Kenneth Vercammen, Esq is Chair of the ABA Elder Law Committee and presents seminars to attorneys and the public on Wills, Probate and other legal topics related to Estate Planning and Elder law. He is author of the ABA's book "Wills and Estate Administration. Kenneth Vercammen & Associates,
2053 Woodbridge Avenue - Edison, NJ 08817
(732) 572-0500 More information at www.njlaws.com/

Friday, June 29, 2007

IMO the Estate of Edward H. Shinn, IV

06-20-07 A-3819-05T5

In this appeal, the court determined that the trial judge
mistakenly invoked the doctrine of equitable estoppel in
enforcing plaintiff Stacey Shinn's premarital waiver of an
elective share to the estate of her late husband, Edward Shinn,
IV, which waiver, in the circumstances, was otherwise rendered
unenforceable by N.J.S.A. 3B:8-10 and N.J.S.A. 37:2-38. The
court held that because "equity follows the law," the doctrine
of equitable estoppel should not have been utilized to override
the Legislature's declaration that a premarital agreement, which
did not fully disclose what was being waived or which did not
contain an adequate waiver of such a disclosure, must not be
enforced.