Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Inheritance

If there was an inhertiance for her under the grandfather's will, you would be able to obtain a copy of the will from the Surrogate's Court in the NJ county where the grandfather died. The inheritance would presumably be contained in a provision in the will. It's also possible that the grandfather may have established a trust during his life that named her as a beneficiary. In that case it would be more difficult to determine if she was a beneficiary. You would need to figure out who the trustee is and then try to obtain a copy of the trust from the trustee. If she was a beneficiary, she would be entitled to information concerning the trust, and you could go to court to force the trustee to provide you with that information. If she is not a beneficiary, she would not have any rights concerning the trust.

Re: Inheritance

If he had a Will that was probated, then you could get a copy from the Surrogate's office for the County in which he was a resident.

If you wish to discuss the matter further, please feel free to contact me. I am licensed in both PA and NJ.

Re: Inheritance

I have read Attorney Jonathan Chester's reply. I will only add that you should find an attorney who is in or near the county where your daughter's grandfather lived, to investigate this for you.

Re: Inheritance

Jon had the right ideas. Start with the Surrogate in the County where he was residing when he died, to see if there was a Will probated and get a copy (you can go there and see it, or have a copy sent for a small fee). If there was no trust mentioned in the Will, he may have created one while he was alive, in which case it would not be a public document. You would have to rely upon the trustee to inform you of its existance and its contents. Your problem would be finding out who is the trustee. You might consider a small legal advertisment in one of the legal newspapers to see if anyone has information. If the trust follows the typical pattern (and I specialize in trusts), it might provide a life estate to the son before grandchildren become entitled to anything. This might not explain why you have not heard anything to date, if the father/son is still alive. If you can get information, your daughter is entitled to an accounting of what has transpired with the trust, and can sue of anything improper has taken place.