Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Possible bogus will surfaces in 1987 for mother who passed in 1979

I concur with Ray, but have several questions, as your facts are not clear. You say your mother died in 1979, and this is 2004. What has happened to her estate over all these years? Was there ever a probate for intestacy (dying without a Will)? Besides the real estate, what other assets did she have and what happened to them? How were her assets registered, individually or jointly with her second husband? What did the Deed say at her date of death, that she was the owner or that she had put her second husband in title? These are all critical questions, as they bear upon what may have been done versus what should have been done, since her date of death. Your facts imply that the real estate is still intact after all these years, and appears to still be in the family. Is this so? What happened after the Will surfaced, if anything? Was it probated and did it change anything that might have happened previously? What was the effect of what you call "1/4%" on her assets? By the way, does this mean her second husband was to receive 25% of her estate and the children $100 each? If so, what happened to the other 75%? Who is occupying the real estate, and who has paid all of the costs of retaining it, like taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, etc.? Before you consider a Will contest, someone, like me, should review all of the facts and the answers to my questions to better properly advise you how to proceed today. If you would like to discuss this, please contact me directly by e-mail or call me at 973-377-3313.

Re: Possible bogus will surfaces in 1987 for mother who passed in 1979

If the "bogus will" seeks to disinherit you or your siblings, you may wish to contest the so called will. In order for a will to be valid, it must be eneterd into without undue influence, by a person of sound mind. Where, as here, the will purports to create an "unnatural distribution" (ie. seeks to disinherit children), the will is subject to scrutiny. Where your mother's will surfaced 8 years late and appears to have been signed at a time when she was under extreme mind altering substances, it may be worth contesting. The attorney who supposedly executed the will, should he still be alive, will need to testify as a witness. Please e-mail or call me to discuss this matter further. I can refer you to expert counsel for this matter.