Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: obtaining a copy of a will

It would be unlawful to fail to probate a will and unethical and criminal for an attorney to fail to probate a will. Probating a will simply means to prove a will by providing the original will to the county surrogate in the county where the deceased lived.

You could go to the county surrogate and obtain a copy of the will for a few dollars, but the online services

sounds like a wonderful convenience.

You can hire an attorney and compel the executor of the estate and the estate's attorney to comply with the provisions of the will.

As for a certified copy of the will that can be used in court.

Gary Moore, Esquire

Hackensack, New Jersey

www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com

Re: obtaining a copy of a will

If there is a will, it should have been admitted to probate within a matter of days after death and, as an heir, your mother should have received notice of that happening. Whether or not this has happened can be verified by contacting the Surrogate's Office in the County in which your grandfather resided at the time of his death. If a will was admitted to probate, the surrogate will provide a copy.

If no will has been admitted to probate and your mother does not know for sure that one exists or where a will can be found, she (or anyone else with an interest in the estate) can apply to administer the estate by applying to the Surrogate for letters of administration. Brother would be notified and would have the chance to object, presumably by showing up with the original of a will.

The fact that no will has been produced and admitted to probate to date raises a suspicion that a will does not exist or that Brother does not want it in probate for some reason. Regardless, Brother (or anyone else) is liable to the beneficiaries for any dissipation of the assets of the estate.

Your mother has rights and one of the functions of the surrogate is to protect them. If that doesn't seem to be happening, your mother should contact a lawyer to assist her. The process of requiring the representative of the estate to account for their actions is relatively simple.

If I can help further, call or email.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

Re: obtaining a copy of a will

If no will has been probated after all these months, something strange is certainly going on.

If there is no will, then your mother is an intestate heir and is entitled to a share of her father's estate....and can also file with the Surrogate's Court to serve as Administrator.

If there is a Will, that action [iling for letters of administration] should prompt your uncle to probate the Will immediately...your uncle would then be required to provide your mother with Notice of probate and a copy of the will.

Re: obtaining a copy of a will

If a Will was probated, a copy can be seen at the Surrogate's Office in the County where your grandfather died. For a small fee they will send you a copy. A telephone call to the Surrogate will let you know if anything has been filed and who was appointed as Executor and who is the attorney. A Will only acts on property (assets) owned individually by a decedent. If there were or your uncle had his father create joint accounts between them, these are not covered by a Will and automatically go to the survivor joint owner, even if there is a Will and it says something to the contrary. Finally, while your mother may have a claim against your uncle, for undue influence, or something similar, she may be out of time to assert her claim, since she waited 14 months after the death. I suggest you contact a local estate attorney to assist you, both to discover what has happened, and to start a suit if one can be brought at this late date.