MORRIS COUNTY — On Wednesday February 5, at 8:30 a.m., the Morris County Surrogate’s Office and Morris County Bar Association will present a special program for attorneys to detail the new Reduced Fee Referral Program being offered in the Surrogate’s Court for wills and guardianship and probate matters.

The program will offer a general overview of  the program, including how attorney’s may participate and qualifications required of attorneys. Surrogate Heather J. Darling strongly recommends that attorneys interested in participating in this program recently introduced by the Surrogate’s Office and Bar Association attend this information session.

It will be held in the County Administration and Records Building at 10 Court Street in Morristown, in the Freeholder Board’s public meeting room on the Fifth floor.

The Reduced Fee Referral Program matches attorneys with residents who cannot afford legal services and do not qualify for free or pro bono legal services. This new program is offered at no cost to the taxpayers of Morris County.

“As a practitioner in the Surrogate’s Court for many years, I am familiar with the difficulties people face in trying to navigate the guardianship or probate processes without legal counsel when necessary legal counsel is unaffordable for them. I am pleased that we were able to work with Jennifer McAndrew Vuotto and the Morris County Bar Association to bring this program to the residents of Morris County,” Darling said.

Matters within the Surrogate’s Office, which are currently included in this program, are wills, guardianship and probate issues.

Guardianship includes a declaration of incapacitation to handle one’s own affairs. It can be a complicated matter for people who had been caregivers without the need for a court intervention.

Probate is another difficult matter for family members once a loved one has passed and grieving survivors learn the difficulty in administering the decedent’s estate.

In New Jersey, Title 3B is the statute which addresses guardianship and probate. The statute can be complex and difficult to navigate without legal training and practice.

“Bottom line, this program will be a way to bridge the gap for those who have been legally left behind,” said Deputy Surrogate Chris Luongo.

To participate in the program, individuals must qualify financially by demonstrating they fall within certain financial criteria, with eligibility limits higher than those of most pro-bono services.

“We want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to counsel as they navigate the court system. There are many litigants who do not qualify for assistance, yet still, have difficulty affording an attorney. Those are the litigants we set out to help and have succeeded in helping the most,” said Vuotto, co-chair of the Morris County Bar Association Reduced Fee Referral Program.

Attorneys who want to participate in the program can apply through the Morris County Bar Association.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Clerk Ann Grossi has announced that Andrea Zeien of Hanover Park Regional High School, Abby Zaplishny of Roxbury High School, and Nathaniel Gallagher of Morris Hills High School are the top three prize winners respectively in the County Clerk’s art contest for the cover of the 2020 edition of the Morris County Manual — the go-to booklet for county and municipal government information.

This year’s 2020 version of the Morris County Manual honors the 100th anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. It represents the 114th year the manual has been published by the Office of the Morris County Clerk.

While its design and content has changed throughout the decades, one thing has remained constant; the manual’s objective is to provide centralized resources for officials and residents concerning their government.

County Clerk Grossi hosted a ceremony this week for the winning entrees, among some 200 cover creations that poured into her Morristown Office from students at 16 high schools across the county. Covers — many filled with patriotic and county historic themes — filled the walls of a county office, where the event occurred.

Winning Entries:

• First Prize: Hanover Park Regional High School student  Andrea Zeien, who lives in Florham Park, won the $500 first prize for a patriotic cover that featured a recently revamped version of the county seal overlaid on a colorful and historic version of the county map.
• Second Prize: Roxbury High School student Abby Zaplishny, who resides in Mount Arlington, won the $300 second prize for a hand-drawn cover that features the county crest.
• Third Prize: Morris Hills High School student Nathaniel Gallagher won the third place prize of $100 for his use of the county seal featured on a modern cover.

Students in all Morris County high schools are invited to participate in the contest. Last year’s three art winners for the 2019 County Manual attended Morris Knolls and Morris Hills high schools.

Established 279 years ago to record every conveyance of property within the county, the County Clerk’s Office has progressed to provide an array of additional services, including election responsibilities, officiating over marriages, issuing County and Veteran Identification Cards, accepting Notary Public registrations and administration of oaths, and processing U.S. Passports.

Creating the County Manual also has become an essential task. The 70-page booklet (it also can be found online) is filled with key names and contact information of county freeholders, county government officials, congressional and legislative representatives, members of county authorities, boards and commissions, plus personnel in all 39 municipalities.

The 2020 version of the County Manual will be printed and put on line in the next several weeks.