Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

The estate of any deceased person should be administered. If there was a will, it should have been filed with the Surrogate of the county where the deceased resided. If there was no will, a relative should have been appointed personal representative by the Surrogate. That would begin the estate administration process, which involves determining all of the assets, all of the debts, and paying all taxes and debts before distributing property to beneficiaries or heirs.

The will would be recorded or filed only if the estate administration was done. Generally, wills are not registered. The attorney who wrote the will may not make a copy available, but may be required to by a Surrogate's or court order.

When all property is jointly owned, although it is not "probate" property, some estate administration should have been done anyway.

This response is not legal advice, since I do not have all of the information that would be required, and I do not have a representation agreement with you.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

Unless there is an agreement to the contrary,any person can rewrite their will at any time. As to your mother's will, if she did not own anything by herself and everything was in joint name with your father, there may have been no reason to probate the will, but you should review all the facts with an attorney before proceeding further.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid legal issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to contact an attorney who can provide specific advice to you after reviewing the entire situation with you. Contact an attorney in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting an attorney is that it is usually impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. It should be made clear that any response given is not legal advice. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question could completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete and accurate answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with an attorney who practices in the area of your concern.

I understand from your question that there is some kind of big problem here. Give me a call, and let's see what is going on, and what you can do about it.

Robert Davies, Attorney 201 820 3460