The New York “trust decanting statute” (EPTL 10-6.6) was significantly revised in August 2011. Although commentary and analysis of the new statute appeared almost immediately from practitioners, it was not until late 2013 that the judiciary joined the conversation. In Matter of Kroll,1 the Surrogate’s Court of Nassau County was faced…
Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. Firm News & Events
2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) on December 22, 2017. The Act makes significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code, covering a broad range of income, corporate, and estate taxes. Most of the changes to the Code are effective as of January 1, 2018. Because…
Drafting Divorce Agreements to Address Life Insurance Obligations
Nicole Kobis recently authored an article for the New Jersey Law Journal in which she provides insight to an often overlooked and extremely important task that needs to be addressed; obtaining and/or maintaining life insurance policies for each divorced spouse along with ensuring documentation is in place to allow each party…
Are Unpaid Internships Ready for a Comeback?
In NJBIA’s recent article, Kathleen Connelly, a member of Lindabury’s Employment Law practice group, discusses the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new test to determine if a student intern is an employee, which may make unpaid internships a more viable option for employers. “By no means is this a green…
DOL & NLRB Reverse Positions Seen As Anti-Employer
The change in administrations has brought a series of reversals of the Obama era’s less than employer-friendly positions by the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). This article highlights some of the favorable recent developments from these agencies that may be…
Portability – Examination of a Predeceased Spouse’s Estate Tax Return
In a recent case that is a cautionary tale to preparers of federal estate tax returns, the Tax Court held that the IRS was permitted to examine the estate tax return of the first spouse to die in determining the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount (DSUE) available to the estate…
Governor Signs Legislation – Breastfeeding Is Now A Protected Category Under The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
Effective Monday, January 8, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination was amended to include breastfeeding as a protected status. As a result, an employer cannot refuse to hire, cannot discharge, and cannot treat someone adversely with regard to the terms, conditions or privileges of their employment because that employee is…
An Uber Nightmare: Lessons from Another Botched Response to a Cyber Attack
Over the past several months, our firm’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice team has had ample opportunity to report on a number of high profile security and data breaches. It appears that trend is going to continue as another massive cyber-breach was just reported. This time, it was Uber that…
The Important Role Life Insurance Plays In Divorce Settlement Negotiations
When couples are ending their marriage or relationship there are many financial issues that need to be resolved including the division of property and respective ongoing support obligations. Two different categories of ongoing support one spouse may be responsible for are child support and spousal support, sometimes referred to as…
Homeowners Association Not Bound by Arbitration Provision Contained in Contract Between Buyer and Developer
The New Jersey Appellate Division’s decision in Greenbriar Oceanaire Community Association, Inc. v. U.S. Home Corporation, issued on November 16, 2017, determined that a Homeowners Association was not required to arbitrate any disputes with a developer, and, when faced with a motion to compel arbitration, was permitted to file an…