Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

I am the executor of my widowed father�s estate whose will (probated) directs that his property be equally divided among his 4 children. I am in the process now of contacting the various financial institutions that hold his stocks, annuities, bonds and bank accounts to gather information about the accounts and to gain access to the funds. In some cases the institutions require that I submit a NJ 0-1 waiver in order to be able to access more than 50% of the funds of a particular holding � to obtain the 0-1 waiver the NJ estate return must first be accepted. My question is whether in those institutions that don�t require the 0-1 waiver whether I may immediately, prior to filing the estate return, transfer the funds held by that institution into the names of the beneficiaries without having first transferred them into the estate account. Of course this would be done judiciously so as not to exhaust funds that may be needed to pay estate debts and with bond and release documents signed. If this shortcut were acceptable it would save a good amount of paperwork and time.

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