Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Contest Costs

It' really hard to estimate the total cost of legal fees in any type of litigation without a lot more information. Much of the cost depends on how difficult your case will be to prove, and the tenacity of your adversaries. If it gets "nasty" (a distinct possibility in most estate matters) the time and effort needed to succeed will increase substantially.

Most attorneys do not take estate matters on a contingency fee basis. If your case has merit, it's possible that some or all or your legal fees would be paid from the estate.

I would be happy to discuss this matter with you in greater detail.

Re: Contest Costs

There is an ethics ruling prohibiting contingency fees in estate contest matters. However, an attorney can agree to cap their fees or work on some type of flat fee. Most attorneys would only ask for a small advance and would wait to get paid from the estate. If there is a legitimate issue worthy of contesting the will, the court will authorize payment of the attorney's fees.

Also, even if the will contest is unsuccessful, if you are entitled to receive under the current will, the monitoring of the process by another attorney ensure fairness and equity in the administration process. What are legitimate grounds for filing a complaint to contest the will (must be done within 120 days of submission of the will to probate), confidential relationship, suspicious circumstances, undue influence, diminished capacity, irregularity in will, etc. I would be happy to provide a free consultation to you by phone or in person. I am based in Bergen County, but we handle matters from Ocean County north, including Warren and Hunterdon Counties.

I wish you luck.

Toll free 1-800-784-5140

Re: Contest Costs

Cannot make a ballpark estimate without futher details of the case. Depending on several factors (complexity of case, hostility of parties, etc.), may negotiate a fixed fee representation. Ethics rules prohibit contigency fee arrangements for these types of cases.

Feel free to contact my office for a free consultation by phone or by email.

Re: Contest Costs

There are not enough facts to try to provide a rough estimate. The ultimate fee would depend upon time, and most attorneys would bill on an hourly basis. The amount of time involved would depend upon the complexity of the issues involved. If you were successful, your fees could be paid out of the estate assets, so this possibility may permit an attorney to handle your matter for a retainer against time. No contingency fees are allowed by ethics rules, but a cap on fees could be negotiated. If the matter is contested by the estate, many hours could be involved including preparation of court papers, research, discovery (which might include interrogatories and depositions, or even expert witnesses), as well as trial time. ANy estimate would be purely speculative. If you provided some indication of the facts and issues, a better indication of estimated costs could be given. I have recently been involved in a Will contest in which the fees, due to all that was involved and the number of attorneys required (including guardian ad litems for minor beneficiaries involved in the estate) ran hundreds of thousands of dollars, including 2 appeals. On the other hand, I was involved in another case which merely involved an accounting and issues of the executor's actions, where the total fees were less than $10,000 on all sides. Thus, the complexity, who and what are involved, the issues and how the matter is required to be presented, make it impossible to make an estimate.