Ken Vercammen's NJ Laws email newsletter April 10, 2004 #151 In this issue: 1. TEN ESTATE PLANNING IDEAS 2. Arrest of 3 car passengers permitted where drugs found in car. 3. Out of State Non-DWI Does Not Require NJ DMV Suspension 4. Old DWI Does Not Ban PTI 5. DMV Surcharge Sometimes May Be Avoided in Bankruptcy. 6 New 2004 DWI statute _______________________________________ 1. TEN ESTATE PLANNING IDEAS By Kenneth A. Vercammen, Esq. Under the law in New Jersey, if a person dies without a Will and without children, their spouse will inherit all assets, even if they are separated from the spouse. In addition, if you have children from a previous marriage, but no Will, your separated spouse will get half your estate. In planning, make sure your assets go to your loved ones or favorite charity. Therefore, you may wish to do the following: 1) Have an Elder Law attorney prepare a Will to distribute your assets to the people you care the most about. If you already have a Will, prepare a new Will and have the old Will revoked. ( Your estate planning attorney will explain this to you.) 2) Prepare a Power of Attorney to select someone to handle your finances if you become disabled. Have your old power of attorney revoked. 3) Prepare a Living Will prepared 4) Change your beneficiary on assets you may own, such as stocks, bank accounts, IRA, and other financial assets. Change your beneficiary under your own life insurance, whether whole life insurance or term insurance. 5) Contact your employer's human resources and change the beneficiary on life insurance, pension, stock options or other employee benefits. Note that if you are not yet divorced, your spouse may have to sign a written waiver permitting you to change beneficiaries. 6) Keep your personal papers at a location where family can find them. 7) Have your attorney prepare a prenuptial agreement if you decide to get married. 8) Make sure the trustee for any funds designated for your children is the "right" trustee. 9) In New Jersey, if you are married and living with your spouse, under certain instances the surviving spouse has a right to "elect against the Will" The disinherited spouse may like to elect against the Will and try to obtain one third of the estate. Your attorney can explain how you can protect yourself and your children. 10) If you have minor children, nominate someone under a Will to serve as guardian to the children. Although the surviving parent obviously has first right of custody of children, they may not even want custody. CONCLUSION Planning can only be done if someone is competent and/or alive. Make sure your assets can be passed directly to your loved ones. ____________________________ 2. Arrest of 3 car passengers permitted where drugs found in car. Maryland v. Pringle. ___ US ___ 02-809 (December 15, 2003). Warrantless arrest of 3 automobile passengers when drugs found in car is warranted where officer has probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. Source: 174 NJLJ 1089 3. Out of State Non-DWI Does Not Require NJ DMV Suspension. NJ Division of Motor Vehicles v. Ripley 364 NJ Super. 343 (App. Div. 2003). A Utah alcohol-related reckless driving conviction entered on a guilty plea to a reduced charge from the original driving while intoxicated charge was not substantially similar to a New Jersey DWI conviction for purposes of the Interstate Driver License Compact. We reversed the 720-day suspension by the Division of Motor Vehicles because of lack of substantial similarity in the Utah and New Jersey offenses. 4. Old DWI Does Not Ban PTI. State v. Negran 178 NJ ___ A-75-2003 (November 25, 2003). On the defendant's application for admission to the pretrial intervention program, the defendant's driving history did not demonstrate a "pattern of anti-social behavior" because there was not a sufficient temporal connection between the defendant's past motor vehicle offenses and the eluding charge in this case. Source: 12 NJL 2322 5. DMV Surcharge Sometimes May Be Avoided in Bankruptcy. In the Matter of Schick. ___ United States Bankruptcy Court ___ No. 02-19562 (Decided November 18, 2003). The lien held by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission against the debtoršs property was a judicial lien as defined by the Bankruptcy Code that could be avoided pursuant to 11 U.S.C. __ 522(f) to the extent that it impairs the debtoršs homestead exemption. Source: 12 NJL 2319 _____________________________ 6 New 2004 DWI statute -Outline by Kenneth Vercammen First offender penalties increased P.L. 2003, CHAPTER 314 Previously, a person who drives with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10% or higher is considered guilty of drunk driving. The New Law, effective January 20, 2004, reduces the BAC that constitutes drunk driving to 0.08%. The basis for this reduction was that the federal government has statutorily mandated that each state establish driving with a BAC of 0.08% or higher as its per se drunk driving offense. Any state that fails to pass such a law will lose a percentage of its federal highway funding. Under the Law's provisions, if the offender's BAC is 0.08% or higher but less than 0.10%, or if the offender operates a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or if the offender permits another person under the influence of intoxicating liquor or with a BAC of 0.08% to 0.10% to operate a motor vehicle, the fine imposed would be $250 to $400 and the license suspension would be for three months. If the offender's BAC is 0.10% or higher, or if the offender operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug, or the offender permits another person who is under the influence of narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug to operate a motor vehicle, or permits another person with a BAC of 0.10% or higher to operate a motor vehicle, the fine imposed would be $300 to $500 and the license suspension would be for not less than seven months or more than one year. This means a first time offender with a BAC of only .10 faces a minimum 7 month license suspension, increased from 6 months. The bill also brings the law imposing penalties on underage persons who operate motor vehicles after consuming alcohol into conformity with the new 0.08% standard. Race results: Kenneth Vercammen First place overall ! INDIAN TRAILS 3 MILE RUN Middletown, NJ http://www.compuscore.com/cs2004/march/indian1.htm _________________________ Thank you for reading our newsletter! God Bless America USA #1 Kenneth Vercammen, Esq. 2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817 NEW PHONE 732-572-0500 New (Fax) 732-572-0030 website: www.njlaws.com Editor's Note and Disclaimer: All materials Copyright 2003-2004. You may pass along the information on the NJ Laws Newsletter and website, provided the name and address of the Law Office is included. Always schedule an office appointment with an experienced attorney when you have a legal matter. 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