New Jersey Trusts Legal Questions

You will have to provide an accounting if the will requires it.  If it doesn nt, the beneficiaries can still request it through the court.  If it is your father in law's spouse that passed away, and he inherited her assets, then the estate is closed, and you can be operating more as a power of attorney, if your father in law gives you that authority, instead of an executor.  You should probably discuss this with an elder law attorney.  ... Read More

You would have to file a complaint seeking to have your brother removed as the Trustee.  In the complaint you would also ask for an accounting, or a report as to how the money in the trust was spent.  If this is something you might want to do, start by sending your brother a certified letter(so you can prove he received it) demanding that he provide you with an accounting of the trust assets and how they were spent.  If/when he does not respond to that, you will have some of the proof you need to go to court. ... Read More

This is very complicated and will require you to hire a lawyer.  If your sister is disabled you might want to consider doing a gaurdianship, and having the court order the Special Needs Trust to be created as part of the guardianship.  The bonds cannot be in her name if she receives Medicaid or SSI as they will make her financially ineligible.  You will also need guidance on what can, and cannot, be done with the money in the trust.  If you are in the Monmouth or Ocean county areas, feel free to give me a call.... Read More

You should contact the New Jersey Office of Unclaimed Property.  even if the asset escheated to the State there is still a way to recover the asset.  Someone will need to be appointed as the representative of the estate, whether that's another surviving family member or heir of the estate.  You can contact the county surrogate's office of the county in which the decedent lived at the time of death and they will help you.  If you are in monmouth or Ocean Counties, feel free to call my office for assistance. ... Read More

Usually life rights do not end when the person wants to, but instead end when the person's life ends.  There is a way to value it based on the age of the person and the value of the property.  An appraiser should be able to assist you with determining the value of the life rights. ... Read More

your situation falls into category C of the intestate statute which is listed below. The intestate share of the surviving spouse is:  a.  The entire intestate estate if:  (1) No descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent;or  (2) All of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent;  b.  The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus  three-fourths of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent;  c.  The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate:  (1) If all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent ;  or  (2) If one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants is not a descendant of the surviving spouse.... Read More

The documents you listed are only effective while your father was living. The moment he passed away all of the documents became void. Someone filed  an application for probate  and was appointed executor, if there was a will, or administrator, if there was not a will. Once appointed  as executor, the person has the ability to handle all  financial matters of your father's estate. Since your power to handle your father's affairs ended at his death, the court was able to appoint someone else to handle his affairs after death. All probate  matters are of public record,so you will need to go to the county court where your father was living when he died and look at the probate records  to see who was appointed  executor. Since I do not practice in New Jersey, I am giving you the law that applies  generally, so I recommend you asked someone who practices law in New Jersey  for specifics on how New Jersey handles  probate.... Read More

You first need to look at the terms of the trust.  Does the trust give the beneficiaries the right to remove a trustee? If it does, and the beneficiaries are in agreement, then you can contact the surrogate's court in the county in which the trust was formed and get the trustee removed.  Also the trust will indicate whether or not an accounting is required, and if it is, and she has not provided it, then she can be removed for that reason as well.  you should start in the county in which the trust was formed, and if you don't have a copy the surrogate's office might have the trust agreement. Good luck.... Read More

There is a five year look back.  If your mother is in a nursing home she will have to pay for the care she is receiving.  If she runs out of money she can continue to get care  through Medicaid, but she has to prove she has spent her own money.  If the money has been in a trust for more than five years, Medicaid will not require her to spend those funds. ... Read More

The answer to this might depend on the size of the estate.  In New Jersey there is an estate tax that applies to all estates over the amount of $675,000.  However, there is no tax between a husband and wife. So usually one spouse dies, passes assets to the surviving spouse, and when the second spouse dies, the beneficiaries pay tax on whatever is over $675,000. There is a complex way to maximize the estate tax deduction by preserving the deduction of the first spouse, and then receiving two $675,000 deductions instead of just one by using a trust, but I'm not sure that is what is being proposed here. ... Read More

This house will pass to you, but you may be liable for inheritance taxes for the portion of the house that you inherited from your fiance because as of the date of death you were not married, and there is an inheritance tax due if you are not related to the person that died.  The tax will be based on one half of the appraised value.... Read More

My general answer is going to be yes - just because I do not usually recommend revocable trusts for New Jersey residents.  It is cheaper and easier to probate.  That is not always the case in every state.  In some states it is better to use a revocable trust and avoid probate, but not in New Jersey.  Here you might be better off with a Last Will and Testament.... Read More

A complaint for probate is another way of saying the will was recorded or submitted to the court for probate.  Your sister was probably appointed as the Executor.  You should call the county probate court of the county in which your mother lived.  Get a copy of all of the documents in the probate file.  If your sister has not provided you with a notice of probate or a copy of the will, she is not fulfilling her duties as Executor and could be removed by the Court.   You should ask for an accounting of estate assets.  A typical estate should take a year or less to complete.  ... Read More

i agree with the attorney that told you that you can always do a power of attorney and probate is not a problem.  Transferring property to a revocable trust is always possible, but I don't see the need here, and its really not something that is done in New Jersey.  You didn't say where your other house is that the first attorney recommended putting into a trust.  Because if the property is not in New Jersey, then the answer would be different.  If you own a second home in another state, having the property in a trust can be helpful because you don't have to do a second probate, and can sell the property if one of you dies.... Read More

I life estate is measured by the life of the person in whom it is vested.  If  life estate is created, and a provision made in a will that the underlying property could be sold on the provision that a life estate in that property be re-created for your Aunt, then yes, I believe that could be re-created in each new property.  Your aunt would have to continue to live int he properties, and should not be directing the purchase or sale of the property.  In addition, depending on the provisions in the will, she may be responsible for upkeep, taxes, utilities,etc on each property.... Read More

Go to the Surrogate's Office in the county in which your mother died.  Her will had to have been admitted to probate, and the Surrogate's Office will have information regarding that.  Ask the people at the office what you need to do to challenge something the executor of the estate did and they may be able to help you.  If you consented to the trust, the trust might be revocable, meaning you can revoke it at any time.  If that's the case you can dissolve any trust that was created and access your own money. ... Read More

If your dad is competent, he can revoke the POA.  He should do it in writing, advising the current POA that its revoked, and appoint a new person.  Anyone who holds a POA is supposed to act in the person's best interest.  It does not sound like that is happening and you can step in and help out if that's what your dad wants.  ... Read More

You have a couple of different questions included in there.  First, if she was named as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy, that is separate from the will and is not included in what she needs to do with the trust.   Second, you have to get the trustee (or the executor if your daughter is not the executor) to enforce the provisions of the will on behalf of the minor children.  The trustee should ask for an accounting of the monies form the estate, what was spent, and what is going into the trust.  The trustee can require her to do this by filing an action in the probate court an challenging the will.  If you would like to discuss this more, please contact my office on Monday. ... Read More