounts. Specifically, funds held in a decedent's Individual Retirement Account (IRA) may be transferred to another account within the same institution (such as an inherited IRA) without obtaining a waiver.

Additionally, all – or any part – of the assets held in a decedent's brokerage account may be moved to an estate account within the same institution. Until a waiver for the original account is received, the institution is required to retain the same control over the substituted account as it had over the original account.

Source https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/inheritance-estate/inheritance.shtml