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New York Residents May Face State Estate Tax Even When No Federal Tax Is Due The federal estate tax exclusion is substantially higher than New York's exclusion. As a result, an estate may fall below the federal filing threshold while still creating a New York estate tax obligation. For individuals dying in 2026, the federal…

Written Estate Planning Documents Can Provide Important Protections For Unmarried Partners Sharing a home, raising children, and combining finances may make an unmarried couple a family in every practical sense. New York law, however, does not automatically provide long-term partners with the same inheritance, property, and decision-making rights afforded to spouses. New York has not…

New Jersey Courts Look At Why The Equity Was Granted And When It Was Earned Stock options and restricted stock units can be among the most valuable and disputed assets in a New Jersey divorce. An employee may receive grants throughout the marriage, but the shares might not vest until years after the divorce complaint…

Parenting Coordinators Help New Jersey Families Resolve Day-To-Day Custody Disputes A disagreement over a pickup time, holiday schedule, school event, or extracurricular activity can quickly turn into another court motion when parents struggle to communicate. A parenting coordinator can give families a faster way to address recurring disputes without asking a judge to resolve every…

A DCPP Educational Neglect Investigation Examines Attendance, School Records, And The Reasons Behind Absences A school attendance problem can become a child welfare investigation faster than many parents expect. A teacher, counselor, attendance officer, relative, or another concerned person may report suspected educational neglect to New Jersey's Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP). At…

Medical Records Can Shape Every Stage Of A New Jersey DCPP Investigation A bruise noted during a pediatric visit, a missed follow-up appointment, or an emergency room history that appears inconsistent can quickly become part of a New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency investigation. Medical records may help DCPP evaluate whether a child…

New Jersey Estate Planning Attorneys Explain How To Protect Every Child Families come in many different forms today, and a growing number of New Jersey residents have children from more than one relationship. Whether a person has children from a prior marriage, a prior relationship outside of marriage, or both, the presence of children from…

New Jersey Estate Planning Attorneys Explain What Is At Stake Most people assume that a close family member will simply step in and take care of things if they are ever unable to manage their own affairs. In New Jersey, that assumption is wrong. Without a valid power of attorney, no one has the legal…

New Jersey Divorce Attorneys Explain How Courts Handle College Costs For many New Jersey families, the question of who pays for college surfaces years after a divorce is finalized. The children are older, tuition bills are arriving, and neither parent expected the financial conversation to be this complicated. The default assumption that each parent simply…

New Jersey DCPP Attorneys Explain What Parents Need To Know About Case Plans When the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) opens a case in New Jersey, most parents get hit with the same question almost immediately: What are they going to make me do? The honest answer is that DCPP can require a…