New Jersey Trusts Legal Questions

If the 401(k) named you as a beneficiary, you do not need the executor.  Call the company that administers the 401(k) and indicate that you are the beneficiary of the estate.  If you are named as a direct beneficiary, they will send you clalim forms and you can claim it directly.  If your brother is not doing his job as the executor, you can ask him to resign, and if he refuses, you can have him removed.  ... Read More

Figure out how the house is titled - look it up in the county records.  You will be able to see the original deed that was recorded when the house was purchased.  Have an attorney prepare a new deed, and send it with a demand letter telling your father its his obligation to sign it over to be in compliance with the trust, if he refuses, you can make an application to court and ask for him to have to pay the attorney's fees. ... Read More

You can leave all of your assets to your daughter in your will.  If you and your wife both do wills, one will have a survival presumption meaning there will be a clause in one will that says "if my spouse and I die together, its going to be presumed that I survived".  The other will says "Its is to be presumed that I died first".  This way, one estate pours into the other, and then the second will is what governs the distribution.  If your daughter keeps all of her inheritence separate and does not co-minlge the money with marital assets, the inhreitance does not become part of equitable distribution and will not go to her husband. ... Read More

There isn't enough information to answer this question.  Generally, trusts can be set up during your life time, or after you've passed away (set up in your will).  The reason you may want a trust now could be to protect assets for a child, someone who is disabled, or to take assets out of your name.  There are many reasons to set up a trust, but there are also reasons why a trust woul dnot be appropriate.  Consult with an attorney to find out the pros and cons and determine if a trust is right for you.  ... Read More

Anyone can contest a Will.  Usually the basis of a hcallenge is undue influence, that someone influenced the person to write the will a specific way, or lack of testamentary capacity, meaning the person did not have the capacity to understand the Will.  A Will challenge is brought in the County in which the decedent lived when they passed away.  ... Read More

Get a copy of the trust from who ever informed you that you are in charge.  If you know where the assets are maybe you can get a copy form the bank or financial institution.The trust also might be registered with the county if the trustee who was in charge before you had a trustee certificate.  ... Read More

Estate debts are paid in a priority.  First, pay all of the expenses of the funeral, pay yourself back and fees you incurred for probate, or anything else, pay the attorney (if you had one) and then I would wait.  It will take some time before the final bills of last illness come in.   Usually the credit card companies will accept some pay down (as low as 1/3 of the actual debt).  Wait until you get further along in admininstering the estate to see what debts are outstanding and what assets are avaliable.     ... Read More

No - an irrevocable trust cannot be changed.  That's the very definition of "irrevocable".  This is why I caution people about getting these types of trusts.  It may be possible to sell the existing house, and buy something smaller, and therefore free up some funds for care.  ... Read More

There might be some outstanding lien against the property that needs to be resolved.  If not, you should demand to have the monies the lawyer is holding released.  Call and find out the reason the reason the monies are being held, and if you can't get a good answer, demand to have it released.  If you don't get the money, then send a certified mail putting your request in writing.  ... Read More

It can be unders certain circumstances, but generally it is not necessary.  In many states a revocable trust makes sense to avoid probate.  In New Jersey there is no reason to avoid probate because it is inexpensive and easy.  You will need to discuss your circumstances with an Elder Law attorney to determine if a revocable trust is right for you.  ... Read More

This is not possible to answer based on the infromation you have provided.   If the will is valid, then the fact that the lawyer went out of business should not matter.  If you are in Monmouth or Ocean Counties and would like me to look at the will and discuss this problem further, please feel free to call my office.... Read More

Summary judgment itself is a very difficult statndard.  There must be no issues of material fact.  What you are talking about seems very fact sensitive, and would require testimony and a review by a judge.  So the issue itself is not approrpaite for summary judgment regardless of the standard. ... Read More

the funds have to be used for the child.  If you are relocating and the funds will be sued for his expenses, then you can apply to the court to receive those funds.  you should have specific costs in mind, and just not a general number of an estimate of what you need for expenses.  If for example, its just you and your son, and you have an estimate of moving expense of $5000 from a mover, ask for one half of that to cover his portion of the expenses.  Good luck. ... Read More

The power of attorney stopped when your dad died.  The person who takes control of an estate is either the Admininstrator, if your dad didn't have a wil, or the Executor, if he did have a wll.  Many times the value of the estate, and assets in the estate, will be included in the application for probate.  You should start with the paperwork filed at the county probate office, of the county in which your dad lived at the time of his death.  Usually an estate should be resolved within 9 months to one year, so you are getting close to that time.  If you know about stocks, call the broker or company thta holds the stocks and determine if your dad had beneficiaries listed for the accounts.  Good luck.  ... Read More

you need to get a copy of the will, and see what, if anything your entitled to.  You should also get a copy of the application for probate to see if the assets in the estate were listed.  you can get these documents from the probate office of the county in which your mom resided at the time of her death.... Read More

It is not possible to change an irrevocable trust, that's why its irrevocable.  It will be possible however, to remove the existing trustee and have another trustee/trustees appointed.  Look in the body of the trust agreement and find the language pertaining to removal and/or replacement of the trustees.  You can usually start by asking the trustee to resign voluntarily, and if that is not successful, you can make application to the court for the removal of the trustee. ... Read More

Your daughter has a claim to part of his estate. The settlement proceeds will go into the estate.  If you know the county in which your daughter's father lived before he died, call that county's probate office.  Someone will have to be appointed to deal with the estate, and the probate office can tell you who it is, and the attorney representing the estate. ... Read More

The answer to this will depend on what assets your step father owned, and how he owned them.  things in joint names passed to your mother.  Someone will have to be appointed as the admininstrator of your step father's estate.  If your mother had a will, it might make sense for the person appointed in her will to serve for both estates.   If you would like assistance with this matter, please contact my office.... Read More