Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
executor need answer will vs divorce decree
divorce paper 4yrs early states when father dies children have 50/50 owner of house which would be written in his will. his will written 3 yrs after divore paper.states part 4.failure to leave property: If i do not leave property in this will to one or more of my childern named above,my failure to do so is intentional. Does will supercedes divorce decree?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: executor need answer will vs divorce decree
The divorce decree should take precedent. In may involve a lawsuit to enforce it. One thing you could do is send a copy of the divorce agreement and judgment to the life insurance company. Once it is in their records they won't pay it out without a court order.
Re: executor need answer will vs divorce decree
It appears that the father here intentionally attempts to override the divorce decree and I would venture to say that there is a good chance that the will would be overturned. In the case of failure to designate the life insurance beneficiary, the NJ courts have reformed the insurance contract to conform with the divorce decree. Based on this reasoning and without knowing all the facts that might change this opinion, I would say the divorce decree would probably supercede the will. Of course, this is not a substitute for engaging an attorney who can attempt to master all the facts and and apply the exisiting laws to this matter.
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