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A qualified personal residence trust (QPRT) offers an opportunity for homeowners to minimize or avoid federal and New Jersey estate taxes. A QPRT allows a homeowner to transfer ownership of a primary or vacation home to a “grantor trust,” while keeping the right to live there for a specified period of time. When that specified time ends, ownership passes outright to the homeowner’s children or whoever is named as the remainder beneficiaries.

When you transfer your home into a QPRT, you make a gift to the beneficiaries which is subject to gift tax. The value of that taxable gift is not the full fair market value of the home, as it would be with an outright transfer. The value is discounted. In the current real estate market values are quite low, adding to the benefit of the QPRT. The gift is also discounted to reflect that you have retained an interest (the right to live in the home for the specified term). Internal Revenue Service tables and current interest rates are used to determine the amount of the discount. The federal gift tax exemption is currently $5,120,000.00 and you can utilize a portion of that exemption and pay no gift tax. As New Jersey does not have a gift tax, you can transfer the home without incurring any New Jersey gift tax.
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The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that a fired employee can sue his employer for the harm he suffered from “cat’s paw discrimination” because of his membership in the Army Reserve. Federal and state courts have ruled that “cat’s paw” liability applies in a wide variety of other New Jersey discrimination.

The Cat’s Paw.

In Aesop’s Fables, a monkey convinces a cat to pull chestnuts from a fire. The monkey then eats them, leaving the cat with burnt paws and no chestnuts. A “cat’s paw” case happens when a decisionmaker has no intent to discriminate herself, but fires or penalizes in reliance on another employee’s input which was motivated by discrimination. It is sometimes been called “subordinate bias” because it holds the employer responsible for the discrimination or retaliation of someone below the decisionmaker.

The Supreme Court and Cat’s Paw Discrimination Against Members of the Armed Forces.

The United States Supreme Court recently allowed a hospital employee who was fired because of his Army Reserve service to sue for “cats paw” discrimination.
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Many people in New Jersey ask, “I had a small party at my house and one of my guests drank alcohol and later got into a car accident, am I liable?” New Jersey homeowners also ask, “Can I get in trouble serving alcohol to a minor?” The short answer to both is yes.

In recent years society has become less tolerant of drunk driving and underage drinking, with many organizations taking on active roles in politics resulting in the passage of stringent laws related to alcohol. New Jersey is no exception. There is a strong public policy in New Jersey against serving minors and intoxicated adults.

First, hosts in New Jersey should be aware to never serve minors any alcohol. In New Jersey serving alcohol to a minor is disorderly persons offense and, depending on the circumstances, can also be a more serious criminal offense of endangering the welfare of a minor.

Further, in 1987 New Jersey passed a law on “social host liability,” making a host liable for injuries to a third-party for a guest’s actions if the host serves a guest, twenty-one years of age or older, alcohol when that person is “visibly intoxicated.” Therefore, if you serve alcohol in your home you should be aware of signs of intoxication, and, if they exist, you should immediately stop serving any “visibly intoxicated” person alcohol.
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Just about everyone has been called a name or had someone say something about them that wasn’t true, but when does that false statement become actionable defamation?

Under the law in New Jersey, defamation requires at least three people. It occurs when someone (“A”) makes a specific factual assertion about another (“B”) to a third person (“C”). The statement cannot be a joke or an expression of opinion; it must be something that is capable of being proven true or false, and which is actually false.

To establish a claim for defamation, B must show that A made an untrue statement of fact to C, that this statement included assertions that were “defamatory,” meaning they were negative and harmful to B’s reputation or caused monetary losses, and that A made this statement either knowing it was false, or while failing to exercise care in determining whether it was true or false. In some cases, B must also show and prove that she had incurred actual damages.

Therefore first, the statement must be “published,” i.e. made to a third party. Although it need not be publicized for the world to read in Time Magazine or hear on the six o’clock news, someone else must hear or read it. (If the third person reads the defamatory statement, the defamation is called “libel,” if she hears it, it’s called “slander.) Thus, A calling B a derogatory term or making a false statement of fact directly to B, is not defamation, because no third party heard it.

Next, the statement must be false. Even if harmful to a person’s reputation, a statement that is true is absolutely immune from a defamation claim by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution which protects free speech. Therefore, “truth” is a nearly unbeatable defense to a defamation claim.
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New Jersey law provides a “fresh start” or “clean slate” to people who made a mistake in the past, but turned their lives around and become a productive citizen by effectively clearing their records of arrests and convictions. These are called in New Jersey “expungements.”

Why Get an Expungment?
Expungements remove the obstacles which a criminal record can place on getting many jobs. An expungement allows someone to legally say an arrest or conviction never happened.

It is routine today for employers to do criminal background checks on job applicants – or even current employees. An expungement removes this as an obstacle to employment. (There are exceptions – for instance, the convictions must still be disclosed in applications for jobs with the judiciary or law enforcement, or to become a licensed attorney; the conviction may not be a bar, but it must be disclosed in these circumstances.) Arrests and convictions can keep an applicant from getting a job, or cause a current employee to be fired. Many professional licensing boards, such as for nursing, will reject applicants with certain criminal records. An arrest or conviction could cause an application to college or graduate school to be rejected. Many sports or community organizations reject volunteers with arrests or convictions. A criminal record may keep a person from adopting a child. A criminal record can also hurt the chances of joining the military. Finally, it removes the stigma of a criminal record from a good, productive citizen.

What New Jersey Convictions Can be Expunged, and When?
Most New Jersey crimes can be expunged.
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Under New Jersey law, anyone authorized to write a check can issue a stop payment order. A stop payment order tells the bank that it should not honor a check already written and given to someone, but not yet cashed.

In New Jersey, a stop payment order is effective for six months. However, if the stop payment order was verbally conveyed to the bank, it will lapse after fourteen days unless the customer confirms the order in writing within the fourteen day period. Then the customer may extend it for another six months by submitting a written request within the first six months.

However, New Jersey law does not require check cashing companies to investigate every check for possible stop payment orders. For instance, the Superior Court of New Jersey ruled that any claim that a check cashing company failed to conduct due diligence is unlikely to succeed because it is commercially unreasonable for companies to inquire about possible stop payment orders on every single check. It is enough for the company to see that the amount is small, the person has cashed similar checks from the same source, the person shows identification, and there are sufficient funds in the account.

If there is something suspicious about the check, the law may require the check cashing company to call the bank or check-writer to ensure it is legitimate. However, without some clear sign of fraud or other suspicious circumstances (for instance if a person attempted to cash a check for a large sum of money or the names or amounts had been erased or altered) the company has no obligation to confirm the check’s validity and may proceed to cash the check.

If there is not clear fraud, a check may be cashed even after a stop payment order is properly issued. After the check cashing company cashed the check, however, the bank would refuse to pay it because of the stop payment order. However, this does not leave the check cashing company without recourse. The company may actually sue the writer of the check for payment – regardless of the stop payment order.
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imagesCAWQ89PS.jpgThe United States Supreme Court recently issued a decision on a contentious question in employment law , with important implications for New Jersey employment disputes – can an employee who did not engage in protected activity sue his employer for firing him to retaliate against a friend or family member who is a whistleblower? Lower courts had split, but the Supreme Court unanimously sided with the employee and said yes.

Anti-Discrimination Statutes

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment because of an employee’s “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination also prohibits discrimination for these reasons, and also because of an employee’s age, ancestry, disability, marital or civil union status, domestic partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, military service obligations, nationality, genetic information, refusal to submit to a genetic test, or refusal to let an employer know the results of a genetic test.

Both Title VII and the New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who make complaints of discrimination.
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Trying to determine what is and what is not a trade secret is often a complicated venture. A clear example, and one of the most heavily guarded of trade secrets, is the recipe for Coca Cola. However, the definition of trade secret can be interpreted as an all-encompassing category with little clarification as to what specific information is protected.

The New Jersey Trade Secrets Act, recently passed into law in January of 2012, defines trade secrets as:

Information, held by one or more people, without regard to form, including a formula, pattern, business data compilation, program, device, method, technique, design, diagram, drawing, invention, plan, procedure, prototype or process, that: (1) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (2) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.

The Act codified accepted case law. Indeed, trade secrets have long been defined to include the any portion of technical information, designs, processes, procedures, and improvements which are secret and of value to the business holding them.
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The short answer is yes. Your will ensures that:
• your assets are given to those whom you want to receive them;
• you can control the way in the which your assets are distributed (for example, establishing a trust for the protection of a beneficiary, and designating the trustees);
• the guardians you choose will be entrusted with raising your children;
• your estate will be administered by someone you trust;
• your estate will not be reduced by the cost of an administration bond; and • estate taxes are minimized.

In your will, you choose who will receive your assets (beneficiaries) and what they will receive (bequests). If you do not have a will, your estate will pass through the laws of intestacy. Many people believe the laws of intestacy will align with their wishes for distribution of their estate. However, many times that is not the case. For example, if you are married, have no children, and do not have a will, people assume that the surviving spouse will inherit the entire estate. However, under New Jersey intestacy law , your surviving spouse is entitled to the first twenty five percent of your estate (not less than $50,000 nor more than $200,000) and seventy five percent of the remaining portion. The balance will go to your parents. So, for example, if you have a $1,000,000 estate your surviving spouse will receive a total of $800,000 and your parents would receive $200,000. In another example of unintended consequences in intestacy, if you have no living relatives and no will, your entire estate will be given to the State of New Jersey. There are many other scenarios under the laws of intestacy which would distribute your property in ways that you may not intend. Having a will ensures that your estate is distributed to people or charities that you have chosen.

Without a will, your assets are distributed under the laws of intestacy directly to the people designated by New Jersey law. In some circumstances, it may be wise to put the money in a trust for some of your beneficiaries so that you can direct when and for what purposes the money will be distributed. This is particularly useful if there are potential beneficiaries with special needs whose governmental benefits need to be protected.

A will designates your children’s guardians – a will is the only way to appoint guardians. This is an important choice. You should discuss this choice with the people you choose beforehand because you will be placing a great responsibility upon them.

You will also select executors and trustees. Executors are responsible for probating your will, paying expenses, and collecting and distributing the assets to the beneficiaries. Trustees manage assets placed in trust for designated beneficiaries. By New Jersey law, if there is no will, or a will that does not waive the bond, fiduciaries (such as executors and trustees) must post a bond with the surrogate’s court. The cost of the bond varies with the value of the estate’s assets, and can become very costly. To ensure that your assets are not diminished by the bonding requirement, you can waive it in your will.
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An estate plan carries out a person’s wishes at the time of their death and appoints people to make decisions during life.

An estate plan commonly consists of three main documents:
• Last will and testament
• Durable power of attorney • Living will and health care proxy (medical power of attorney)

Last Will and Testament. The fundamental document is the last will and testament. The will takes effect upon death. The will must meet the formal requirements under New Jersey law in order to be effective in New Jersey
The will designates people and their roles:
• Beneficiaries – recipients of the decedent’s assets;
• Executors – the persons who will probate the Will, collect the estate assets
and distribute the estate assets to the beneficiaries;
• Trustees – the persons who will manage the assets placed in a Trust usually
for the benefit of either the surviving spouse or the children or both;
• Guardians – the persons who will care for minor children until they reach the
age of majority (which is age 18 in New Jersey).

Durable Power of Attorney. The power of attorney is in effect when a person is alive; it becomes effective when it is signed. When a power of attorney is “durable”, it remains in effect even if the person is incapacitated. The durable power of attorney authorizes the people selected to handle your financial matters. Common tasks include banking, including writing checks and paying bills, real estate, trading investments, communicating with social security, pension benefits departments, Medicaid/Medicare, and the IRS, hiring accountants, attorneys, and financial advisors, and any other related financial need.
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