Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Executor expenses billed to the estate

I am executor of my father's will.

One heir (a non-blood friend, who

shares equally with my dad's 3 sons)

has hired an attorney who has asked,

essentially for a complete audit of my

records. I have only just begun the

asset valuation process after

spending the first 2 months playing

detective to find several

undocumented insurance policies,

and income sources for the estate.

If the attorney requests copies of

EVERYTHING (including expoense

receipts ad check register, prior years

income tax returns, etc), can I

charge the attorney for that cost of

copies and my time? Or, can I

recoup the costs through deductions

to the specific heir's final and net

proceeds?


Asked on 11/17/08, 1:24 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Nancy M. Rice, Esq., CELA Elder Law Offices of Nancy M. Rice

Re: Executor expenses billed to the estate

Heirs cannot demand an accounting in NJ until one full year after you were appointed, absent unusual circumstances. You are required to produce an accounting, not copies of everything. What is your timing here? Are you outside the one year limit?

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Answered on 11/17/08, 2:22 pm
Jonathan Chester The Law Office of Jonathan S. Chester, Esq., LLC

Re: Executor expenses billed to the estate

It's a little early for the beneficiaries to be demanding all the documents you mention. The residuary beneficiaries are entitled to a full accounting, but that is generally not required until after one year.

If you don't have an attorney helping you, or if your attorney is not responsive, you should hire an experienced estate attorney as soon as possible.

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Answered on 11/17/08, 2:59 pm


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