Millennium Copyright Act: Protective or Restrictive?
Government Accountants Hold Annual Meeting
Job Hunters Need to Cast a Wide Net
A Master Surfer’s Favorite Websites
Strong Advice on Dodging Stress
Save Your Estate from Uncle Sam, and Your Kids
Middlesex Offers Online Application
Raritan Valley to Montclair State
Corrections or additions?
This article by Kathy Spring was prepared for the October 29, 2003
issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Survival Guide
Top Of PageMillennium Copyright Act: Protective or Restrictive?
Jed Horovitz, president of Video Pipeline, a
California-based
company, discusses the restrictive nature of new copyright laws and
his documentary on the subject, “Willful Infringement,” in
a free lecture Thursday, October 30, at noon in the Communications
Building of Mercer County Community College.
The documentary focuses on the impact of the recently passed
Millennium
Copyright Act and how it will place restrictions on the creators of
audio and video. It also looks at the restrictions already being
experienced
by individuals and businesses. There will be a question and answer
period following the film.
Video Pipeline creates movie previews and has been in a legal battle
with two Disney-owned movie companies, Buena Vista Home Entertainment
and Miramax Films, over its use of these previews on the Internet.
In August the U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, upheld an injunction
handed down by a lower court that found Disney would suffer
irreparable
harm if Video Pipeline continued to make clips of its films available
to the public through its VideoDetective.com site and to video
retailers
through its Videopipeline.com site.
In its decision, the court wrote that “given the verbatim copying,
lack of ingenuity, and profit-driven purpose of the clip previews,
we have no concern that this case is one in which the creative and
expressive goals of copyright law would be served better by denying
an injunction.”
It is likely that Horovitz has a different opinion, and that he will
elaborate during this talk. He holds a master’s degree in film and
television production from New York University and an MBA from the
University of California at Los Angeles. Founder and president of
Video Pipeline, he has worked in film and television for 30 years.
His company was the first to distribute movie previews to the video
retail trade.
Friday, October 31
Top Of PageIssues in Emerging IT
Ruby Lee, a professor at Princeton University
will deliver a keynote speech at the Emerging Information Technology
conference, set for Friday and Saturday, October 31 and November 1,
at Princeton University’s Friend Center on Olden Avenue.
Focusing on science from Asia and Pacific Rim, the conference has
five tracks — nanotechnology, micro-electromechanical systems
(MEMS), system-on-chip (SoC), bioinformatics, and content, computer,
communications, consumer electronics, and integration (C4I) systems.
This year’s program is being organized by scientists from the
Brookhaven
National Laboratory, Case Western Reserve, IBM T. J. Watson Research
Center, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For information
call 212-752-2340 or go to www.eitc.org.
Top Of PageGovernment Accountants Hold Annual Meeting
The Trenton Chapter of the Association of Government
Accountants holds its annual day-long seminar on Friday, October 31,
at 8:30 a.m. at the new Mercer County Conference Center of Mercer
County Community College. The cost is $115. Call Evelyn Richardson
at 609-292-1259 for more information.
David Kaschak, a state auditor, is president of the group. A
graduate of Penn State (Class of 1983), he has been working for the
state since 1984. “Most people who go into auditing in the private
sector don’t stick,” he says. But he finds continual challenge
in his work for the state, where two assignments are rarely the same.
During the past two decades he has seen tremendous change in his
profession.
“Technology has had a huge impact,” he says. “It’s put
information at our fingertips, instead of rooting through files.”
The upcoming seminar reveals the range of interests of the
association’s
200-plus members. Most provocative is a talk by Mark Boyd on
his thesis that county government should be eliminated. Boyd, formerly
commissioner of the Department of Labor, is a Westfield attorney and
head of End County Government Now. The group’s website
(www.endcountygovernmentnow.com)
states that New Jersey pays the highest property taxes per person
in the United States and the second highest property taxes as a
percentage
of income.
“This over reliance on the property tax is a public policy
disaster
for New Jersey because the property tax is a regressive tax, meaning
that poor people pay a higher percentage of their income in property
taxes than the rich,” the site states. It goes on to say that
the reason for this situation is that the state has too many units
of local government, specifically, 566 municipalities, 611 school
districts, 21 counties, and hundreds of local authorities and
independent
fire districts, all of which rely on the property tax as their
principal
source of revenue.
Florida, the site declares, has twice the population of New Jersey
and one third fewer municipalities. Maryland has only 25 school
districts,
and Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have eliminated their
county governments. County government in New Jersey, in the
organization’s
view, is an artifact of history that causes public confusion through
redundant service delivery.
New Jersey, says Boyd’s group, should eliminate county government
and take over the delivery of necessary services by dividing itself
into eight administrative districts of 1 million people per district.
Instead of 21 county prosecutors the state could have eight district
attorneys. The state could then cut government expenditures by
eliminating
redundant supervision expenses such as the county board of
freeholders,
administrators, executives, treasurers, and attorneys. This would
be the first step in reducing local property taxes, says End County
Government Now, and could save a taxpayer approximately 20 percent
of his local property tax bill.
Moving from proposals to shared concerns, the seminar schedule
includes
talks on IT security and identity theft by Adel Ebeid, executive
director of technology program development for the New Jersey Motor
Vehicle Commission. Also addressing this issue is Ray Bolling
of New Jersey Business Systems.
David Sweeney of the Department of Environmental Protection
talks about bioterrorism planning and response, Gerald Miller,
a Rutgers professor, addresses trends in local government budgets
and John McCormac, New Jersey Treasurer, talks about the future
of the state’s pension system.
November 3
Top Of PageJob Hunters Need to Cast a Wide Net
There is good news and bad news for human resources
professionals. Dick Stone, an HR consultant and the founder
of HR networking group Princeton Human Resources Network, reports
that “there are still tremendous lay-offs.” But, he adds,
“it doesn’t take any longer to find a job than it ever did.”
Stone speaks on “The Human Resource Professional’s Job Search”
at the 12th annual conference of the Garden State Council of the
Society
for Human Resource Management, which takes place Monday and Tuesday,
November 3 and 4, beginning at 7:15 a.m. each day, at the Westin Hotel
in Forrestal Village. Keynotes are by Barbara Lee, dean of the
School of Management and Labor at Rutgers, and by Kenny Moore,
director of human resources for KeySpan Energy. Cost: $350 for the
entire conference, or $275 for each day. Call 732-248-9200, ext. 3307
for more information.
Stone’s talk takes place at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, November 3. It is
one of dozens of workshop sessions. Other topics include “Caging
the Tiger: Controlling Benefits Costs in Inflationary Times,”
“E-mail = Evidence,” “The Jobseeker Experience of Your
Company Web Site: Flight or Fright?,” “Reducing Violence in
the Workplace,” “Using Profiles to Improve Recruiting and
Retention,” “So You Think You Want to Be a Consultant?,”
“2003 Employment Law Update,” “Best Practices in HR
Metrics,”
“Deconstructing the Performance Management Paradigm,” “The
Legal and Practical Implications of America’s Aging Workforce,”
“The Future of Outplacement Services,” “Performance
Feedback,”
and “Returning Trust to the Workplace.”
Stone, whose consulting company, the Stone Group, is based on Sayre
Drive, grew up in Amsterdam, New York, where his family had run the
Stone Clothing Store for two generations. Stone worked in the store
for one summer, and during every Christmas season. But neither retail
nor small town life were for him. “I wanted to get away,”
he says. A full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton
School was his ticket. Attending his first college football game,
he marveled to find himself in the stands with three times more people
than lived in his hometown. “This is life!” he recalls
exulting.
After college, Stone joined Equitable Life, now AXA Financial, where
he ran training programs, and rose to become director of personnel.
After 20 years, he moved on, working for architectural and accounting
firms, before going into consulting.
Consulting, Stone declares, is the direction in which human resources
is moving. He, for one, thinks this is a good development. It works
for companies, which can draw upon a professional’s skills when they
are needed, without carrying him on staff. It also works for HR
practitioners,
who get in, do a job, and move on, all the while making a good amount
of money and avoiding most of the snares of office politics.
Stone is now setting up a human resources department for a start-up
that was recently spun off from a big pharmaceutical company. He has
written an affirmative action plan for architectural firm CUH2A, and
done contract recruiting for a number of companies, including Covance
and Novo Nordisk. For Galderman R&D in Cranbury, he says he
“created
and ran a HR department, did some recruiting, and replaced
myself.”
A consultant for 25 years, Stone says he likes the project lifestyle.
In 1990, well into his consulting career, Stone founded the Princeton
Human Resources Network, a group where HR professionals who are job
hunting full-time network, pick up search tips, and exchange leads.
His executive committee includes Mark Mehler and Gerry Crispen
of CareerXroads fame, Emily Thorne, Mike Urdanick, and
Don Doele. The group meets at the Nassau Club every 21 days.
“We now have 106 active members and 400 alumni,” says Stone.
The group is geared for HR professionals with at least 5 to 10 years
experience. “It doesn’t work well for kids right out of
school,”
he says. People who are employed, but looking around, are not welcome.
These job switchers tend to soak up leads without providing any in
return, Stone has found. He vets potential members, who can reach
him at rstone252@comcast.net.
Largely because of ongoing lay-offs, the group is seeing “10,
15, 20 new members at a meeting,” says Stone. Most come from
technology,
including telecommunications, and from manufacturing. A fair number
of members have been cut loose by pharmaceutical companies, where,
Stone says, there is higher turnover than occurs in many other
industries.
A bright spot is that there are not many new members from the finance
industry.
While some HR professionals decide to go into consulting, others want
the stability of a paycheck. This is not an elusive goal, says Stone.
Not for those who put energy into looking in the right places.
“I’ve
seen people get jobs before they even come to their first
meeting,”
he says. Others are landing on their feet in a matter of weeks. Here
is his advice for doing so:
Think small. In a conversation with his brother the otherday, Stone says the two reminisced about their early employer.”Guesswho we all worked for?” he recounts. “GE in Schenectady.”One brother was in advertising, one in engineering, and one inrecruiting.All worked for the same company, as did a huge percentage of theirneighbors. It was the same in New Jersey, he points out. “Thebiggest change in the nature of jobs,” he says, “is that thereis no more AT&T with 385,000 jobs.” The mega-employer is gone,and is unlikely to return. “That isn’t going to happen again,”he says, “not even in pharma.”Name an industry, and for every big company, there are hundreds, eventhousands, of small companies. “There are hundreds of foreignbanks in New York City,” Stone gives as an example.Job hunters need to widen their scopes to locate employers whose namesare anything but household words. This reality makes the job searchmore difficult, Stone admits. But that can’t be helped.Hustle right along. One of the biggest mistakes job huntersmake, says Stone, is wasting a lot of time in researching a company.Common wisdom mandates finding out all about a prospective employer’sproducts, markets, and missions before walking in for an interview.Forget it, says Stone. “The company knows what it does,” hesays. “It wants to know what you can do.”Scanning annual reports and digging deep into company websites justeats up precious time.Contact at least 100 companies a month. “I ask peoplehow many companies they have contacted,” says Stone, “andthey say 13.” In his opinion, that is the reason they are stillunemployed. Contact 100 companies, he says, and you will get 10interviews,and 1 job offer, “two if you’re really young.”He says this system is infallible. It works for everyone. He has seenweak candidates, “people I wouldn’t hire,” get jobs within90 days using this wide-net approach.Of the 106 current members of his job search group, he says “I’llbet there aren’t 20 operating at the level.” Those who ramp itup, he says, “absolutely will land a job.”November 4Top Of PageA Master Surfer’s Favorite WebsitesThe Internet can be overwhelming, but it needn’t be.Jeremy Caplan, a journalist who has written extensively on theInternet, says most research needs can be met with just a fewbookmarks.At the same time, he points out that there is always something newon the Internet. Each day brings a new, potentially amazing, siteor service.Caplan talks about must-have bookmarks, reveals new wrinkles in oldfavorites, and mentions a few favorite new sites when he gives a freetalk, “Savvy Surfing: The Only Sites You Need,” on Tuesday,November 4, at 6:30 p.m. at the Princeton Public Library. Call609-924-9529for more information.Caplan, a New York City resident who maintains a website full ofsurfingtips at www.jeremycaplan.com, is a graduate of Princeton University’sWoodrow Wilson School (Class of 1997). He spent his first post-collegemonths playing the violin professionally. He was Concertmaster ofthe Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Germany and theInternationalSymphony Orchestra in Jerusalem. A violinist since the age of four,Caplan was also drawn to writing.Now an associate editor of Time Magazine for Kids, he wrote a columnfor Princeton Alumni Weekly when he was a student, and got his startin professional journalism under George Plimpton at the Paris Review.He has written for Newsweek, where his technology reporting led toa staff job at Yahoo! Internet Life, a now defunct publication thatkept early Internet users up to date on the hippest, most usefuladdressesin cyberspace.Internet hype has died down, but the medium only becomes moreindispensable.Caplan logs on every day, and he and his friends in journalism keepeach other au courant on the best new websites. Here are the oneshe consistently finds most helpful:Refdesk. Caplan inherited a dictionary with his office,but he never uses it. Neither does he thumb through a thesaurus orseek information for his articles in a medical or a legal dictionary.Refdesk has replaced all of these books, and more. “It’s ColinPowell’s favorite site,” he says of the omnibus reference tool.”There’s a translation tool,” he says. “You can translatefrom English to other languages.” The site also provides headlinesfrom around the world, people search tools, currency converters, jobbanks, world clocks, obituaries, crude oil prices, commoditiesfutures,a daily fuel gauge report, the Old Farmer’s Almanac, NOAA weatherwarnings, federal toll free numbers, information on how to cleananything,zip code finders, college rankings, phone rates, a genealogy search,Ellis Island records, two airline flight trackers, a weather glossary,drug information, a perpetual calendar, and a plethora of news-basedjokes. (Letterman: Earlier today, Jack Nicholson announced that heis addicted to prescription sunglasses.)Truly, with a refdesk (www.refdesk.com) bookmark, it wouldbe entirely possible to forego the rest of the Internet.Tiny URL. Say you need to reference information on oneof the thousands of pages on a big corporation’s website. Chancesare that the address of the page where the information rests willgo on for lines and lines. Try to copy and paste it, and it may breakapart. Try to type it, and there is a good chance you will tear outyour hair and/or make a couple of mistakes.Caplan has just found a website that cuts those long Internetaddressesdown to size. It’s called TinyURL (http: inyurl.com). It replacesunwieldy addresses with teeny, tiny addresses that never expire. Inaddition to references you want to pass on, TinyURL can be used inplace of your home page address if it is too long for potentialvisitorsto easily remember.Archive. Archive.org is a site that is best known forits WayBackMachine. It has indexed and stored pages from Internetsites large and small, still functioning and defunct. It is a wayto find full text news stories by date, and to re-read articles inwebsites that no longer exist.Nationmaster. Statistic junkies, marketers, social policyresearchers, and journalists may wonder how they ever functionedwithoutthis site. It provides comparative data by country for a host ofcategories,including government, health, labor, language, media, military,religion,transportation, and crime. Each large category has many subcategories.Under crime, for instance, it is possible to find detailed statisticsfor bribery, car theft, burglary, and for a number of kinds ofassault.Data can be presented as a table, a graph, or even a pie chart.We learn, for example, that the country with the greatest longevityat birth is Andorra, where males are expected to live to be 80.58years old, and females should make it, on average, to 86.58. TheUnitedStates comes in at number 43 for males (74.55 years) and 45th forfemales (80.0). As for female decision makers, the United States comesin first, with 45 percent of all decision makers wearing skirts, atleast in theory. Sri Lanka trails in this category, drawing only 4percent of its decision makers from the fairer sex.At the end of each table, NationMaster (www.nationmaster.com) citesit sources, and, if necessary, explains how it came up with the stats.For decision makers, it reveals that it drew the numbers from a tallyof legislators, senior officials, and managers.This site has only been around since June, and promises that “bigthings” are on the way.Idealist. While a site like Refdesk contains just abouteverything, a boutique site may be a better choice for homing in onone area. One of Caplan’s new favorites, www.idealist.org, aggregatesarticles on social issues. On a recent afternoon, it had postedstorieson adoption, AIDS, feral cats, health care, housing for artists,globalwarming, and nutrition in poor countries on its home page. Its sourcesare everything from national magazines to small town newspapers.The site also lists employment and contract work opportunities fornon-profits, upcoming non-profit job fairs, and internship andvolunteeropportunities.Public Agenda. Caplan likes this site, found atwww.publicagenda.org,because “it gives all perspectives.” Avoiding over-heatedrhetoric, the site attempts to give a balanced picture of the majorissues occupying both policy makers and the public. Included areabortion,America’s global rule, campaign finance, child care, crime, gayrights,immigration, race, the right to die, and Social Security.For each issue, the site gives an overview, a digest of recentstories,three perspectives, links to facts, findings, and perspectives, alist of important players and their contact information, people’schief concerns, major proposals, areas of public consensus anddemographicdivision, cautionary notes about survey findings, and a rundown onhow the site’s editors choose public opinion findings.Google. By now, Google is a must-bookmark for anyone witha keyboard. But Caplan points out sections of the master-search sitethat many surfers miss. One is its catalog of images. Simply clickon the work “images” above the Google logo and type in thename of a person, place, or thing. The result is page after page ofpictures. Often, links to more information are included.Another Google progeny is Froogle. A comparison shopping engine, itis found at www.froogle.com Still another Google sub-site is GoogleNews. It can be accessed from Google’s main page. Just click on the”news” tab. Google News lists the top news stories in realtime, providing links to nearly every news outlet in which theyappear.It also lets users know how many papers currently have a story aboutKobe Bryant or the latest Iraq casualties or the progress Roy Huntis making after being attacked by a tiger. The numbers in themselvesare a snapshot of the culture. For example, you could see that atone point there were 2,467 recent articles about Kobe’s trial and345 about an Israeli/Palestinian dust up.Each article is given an age notation — 20 minutes ago, 14 hoursold, 22 hours old, and so forth.The articles, in full text, come from news outlets around the world.In addition to the big stories, there are sections for leading storiesin a number of categories, including the arts, science, business,sports, health, and technology.For Internet trends, which tend to closely mirror trends on dry land,Google has Google Zeitgeist. Found at www.google.com/press/zeitgeistor simply by typing the words “Google Zeitgeist” into thesearch engine, the site lists top searches for the preceding weekand month overall and by category. For the week ending October 13,the California recall claimed the top spot, with Kobe at number 3,right behind Arnold. Napster was at number 6, Uma Thurman at 8, andChristopher Columbus at 10.Zeitgeist not only tracks hits in the U.S., but also lists top queriesfrom other countries. Eminem came in 9th in France and 1st in theNetherlands, but did not show up in a list of popular subjects inItaly, Germany, or Canada.One more Google find Caplan reveals is Google Answers atwww.google.com/answers.Users type in detailed questions, and send them off to Google’s 500certified researchers. Prices for the responses begin at $2.25. Manyare answered for under $10, but prices can go up to $200. The personposing the question states what he is willing to pay. In itsguidelines,the site suggests that fairly simple questions, requiring about 30minutes research, are fairly priced at $10 to $15. Questions thatrequire four hours of research should fetch more like $200.There is a list, by subject, of questions that have been answered,the price they fetched, and how satisfied the questioner was. Theanswers appear to be sophisticated. In addition to the reply, mostresearchers provide extensive citations and a number of links tofurtherinformation.Caplan says he uses the service to save time, and has been mostsatisfiedboth with the quality of the answers and with the speed of thereplies,which can range from a few minutes to the better part of a day.Actively adding to his bookmarks, Caplan says “Even peoplewho use the Internet a lot are constantly surprised by what is outthere.”Top Of PageStrong Advice on Dodging StressIndustry loses more than $3 billion a year inproductivitydue to stress. This according to Eileen Strong, a forensichypnotistand professional speaker whose subject often is how to reduce stress.Strong, whose business, Strong Incentives, is located in Neptune,speaks on “The Six Facts of Life that Keep You Balanced andHappy”on Tuesday, November 4, at 6 p.m. at a meeting of the Central JerseyWomen’s Network at the Wyndam Hotel in Mount Laurel. Cost: $35. Call908-281-9234.Strong is no stranger to stress. She recalls the days when her husbandwas traveling internationally “non-stop” as part of his jobas a pharmaceutical rep, she was covering a 30-state territory asa marketer for Sperry Hutchinson, and her daughter was in day care.She recalls her life as a blur of dashes for the Turnpike, hunts forparking spots, forages for someone to look after her child, andfranticphone calls with her husband to find out whether his in-coming flightwould put him anywhere near their child’s caregiver’s house.The scramble spelled the end of a 20-year career in advertising andmarketing. Strong, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, hadbeen a model and then a flight attendant before beginning a careerin advertising at agencies in Chicago. It was there that she met herhusband, Bill Thonack. Early on, he revealed that he was from NewJersey. “That just about ended the relationship,” Strong says.But he persevered, and the two settled in New Jersey, where Strongand her team developed Sperry & Hutchinsons’ S&H greenpoints swipecard promotion — a sort of Green Stamps, Part 2.Strong took three years off after leaving her S&H greenpoints gig,and studied hypnosis, becoming, she says, one of only a few forensichypnotists in the state. She has a second business, Jersey ShoreHypnosis,also based in Neptune, that works with police departments, includingthose in Middletown, Lakewood, and Monmouth on plumbing thesubconsciousof crime witnesses.Strong, the mother of 19-year-old Kristin, an opera major at theCollegeof New Jersey, and 15-year-old Grant, has reduced the stress in herlife, but sees effects of the modern malady as she goes about herrounds as a speaker.Pink slip contagion. “For every person who gets apink slip,” she says, “three other employees are emotionallyand physically affected.” These employees may shut downcompletely,peck idly at their keyboards, or call in sick. Many will actuallybecome sick, suffering from everything from headaches to heartattacks.Pantomime overwork. Employees are putting in an extraseven hours a week, on average, says Strong, but often there is littleextra work to show for the extra time. The added face time, put inwith hopes of avoiding a pink slip, may or may not achieve thatresult,but it almost certainly cuts into valuable time with family andfriends,and decreases opportunities for exercise.Out of control workdays. A number of studies have foundthat secretaries suffer more from stress than do CEOs, and no wonder.Control, says Strong, is a crucial element in reducing stress. Nomatter what the rank, employees need to gain whatever control overtheir work that they can.”Write down three things that you can realistically accomplishduring the day,” urges Strong. “And don’t just say them, writethem down.” As each task is completed, check it off. In doingso, she says, you are making a contract with yourself, in effect,becoming your own boss. “When you put it in writing, it givesclosure,” she says. “It allows you to feel accomplishment.It is very satisfying. It is a catharsis.”Another way to control a workday is to reduce stimuli. Go to a quietplace to write a report. Leave the laptop and the cell phone behindduring your lunch break. Close your door.Multiplying drive-thrus. “We’re the only country witha glut of drive-thrus,” exclaims Strong. “How many peoplesit down to dinner with the whole family three times a week?”The run-run-run culture means that people are not taking care ofthemselves.Ironically, she finds that it is women busy taking care of everyoneelse who are the most lax in meeting their own needs.Reverse course, is her advice. Make time for relaxation, family, andfitness.”Keep it positive,” says Strong. “Learn to say no,and realize you don’t have to make friends with everybody.” Withboundaries in place, and a life’s full of interests you refuse toskimp on, chances are that even the most stressed-out workplace won’tdrag you under.November 5Top Of PageSave Your Estate from Uncle Sam, and Your KidsThe federal estate tax, recently skimming up to 49percentof assets over $675,000, appeared to be on the way out. But now,thanksat least in part to expenses involved in rebuilding Iraq, it may bepoised for a comeback. As part of President Bush’s tax cut package,explains attorney Valerie Howe, the estate tax exclusion willrise each year through 2010. But then, in 2011, it returns to whereit was a year ago. The shifts, she says, “make planningdifficult.”Where not too long ago, a couple could make an estate plan and leaveit alone for a decade, relatively sure that nothing would change,it is now prudent to rebalance assets every two years or so.A surprisingly large number of people need to be thinking about estateplanning, and many more urgently need to draft wills, living trusts,and durable power of attorney. There is an understandable impulseto put off these tasks, given that they signal an acceptance ofmortality,but doing so can have a devastating effect on the family’s financialwell-being.Howe talks about must-have documents, and smart estate strategieswhen she speaks on “New Jersey Estate Law Changes, Trust Planning,and Wills” on Wednesday, November 5, at 6:30 p.m. at a freemeetingsponsored by her firm, Mason, Griffin & Pierson, at the Nassau Club.Call 609-436-1205 for a reservation.A Hopewell native, Howe studied psychology at the University ofVirginia(Class of 1980), and worked as a psychologist for a year beforeenrollingin the law school of George Washington University. She worked as aprosecutor for four years, but decided that litigation, with its long,unpredictable hours, was not a good fit with family life. She enjoyedtax law, and decided to obtain a master’s degree in the specialtyfrom William and Mary. With Mason, Griffin & Pierson since 1991, anda partner for five years, she also returned to Hopewell, whichshe praises as an excellent place to raise children.Many of Howe’s clients are in their 50s and 60s, but she says thatafter 9/11 she began seeing much younger people. Bouncing along ingood health, people in their 20s and 30s rarely give a thought toestate planning. Or they didn’t until 9/11 demonstrated just how badlythings could go wrong. Here is her advice on protecting a family’sstability, at any age:Draft a will. Many of the young people who died on 9/11did not have wills, Howe says. While it is a common assumption thatassets pass to the surviving spouse, that is not the case. The first$50,000 of an estate goes to the spouse, but 50 percent of theremaindergoes to the children. “Infants inherited millions of dollars,”says Howe. One of the biggest problems, she points out, is that,withouta will, these babies will have full control of that money when theyturn 18. Parents worry that the children will not go to college andwill not handle the money wisely.It doesn’t take a tragedy on the scale of 9/11 to create a situationfew young parents would intend. Howe speaks of a client, a woman inher 20s, whose young husband was killed in a car accident. His estatewas split between his wife and their baby. In addition to worriesabout a teenager gaining control of a substantial amount of money,the surviving spouse has to worry about paying the bills with onlyhalf of an estate.These problems can be mitigated if there are beneficiaries, and ifthe will sets up a trust mechanism for them. In the case of minorchildren, for example, a will can state that money is to be put intrust, and is to be paid out at a given age. Howe says it is oftena good idea to make the payout gradual, perhaps one-third at 21,one-thirdat 25, and one-third at 35. Or a teen-ager could receive income fromthe trust, and gain access to the principal at a later age.Stick to one executor. Howe’s clients, afraid of hurtinga grown child’s feelings, often want to name all of their childrenas executors of their wills. She discourages this, saying thatmultipleexecutors, and even two executors, complicate the process of settlingthe estate. There tend to be differences of opinion, and even in thebest of cases, each of the scores of documents that have to bereviewed,signed, and notarized have to be passed back and forth.”Beneficiaries have significant rights,” she points out.Therefore,children not named as executors do not have to worry much about beingtreated unfairly.Howe suggests that naming the eldest child can be a good way to go,as can naming the child who lives closest. Giving such a relativelyobjective rationale to the executor’s siblings can ease any feelingsof resentment.Draw a living will and a durable power of attorney. It’sa good idea to take care of these chores during the visit to theattorneyto prepare a will. The first document states wishes in regard tomedicaltreatment in case of incapacitation and the second transfers financialtasks, also in case of incapacitation.While thinking of the unthinkable, it is a good idea to take theprocessa step further and to factor in the doubly unthinkable. “Providean alternate,” says Howe. That way, should you and the personyou name be seriously injured in the same accident, there will besomeone else to decide on medical care and to keep signing checksto the mortgage company.Calculate the size of your estate. This year, $1 millionof assets are sheltered from federal estate tax. That figure, notso long ago the mark of extravagant wealth, has descended to a prettyroutine estate figure for many middle class families.”Remember,”says Howe, “life insurance is included in the estate.” Adda home, the value of which may have increased 10-fold in the pastthree decades, and a lot more people have an interest in shelteringassets from federal estate tax.Take assets out of the estate. Estate planning iscomplicated,and tends to be very different for different families, but there aresome general principles. A start could be taking an insurance policyout of the estate by putting it in a trust. This works well for terminsurance policies, which are pure insurance. It can get more trickywith whole life policies, Howe points out, because placing them inan estate puts them off limits. It is no longer possible, for example,to borrow from a policy once it has been put in a trust.Separate assets. The federal estate tax exclusion is $1million for each person, therefore it is generally a good idea todivide assets between spouses, to keep each, if possible, under thatmark. This is where rebalancing needs to occur for many families.Next year the exclusion rises to $1.5 million. In 2006, it is $2million,and in 2009, $3.5 million. The increases might mean that ownershipof a business or a summer house or a stock portfolio should bereconsidered.Set up a trust for the surviving spouse. Tax law permitsa spouse to pass $1 million into a trust for his mate upon his death.This money typically is used for the mate’s needs after other assetshave been depleted. Upon the death of the surviving spouse it passes,untaxed, to the other beneficiaries. The tax-free status applies,Howe explains, even if the money has appreciated significantly inthe meantime.Don’t forget New Jersey. With the rise in exclusion amountsat the federal level, states were losing revenue. Some, New Jerseyamong them, decided to do something about the situation. So, whilethe federal exclusion is now $1 million, and will rise considerablyover the next few years, New Jersey has passed a law under which itcollects 11 to 14 percent of everything over $675,000.Parcel out the jewelry. Couples tell Howe again and againhow well their adult children get along. Few anticipate problems whenthe will is read, but says Howe, “I see the other end.” Thereare often squabbles after a parent dies, but, surprisingly, they aremost often not over money. The bone of contention? Personalbelongings.”I had two sisters go to court over photographs,” she says.Cut off the arguments at the pass. New Jersey allows alisting of bequests of personal belongings in an addendum to a will,and, says Howe, it is easy to draw one up. No witnesses or notariesare required. Just name the gifts and their recipients, and date andsign the list.Few people like the connotations that attach to “puttingyour affairs in order,” but a knowledge of the full consequencesof not doing so should be enough to encourage many to schedule anappointment to plot estate strategy.November 6Top Of PageVagelos at ChamberIf Governor James E. McGreevey has his way, the state’sthree public research universities will merge. To pay for thiscolossalventure, he proposes to float a $1.5 billion to $2 billion bondreferendumin 2004. All of this is part of the governor’s overall plan topositionthe state as a research center for the life sciences. P. RoyVagelos,former chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Co. andco-chairmanof two committees working on this merger, speaks about this reformat the Princeton Chamber on Thursday, November 6, at 11:30 a.m. atthe Doral Forrestal. Cost: $33. Call 609-520-1776.The plan would consolidate Rutgers University, the University ofMedicineand Dentistry of New Jersey, and New Jersey Institute of Technologyinto a single university system. There would be campuses in Newark,New Brunswick, and Camden, but one chancellor and one board of regentsin Trenton would be in charge of the 65,000-student system.McGreevey’s education advisors think that this plan would help theuniversities attract more federal research grants, keep students fromleaving the state for their college experience, and help the statestay competitive as a leader in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.New Jersey is not perceived as being in the upper echelon of thenation’spublic research universities, say these advisors.Of the three institutions, only the president of UMDNJ opposes theplan; he has said he believes his Newark-based institution would notfare well under the new system. If all goes according to plan, a bondproposal will be on the ballot next fall, and it will be positionedas a job-creating tool rather than a reorganization of funding forhigher education.Top Of PageDonate PleaseThe David Sarnoff Library is holding a fundraisingreception after this year’s performance of the War of the Worlds onSaturday, November 1, at 7 p.m. A Martian Costume Contest at 6 p.m.precedes the performance.The reception includes a personal tour of the inventions andmemorabiliaon display at the library. They trace the evolution of radio,television,computers, and modern electronics. Tickets are $35. For moreinformation,call 609-734-2636.Every year at this time Betty Brite Cleaners collects,cleans, and distributes thousands of coats to those in need throughoutour area. The company has distributed over 10,000 coats and othergarments to children and others in need over the past 13 years.Anyone with a gently worn coat to donate is asked to drop it off atthe company’s facility at 92 North Main Street, Windsor. Betty Britewill also pick up coats from regular customers and is collecting coatsthrough many retailers, schools, and professional offices. Look forthe Coats for Kids poster.Any organization that would like to collect clothing, or help indistribution,is asked to call Arthur Weiss of Betty Brite at 609-426-4600.New Jersey Statewide Heating Assistance and Referral forEnergy Services (NJ Shares) is now collecting donations throughiGive.com to assist people in temporary need with their natural gasand electric utility bills. Donations are made through funds itssupportershave raised by doing their everyday online shopping through iGive.com,an online charity shopping mall. Up to 25 percent of every purchaseis given to NJ Shares at no extra cost to the shopper or to theorganization.NJ Shares is a statewide non-profit that provides grants to pay theutility bills of households in need through a network of 50community-basedsocial service agencies. For more information call 1-866-NJSHARE orvisit www.njshares.org.Top Of PageCorporate AngelsYMCAs throughout the region will help children GrabSome Knowledge this Halloween with KFCs new local book solicitationprogram. Grab Some Knowledge is an initiative of KFC, the YMCA, andlocal communities to help increase early childhood reading skillsand promote a love of literacy.The book drive, sponsored by the Southeastern Pennsylvania, SouthernNew Jersey, and Delaware KFC restaurant owners and operators,has provided bookshelf drop-off displays to more than 50 YMCAs. Thedisplays include a receptacle that allows the individuals to dropoff books, which will be placed on the shelves, and used as a lendinglibrary. In return, KFC will offer each person who donates a booka coupon for one free individual popcorn chicken.The program began on Monday, October 20. For more information, callAllyson Gross at 610-667-7313.Brothers Pizza on Route 33 in Hamilton Square twirled400 free pizzas in a three-hour span to show its support of theinauguralHamilton Half Marathon, which took place on Sunday, October 26. Therace was organized by the Robert Wood Johnson University HospitalHamilton Foundation to benefit the Cancer Institute of New Jerseyat Hamilton. Rue Insurance was a sponsor of the event.Melissa Walker, a cancer survivor and director of the Cancer CareProgram at Hamilton, served as honorary chairperson. She ran her firsthalf marathon in the fall of 2002, shortly after her 30th birthday,in celebration of her one-year remission date.Brothers Pizza served its pies at the finish line.The American Red Cross of Central New Jersey has joinedwith VIDISolutions, America Online, and Hewlett Packardto offer a video messaging system to military families. The initiativeis called Project Video Connect.Project Video Connect enables military families to create and sendvideo messages by installing VIDITalk, a video communication softwareapplication on computers at Red Cross chapters and stations aroundthe world. VIDITalk lets individuals easily create a high-qualityvideo and send it to any E-mail address using video and audiostreaminginstead of large file attachments. Service members can open theirE-mail and get up to 10 minutes of video from home, regardless ofwhere they are.To schedule a one-hour appointment, military families can call609-951-8550.Hours of operation are Monday and Thursday from 5:30 to 8 p.m.,Tuesdayand Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday from 9 to 11:30a.m.Information on other Red Cross outreach services is available atwww.njredcross.org.Top Of PageParticipate PleaseAs part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Prescriptivesdivision of the Estee Lauder Companies is holding a cocktailparty and silent auction fundraiser at Drumthwacket on Sunday,November2. Attendees are asked to donate $150 to benefit the Breast CancerResearch Foundation.For more information, call 212-572-4018.Top Of PageMiddlesex Offers Online ApplicationAnyone wishing to apply to Middlesex Community Collegemay do so online. By logging on to www.middlesexcc.edu and followingprompts on the home page, students may submit all the informationneeded to process their applications. The $25 application fee maybe charged through Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.All instructions, prompts, and deadlines for applications appear onthe college home page. There is also a telephone number which studentsmay use to call a help line for assistance in working through theprocess.Top Of PageRaritan Valley to Montclair StateRaritan Valley Community College in North Branch has signed a newtransfer agreement with Montclair State University that will makeit easier for RVCC graduates to enroll in the teacher educationcertificateprogram at Montclair.The agreement enables RVCC’s Associate of Arts graduates to transferinto Montclair’s teacher education program with full junior standing.For more information, contact Janet Thompson at 908-526-1200, ext.8271.Top Of PageDrivers’ Services Go OnlineThe New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) hasintroducedtwo new features on its website (www.njmvc.gov). They are designedto improve customer service by reducing visits and/or wait times atMVC agencies.The first is the option to schedule a road test online. Customersmay now make an appointment for their road test by choosing from threeDriver Testing Centers, one each in north, central, and southern NewJersey.The second feature allows customers to request a copy of their owndriving history online. With a few keystrokes, motorists can viewand/or send away for their driving record. There is not additionalfee for requesting the information online.The MVC plans to add new online services every six months.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
