Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey
Validity of a document signed by a person under medication
My late husband was in the hospital so sick you had to wear a mask to enter his room for his protection and was under heavy medication for pernicious anemia with complications. His sister went there and had him sign papers to change a Deed that his widowed mother had made conveying title to the family home from her to herself, her daughter and my late husband - to change the Deed to show that only the mother owned it again.
MY QUESTION IS WOULD THE PAPERS MY HUSBAND SIGNED BE VALID IF HE WAS SICK IN THE HOSPITAL UNDER HEAVY MEDICATION?
The mother died and the daughter sold the house and took everything. No Will was registered in the county where she died. I understand my late husband's share would go to his two sons if his mother died without a Will.
IF THOSE PAPERS HE SIGNED WERE NOT VALID, THEN WOULD THE ORIGINAL DEED STILL BE VALID? Thank you for your kind attention.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Validity of a document signed by a person under medication
Your question has 2 separate issues: 1 - was the deed your husband signed while in the hospital under medication/sedation validly signed? 2 - was the mother's will valid?
In each case, you would have to prove that there was a mental incapacity that made the deed and/or the mother's will invalid. Incapacity is not easy to establish, but it can be done.
You should consult with an estates attorney in the county where your mother-in-law or your husband resided at the time of death to assist you with trying to set aside the deed and the will. In the case of the family home, the best result that could be obtained is probably to force your sister-in-law to share the proceeds from the sale of the house with the other heirs of your mother-in-law. Once it has been sold to a "bona fide purchaser for value"(basically, a stranger who purchased it at market value), the sale cannot be undone. It is also possible to force her to administer your mother-in-law's estate.
Of course, you will also have to administer your late husband's estate.
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