Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

There is no way to give her a general answer. She needs to sit down with me and go over this. She is entitled to a copy of the Will, and I can get a copy of the Deeds if she can not.

Call me. This is not good, and not reasonable. 201 820 3460.

I disagree with the answer given above.

Most states, including NJ, have an "elective share" statute that provides that the surviving spouse is entitled to approximately on-third of the deceased spouse's estate [the calculation of the 1/3rd is complicated and I would need much more information to determine what the amount is].

It's possible that the surviving wife [or the attorney] is mis-reading the law because while the wife may be entitled to 1/3 of the husband's entire estate, that does not mean she is entitled to 1/3rd of this particular propety [e.g. if the entire estate is $3 million and the 2 properties in question are valued at $2 million, then the wife would not be entitled to any part of them...since she's already getting 1/3rd of the entire estate.

I agree with Jon, but add that another element needs to enter the calculaqtion - namely the value, if any, of the wife's personal assets and what she may inherit outside the Will such as joiunt accounts, retirement plan and insurance policy proceeds. I suggest you retain both a NJ attorney and one familiar also with PA law. Sounds like unless someone gets involved who knows these laws, you can lose out. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship.