New Jersey Estate Litigation Legal Questions

If everything they owned was owned jointly, then you do not need to find the will.  If there is something that she owned in her own name, your dad will need to apply to be the administrator of her estate.  You can get assistance in doing that form the Surrogate's Office of the county in which your dad lived at the time of your step mother's death.  ... Read More

I'm sorry for your loss.  There are many factor in play here.  As his surviving wife, he might have owned the property jontly, which means it will just go to her upone his death.  You can look up the ownership of the property at the county clerks office, most of them have the records on line.  You can always challenge the actions taken by the administrator and file with the surrogate's office indicating she falsified the records. ... Read More

This is a complex question with many parts.  You will need to open an Estate Account.  To do so you will need an EIN for the Estate.  The check can be deposited.  Creditors have nine months to submit claims, called a proof of claim, against the estate.  If there are no claims against the estate, then payment can be made.  I have distributed estates to beneficiaries that are not US citizens and do not live in the US.  There is no "closing" document for the estate unless you have a bond.  If you have a bond, then you need to get a release from the Beneficiary and file that release in order to get the bond released.  ... Read More

There is a statute of limitations on bills and debts of an estate.  Usually, any claim against an estate must be made within 9 months of the date of death.  You are obviously beyond that time frame.  This debt from the doctor is probably just one of many that he is trying to process and turned everything over to a debt collection attorney who did not carefully review everything before filing all of the small claims complaints.  You will have to go to court and answer this claim.  Bring a copy of the death certificate indicating the date of death.  They will have to prove they notified you of the debt iwthin the time frame, and if they can't the case will be dismissed. ... Read More

You can't serach it online, but you can call the Probate division - Surrogate's office, and they will tell you whether or not letters of admininstration were issued.  You need to call The Bergen County Court and ask about probate.  You may be able to get any documents available mailed to you, but I do't think any of it is online.   ... Read More

You are entitled to a bill.  If you do not receive a bill, you don't have to pay for services.   If the lawyer quoted a flat fee, and did not exceed that fee, then the lawyer might not have kept track.  It will all depend on what the retainer requires the lawyer to do.    ... Read More

There are certain assets that are claimed and the funds sent direclty to a bank acocunt.  I'm not sure if living in the UK is complicating your situation.  It is possible that there have been more than one claim to the same asset and therefore the State is sorting that out, but they usually tell you if that has occurred.  Its going to depend on how you are claiming the asset:  was it your money?  was it an inheritence?  is it supposed to be split with other parties?  are there taxes due?  you need to get the State to tell you what else needs to be done - they will very often not volunteer information - you have to keep asking "what can I do to get this released".  Good Luck. ... Read More

If your sister does not cooperate, you may need to file a complaint with the court demanding the right to purchase the asset from the estate.  If there is a private sale, then the realtor's fee is avoided and the price should be less.  Also your share of the house is already owned by you so you are just buying out your other siblings.  My office is too far south in New Jersey for me to take this matter.  Look at Lawyers.com for an elder law attorney in the Livingston area to help you. ... Read More

If the owner of the estate is still alive, there is no executor.  There is a document naming an executor, but one is not appointed until the person who wrote the will dies, and the will is admitted to probate.  The executor must qualify and then letters are issued indicating the person is the executor.  The person who writes the will has the right to change it up until the day they die, so there is no executor, and there is no estate, until the person dies. ... Read More

There are a lot of issues in your question.  Your father was a beneficiary of the estate, and as such probably inherited a portion of the house, which then would pass to you.  Just paying the taxes doesn't secure your interest, you would have to be sure to pay for upkeep and maintenance and other issues.  You will probably have to consult an attorney to get this straightened out.     ... Read More

If you r name was just on the account, it is called an account of convenience meanign your name was there to assist with bill paying.  The attorney is probably thinking the money belonged to the estate, not to you.  Although it probably would have been best to notify you and not just take the funds.    ... Read More

You will need to file a complaint in the court of the county in which the will was probated.  You will need to ask for an accounting of what was done in the estate, and what the current status of the estate is.  If they refuse to produce that, they can be removed as the executor.  ... Read More

Yes you have to open an estate.  If there is a will, you must probate the will.  Go to the county probate office in the county in which your mother lived.  Bring the will, a death certificate and a check.  By probating the will, you will be recognized as the person in charge of the estate.  You will be able to sell the house, or put the house into your own name.  If you are going to sell the house, you will need to open an Estate checking account, and will need to get an EIN for the estate.  You will use an online application at the IRS - form SS-4 - to get the EIN.  You will need the EIN to open the estate account. ... Read More

The improvements you made to the property should be credited however, you also lived on the property.  If you did not pay rent, then you also got a benefit form the estate.  The value of the rent would be credited against the improvements you put into the property.  This should all be taken into account when the division of the assets is made. ... Read More

You have the fiduciary responsibility to use the Power of Attorney for mom's benefit, and never fo your own benefit.  As long as you are fufilling that responsibility, you do not have to report to anyone about what you do.  Its more that you have a duty to mom, that a "right". ... Read More

That's a little difficult to answer without more information.  As part of Estate Tax or Inheritance Tax?  what is the size of the estate?  Who is the beneficiary in relation to the decedent?  If you supply more informatin I might be able to provide a better answer.     ... Read More

I'm sorry - but its really difficult to answer this question without looking at the deeds.  It could have been that when your father deeded the property, he gave her a life estate when he gave himself a life estate.  You would need to examine the chain of title, and determine what she is entitled to, and how to extinguish the life estate, if possible. ... Read More