Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: estate accounting

Requiring an accounting is not initiated or done by the Surrogate or a court. A person with an interest in the estate must file an action in court to require the Executor to provide a formal account. At that point, a court is involved, as it would be in any matter filed with a court, but does not itself prepare the account; the court oversees and has power to order parties to do so.

You should consult an estates lawyer to advise how this is done, what your rights are, and to assist you.

Re: estate accounting

First, let me say that the Court does not do the accounting, but can only order that a "formal judical accounting" be prepared, and the order must be sought by an interested party, and is only issued after an interested party (such as an estate beneficiary) applies to the Court for it and a hearing is held to determine if this type of accounting is required. That said, the cost can easily run multiple thousands of dollars (and unless the Executor has acted improperly, the cost will be paid by the estate itself, thus reducing a beneficary's share of the estate), as this type of accounting requires that every item in the estate must be set forth in detail, each asset traced and every check listed. Having handled estates for more than 40 years, I can say that I have never done a formal judicial accounting due to the cost involved. A thorough informal accounting can accomplish the same result, but in a less costly manner. It might be faster and less costly if specific concerns were addressed to the Court for the Executor to answer. If you want to discuss this further, contact me directly.

Re: estate accounting

The process for a "formal" accounting is expensive and usually unnecessary. You would need to hire an attorney to file a law suit in the Superior

Court of New Jersey, Probate Part in the County where the Will was probated. This will cost you several thousand dollars.

The Court would then force the Executor to file the inventory and accounting, pay a significant fee to the Surrogate's office (several thousand dollars.) These fees are paid out of the estate assets.

The parties could then file an objection to the accounting and the Executor's and Executor's attorney fees.

The whole process is expensive and time consuming.

I hope this helps!

Ron Cappuccio

http://www.SaveYourEstate.com