New Site Launch

I have been working on launching another site dedicated to short sale assistance for sellers and buyers. This weekend was its launch. The goal is to assist people through education so that the real estate market in south Jersey rebounds and helps rebuild our local economy. I encourage you to check it out at:

South Jersey Short Sale Attorney

If you have any questions about short sales or foreclosures and live in:

Atlantic County
Salem County
Gloucester County
Cape May County
Burlington County
Camden County
Cumberland County
Mercer County
Ocean County

or in the greater Atlantic City, Cape May, Camden, Vineland, Bridgeton, Millville, Trenton, Medford, Toms River, Deptford, Woodbury areas this site will help you with any questions you have about foreclosure, short sale and deeds in lieu of foreclosure.

New Site Launch

I have been working on launching another site dedicated to short sale assistance for sellers and buyers. This weekend was its launch. The goal is to assist people through education so that the real estate market in south Jersey rebounds and helps rebuild our local economy. I encourage you to check it out at

South Jersey Short Sale Attorney

New Jersey – No Registration – No Insurance – No Drivers License

One of the most common and costly mistakes people make is to drive on public roads without having the necessary paperwork either in the vehicle or done at all.

If you have been pulled over and in the course of the traffic stop and the officer discovers you do not have your license, registration and insurance you will be issued tickets. This will require you to appear in court to answer the charges. What should you do?

If you have the documents but they were not in your possession at the time of the stop bring them to court and show them to the prosecutor. You will still have to pay a fine and court costs but you will not be exposed to more serious charges. In these type of cases if there are no other charges and you are comfortable speaking with the prosecutor and judge, you may consider going to court without an attorney.

If you did not have a valid license, registration or insurance at the time of the traffic stop do whatever you can to go get that taken care of as soon as possible. You should hire an attorney to represent you or ask the court to assign a public defender. Driving without a license, insurance and/or registration carries high fines, possible jail times in some cases and suspension of your driving privileges and right to register a vehicle in the state of New Jersey.

If you were pulled over initially for an issue with your vehicle like a blown taillight or headlight bulb, cracked windshield or other vehicle malfunction you will want to get that fixed and bring a copy of the repair bill to the court to show the prosecutor as well.

These actions show the court you are serious about answering the charges and complying with the law. While it will not make the charges go away, it will increase your changes of receiving a lesser sentence from the judge.

Read Across America Week

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday and Read Across America week, Jim Schroeder will be reading to students at the Charles Spragg School in Egg Harbor City today.

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.” declares the Read Across America website.

NEA’s Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.

NEA’s Read Across America also provides NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year.

In cities and towns across the nation, teachers, teenagers, librarians, politicians, actors, athletes, parents, grandparents, and others develop NEA’s Read Across America activities to bring reading excitement to children of all ages. Governors, mayors, and other elected officials recognize the role reading plays in their communities with proclamations and floor statements. Athletes and actors issue reading challenges to young readers. And teachers and principals seem to be more than happy to dye their hair green or be duct-taped to a wall if it boosts their students’ reading.

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Shoplifting: What if I never left the store with the item?

NEW JERSEY: Can I be arrested for shoplifting if I never took anything out of the store?
        One of the most common misconceptions about the charge of shoplifting is that a person need not remove an item from a store to be charged with shoplifting.
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11b states:
Shoplifting shall consist of any one or more of the following acts:…

(2)For any person purposely to conceal upon his person or otherwise any merchandise offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the processes, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the value thereof.

        A person who attempts to conceal or hide an item on their person or in their belongings may be arrested before they leave the store.
The Prosecutor must prove that the defendant had intent to deprive the merchant of the value of the goods. The act provides for a presumption against the accused meaning that evidence of an act of concealment is considered evidence of intent to shoplift.
A person need not hide the item under their garments or in their bag. If a person puts on a garment over their clothing and attempts to remove the tags the courts have held this may be an act of concealment.
These cases are most often handled in the municipal court where the store is located. These are some of the toughest cases for prosecutors because often the person accused has a pristine criminal record and these cases often tend to become very emotionally charged.
        It is important for the accused to regain legal counsel to assist them with the charges they face.

Why create an Estate Plan?

Creating an estate plan is somewhat time consuming, but certainly a worthwhile investment when one does a cost benefit analysis. If any of these reasons are important to you, creating an estate plan is worth your attention:

* To appoint someone to administer your property
* To appoint a personal guardian for your minor children
* To appoint someone to administer a minor child’s property
* To disinherit someone
* To provide advance health care plans in case of emergency
* To avoid letting the state decide who gets what of your estate
* To avoid delays and expenses of probate
* To save money
* To prevent your grieving loved ones from having to guess about your wishes

There are a lot of other good reasons but the most important is the peace of mind it gives you that your loved ones will be a little better off in their time of grief for your having taken the time to untangle what could be a messy process.

New Jersey: Theft of Movable Property NJSA 2C-20-3a

In order for the state to convict a person under the statute they must prove each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

  1. that the defendant knowingly took or unlawfully exercised control over moveable property.
  2. That the movable property was the property of another.
  3. That the defendant’s purpose was to deprive the other person of the movable property.

What is “movable property”?
The definition of movable property is broad and likely includes property one would not generally consider. Of course it includes cash, jewelry, computers, cell phones and tickets to the ballgame. It also may include theft of a pet, food and drink, running a cord to someone’s house and stealing their electric, trade secrets and a myriad of other things people usually do not consider. Generally theft of movable property cases arise out of someone stealing from the home, car or school locker of another person.
What about the requirement of “knowingly”?
The state needs not present witnesses to prove that the defendant “knowingly” took something. The circumstances of the situation can be used to prove knowledge. For instance a person knows or should know that they are not permitted to reach into someone else’s car and remove their backpack.
A defense to a proof that a defendant acted knowingly is mistake. A defendant may testify that when leaving the home of a friend they picked up a coat that was similar to their own not realizing the coat was not theirs and the owner had left his wallet in the pocket. If the coat is returned upon request or upon discovery and nothing has been taken from the wallet a defendant would assert the defense of mistake.
In the above case theft did not occur at the house when the coat was taken. The act becomes theft if the person realizes or knows that they have the other person’s coat and wallet and makes no attempt to return it or attempts to convert the credit cards or cash which may be in the wallet for their own use.

What about “purpose”?
A person’s purpose is a condition of the mind which can only be inferred by the circumstances of the defendant’s conduct. In the case above a person would not have a purpose to steal unless and until the discover they have the other person’s wallet and coat and decide to keep or use them for their own purposes.
The offense is graded as 2nd, 3rd or 4th degree by the value placed on what was taken. (a) it is a Second Degree Offense if the theft involved a value of $75,000 or more; (b) it is a Third Degree Offense if the value involved is between $500 and $75,000; and (c) it is a Fourth Degree Offense if the value involved is between $200 and $500.

Sentencing:
A person convicted of Theft under NJSA 2C-20-3a can expect to face the following consequences:

  1. 1.Fines up to $1,000
  2. 2.$50 to the Victims of Crime Compensation Board
  3. 3.$75 to the Safe Neighborhoods Services Fund
  4. 4.$33 Court Costs
  5. 5.If the theft was of a motor vehicle a person may face suspension of driving privileges
  6. 6.Jail sentence up to 6 months
  7. 7.Payment of restitution
  8. 8.Forfeiture of public office if the person is an elected official.

Some relevant Statutes:
1 N.J.S.A. 2C:20-1e – “Movable Property” means property the location of which can be changed, including things growing on, affixed to, or found in land, and documents, although the rights represented thereby have no physical location. Unless the character of the property unlawfully taken is in dispute, the Court may instruct the jury that the property so taken is “(movable) property” under the statute.
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-1g – “Property” means anything of value including real estate, tangible and intangible personal property, trade secrets, contract rights, chooses-in-action and other interests in or claims to wealth, admission or transportation tickets, captured or domestic animals, food and drink, electric, gas, steam or other power.
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-1b – “Property of Another” includes property in which any person other than the actor has an interest which the actor is not privileged to infringe, regardless of the fact that the actor also has an interest in the property….

How Do I get a copy of a Will?

Question: How do I get a copy of a will from a person who died in 2004?

In New Jersey the Surrogate’s office in each county handles probate issues. When a person dies a representative known as the executor (male) or executrix (female) brings the death certificate and the will to the Surrogate’s office.

If the will complies with the requirements set forth by the courts it is admitted to probate. The will and other important documents are kept by the Surrogate in their files.

To get a copy of a will that has been probated you can go to the county surrogate’s office and request a copy. Usually the fee is between $10-$30 based on the fee structure set by the county and the number of pages of the will.

Note that if there were no assets in the estate there may be no will probated. A will where there are no assets may be filed with the surrogate’s office but will not get a docket number and will not be public record.

Some counties make their surrogate’s records available online. My favorite county surrogate’s website is Camden – you can search for the availability of documents online. See the site HERE

Generally a beneficiary of an estate will have been notified at the time of probate but sometimes this step is missed or neglected. If you have any questions about what the Will of a loved one it may be worth the effort and expense to have peace of mind.

For a link to the contact information of each of the 21 county surrogate’s offices – CLICK HERE

Power of Attorney and Guardianship Explained

The primary difference between a Power of Attorney and a guardianship is court involvement.

Guardianships are fiduciary relationships created by the court. The court authorizes an individual to act as guardian or conservator of another according to the terms of the court order.

Power of Attorney is created by a person who is of sound mind to grant certain powers and withhold other powers by the terms of the document. The grantor can tailor these powers and determine whether they take effect upon signing or if they spring at some point in the future (such as a Licensed Psychologist determining they are incapable of managing their affairs).

Guardianship, because of the involvement of the court, is a much more expensive and lengthy undertaking. While a Power of Attorney can be completed in a week or so with the assistance of an attorney. Using an attorney to create a POA is a good idea for many reasons, one of which is the attorney can later testify as to the state of mind of the signer. Guardianship can take six months or more to complete, especially if contested.

The cost of a Power of Attorney is often part of an Estate Plan, coupled with a Will and Health Care Power of Attorney/Living Will and can range from $500-$2,000. Guardianship often costs more than $3,000 with court fees, appointment of an attorney for the, mental health evaluations and document preparation.

The best advice is if you are able to plan ahead and make use of a Power of Attorney document to grant a trusted friend or relative the ability to act on your behalf in the event that you become incapacitated. If a person is incapacitated without having a Power of Attorney then the most likely option to govern their affairs is petitioning the court for Guardianship.

What is a Codicil?

A Codicil to a will is an amendment to your Last Will and Testament and is used in some situations to save the expense and time of executing an entirely new document.

You may want to change the name of an executor, you may want to leave somebody out that you had already previously given something to.

A Codicil looks the same as a will but it is much shorter. It simply refers to the paragraph you want to change, makes the change and then you sign it in front of two witnesses and a notary in the same way that you executed your original Will.

Some issues should not be addressed in a Codicil and may require the execution of an entirely new document. Consult an attorney about when the use of a codicil is appropriate for your needs.