Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
What happens if an executor doesn't follow the will? My mother and my aunt, my mom's sister, are both executors to my grandmother's will( their mother).
My grandmother had a written will. My grandmother left her home to her six grandchildren.The home is worth a decent amount of money because it is a shore home in nJ. The will was written in a way thta it is causing issues between the family because it states that if the home is sold the money must go into an account to gain interest. It is not until my mother or aunt has passed on that the grandchildren can have access to the money. My mother has been living in the home for the past 7 years now but has had more and more difficulty keeping up with the house and all the taxes and insurance etc... My mom can no longer live in the house because she cannot afford it since she is unemployed at the moment. My aunt and mom and I ( I am one of the grandchildren) have recently discussed that the house will be sold. They are the executors so they are most likely going to sell th ehouse. The thing is that all the grandchildren have expressed that they are in need of the money now and agree to split the money between allthe grandchildren and the two executors. My aunt is just afraid of what the consequences may be in nj if you do not follow a will. I am not sure what the issue is really because All people involved in the will are ok with signing something and getting a share of the money once the home is sold. the will is not really being changed the only thing is that the grandchildren will be able to have the money sooner than later. We all need the money now so how can we or is there anyway we can just sell and split the money as long as we all agree to it and everyone signs. I just want to know what the consequences may be if the will is not followed exactly as it was written. Please help!
1 Answer from Attorneys
I have not seen nor read the Will so I do not know the specifics regarding the property. In brief, the Executors could apply to the Court to allow a sale due to financial hardship. If all heirs consent, the sale will probably be allowed. However, the Will probably has provisions on what happens to the sale proceeds once the property is sold. I suspect that it is retained until the children have passed away, as they might need the income and, possibly, the principal also. The children would, if I am correct, have to consent to allow a distribution to the grandchildren in advance of their passing. I would need to see the Will language to provide a more specific response. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is for information purposes only, and is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. Missing or different facts could result in a different response.
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