Mele & Associates, LLC, Attorneys at Law

10/06/2022

FYI, one of our practice areas.

Are you one of the 67% of Americans without a will or trust? With October being National Estate Planning Month, we wanted to share 7 things to keep in mind when it comes to estate planning:

1. Estate planning is crucial for people of any age or income status.
2. If you have young children, you need, at a minimum, a designated guardian and a trust with instructions should you encounter unexpected death or disability.
3. Without a trust in place, a judge will decide what happens with your child’s care and the distribution of your property, often following expensive legal proceedings.
4. If you don’t have children at home, an estate plan is still critical to address asset protection, wealth distribution, property management, and healthcare decisions.
5. At a minimum, an estate plan should include a will and testament, durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, and an advance directive.
6. An estate plan can be completed, start to finish, in just a few weeks’ time.
7. If you have an estate plan but your life circumstances have changed, (marriage, divorce, beneficiary/executor death), it's good to update your plan.

What questions do you have about estate planning? We'll answer them in the comments.

10/05/2022

Are you one of the 67% of Americans without a will or trust? With October being National Estate Planning Month, we wanted to share 7 things to keep in mind when it comes to estate planning:

1. Estate planning is crucial for people of any age or income status.
2. If you have young children, you need, at a minimum, a designated guardian and a trust with instructions should you encounter unexpected death or disability.
3. Without a trust in place, a judge will decide what happens with your child’s care and the distribution of your property, often following expensive legal proceedings.
4. If you don’t have children at home, an estate plan is still critical to address asset protection, wealth distribution, property management, and healthcare decisions.
5. At a minimum, an estate plan should include a will and testament, durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, and an advance directive.
6. An estate plan can be completed, start to finish, in just a few weeks’ time.
7. If you have an estate plan but your life circumstances have changed, (marriage, divorce, beneficiary/executor death), it's good to update your plan.

What questions do you have about estate planning? We'll answer them in the comments.

08/12/2021

Continuing to help clients while attempting to help the entire state of New Jersey. Please follow our efforts and support us however you can.

05/09/2021

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, all the other moms in your families, and any others who are caregivers for children (e.g., aunts, grandmas, etc.). It is a day to celebrate all of you, and hope you can find an opportunity to rest and enjoy what you love most.

01/11/2021

Please visit our campaign website for more information or to donate, so we can spread the word further:

Lockdowns do not provide any significant added safety benefit, according to the science, but they disproportionately impact small business and the poor, and serve to expand the wealth gap and advance crony capitalism, as opposed to the opportunities/capabilities of a consumer-driven economy that ben...

11/04/2020

From my election page: Perhaps the brightest spot of the evening. Lots to fix starting next year.

08/24/2020

From my election page: I am very pleased to announce that, as I seek the Libertarian Party's nomination for Governor for next year's election, I have solidified our ticket with the addition of Eveline Brownstein for Lieutenant Governor. Eveline brings a principled approach, superior intellect, strength, and balance to our campaign, and we have already received strong showings of support from within the Party. I welcome Eveline's contributions and counsel, so that we can make the sort of positive changes our great State of New Jersey so desperately needs. Under our leadership, we will bring our State back to the original vision that has always made America the world's beacon for liberty and justice. It is time to return to our roots again, and embrace all the positives that made this country a shining example to all others yearning to breathe free, a place where everyone around the world wishes to be, and what the rest of the world aspires to. It has to start here, and it has to start now. We have the plan, and we are ready to lead. Please join us in the fight for a better New Jersey, and a better America. God bless all of you!

08/06/2020

Today marks the 18th anniversary of my law firm. Still bending over backwards day and night to help people with their needs, most very appreciative, a few not recognizing how much less they would get with another attorney, but all presenting a task and a goal, which I take to heart and do whatever it takes to achieve if at all possible. I think it is my Wall Street background that enables me to work and take calls 8am to midnight (sometimes longer), 7 days a week, while others take breaks, and give out my cell phone to every client and realtor. If you weren't willing to drop everything, including a personal life, to be continually available to the Wall Street firms and leave no task undone, no matter the time, you were out in favor of someone who was, and even then it might not be enough. Anyway, at this point, I am looking to double my business and add a couple of experienced staffers, and hopefully another attorney, by this time next year. I also make sure that, if a situation comes up, I don't just fix it or give a simple answer, I take the time to explain it, so my business partners get a better sense of how things can, and sometimes need to, work, and what everyone's role is, so the future is smoother and smoother. I ask all my current and former business partners, co-workers, and graduate students to vouch for everything I am saying here, and I ask all who haven't yet been, but could be, my business partner to give us a try, for an experience I guarantee will be nothing like anything you've ever seen with any other attorney. You will never go back, I assure you. That is our brand, and that is what we live up to every single day.

08/06/2019

Well, today marks the 17th anniversary of my law firm. And how will it start? Finishing paperwork at 4am, only to get out the door early for an 8am closing. Guess it's nap time. I guess it also means we are meeting everyone's needs while being more responsive than any other law firm.