Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Estate

If your father died in Massachusetts, his children have an interest in his estate unless he wrote a will which stated otherwise.

What you need to do is to contact the Probate Court for the county in which he lived and find out whether a petition to probate or petition to administer the estate was ever filed. If it was, order copies of the documents. If it has not been probtated, then you need to determine whether any of his assets passed outside of probate.

I handle probate matters in the Greater Boston area and Worcester County. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance.

Re: Estate

As a surviving child, you should have received "notice of probate" and a copy of your father's will (if he had one) following his death. The executor or administrator of his estate was required by court rule to send this information to you.

That said, if you know where your father lived, you can contact the surrogate in the county where he lived and obtain a copy of any probate papers that have been filed, including the will.

If he had no will (i.e. he died intestate) and if there was no surviving spouse, parents or other children, you are entitled to the estate.

Re: Estate

I have read what the other attorneys wrote, and it is correct, you should basically investigate, contact the Court for the county he lived in when he died, and try to find out what, if anything, was done to probate a Will. If he owned any real estate, then investigate as to what happened to that. It will take some work.

If you would like me to assist, please call my office. I am in Hackensack. A half hour consultation will be $75.00. You can then decide how you would like to proceed.

My contact information can be obtained from the links below, just click on the Attorney Profile link. Let my secretary know you found me through LawGuru.

Disclaimer: Your question and any response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and this law firm. You can not rely on the statements made by an attorney given over the internet. The exact facts of your situation, including facts which you have not mentioned in your question, may completely change the result for your situation.

Re: Estate

The other authors are correct. First thing to do is to contact the Surrogate in the County where your father died to see what, if anything was done. Much of the information you need to get started is available by a telephone call. If there was a Will, for a small fee they will send you a copy, and provide you the contact information on the attorney, executor, etc. If no Will was probated (and presuming there was none), it is possible that as the closest living heir, you are eligible for appointment as Administrator. If you need assistance, contact me directly, presuming this is a New Jersey estate.