Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
I have an old fried living in NJ who has a 90 year old mother. My friend (who has MS) cannot find her POA or her mother's Will. She said the lawyer would not send copies to her. Please advise.
2 Answers from Attorneys
I do not know why the attorney refuses to provide copies, unless there is something that is being omitted in the communications, like the mother may have instructed the attorney not to deliever them.. While a copy of the POA may be sufficient for many purposes, a copy of a Will may not be probated unless there are unusual circumstances. If there is too much difficulty, and presuming the mother stii wants her child to be the POA and inherit, it may be simplier to have the mother do new documents
As long as the Mother is still competent, and if the other documents are more than a few years old, it may be best to "update" the POA and Will. Circumstances change, documents don't.
Feel free to contact me direct at 215 592 0033 or write back to discuss this matter further.
PS: Simple documents like the ones you are asking about usually cost less the $200.00 to prepare.
Mike Berman