Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: My son's about to receive money from a will

I really need to see the will to answer your question. The will may contain a provision that says what happens when a minor inherits property under the will. It's possible that a trust is established or the executor may have discretion to make payment to a parent or guardian or a custodian under a UGMA account.

You should not be offended that the attorney has concerns about the payment to you...there are no doubt thousands of stories of parents improperly spending their children's inheritance or other assets belonging to the child. If something improper happened to the money paid to you, your son could sue you AND the executor for improperly paying the money to you! So the attorney is just trying to protect his client.

Re: My son's about to receive money from a will

The will may have provisions governing anything left to minors. Minors cannot own things in their own names. There are other means of transferring his inheritance, either through a Uniform Gift to Minor account, or to you as Trustee [or a Trustee named in the Will] until your son reaches majority or an age specified in the will.

The attorney for the estate should be following the directions in the Will and PA law. What does your NJ lawyer tell you?

You may see the Will and get a copy at the Office of the Register of Wills in Philadelphia. That office is in City Hall, Room 180. There may be a charge for copying.

Re: My son's about to receive money from a will

As Jon and Miriam have indicated, the Will may have language covering this, as a properly drawn Will should have. It appears there is no language covering this situation (an inheritance going to a minor). The attorney for the Executor is being cautious, as he could be responsible later were you to somehow dissipate your son's money, and it went to you without Court approval. The technically legal way to do this, where the Will is silent, is for you to apply to the Surrogate's Court to be appointed as your son's legal guardian, which would authorize you to receive the funds for him. Granted, this is time consuming and has some cost, but it would relieve the attorney from any responsibility. As an inexpensive alternative, you could open a bank or brokerage account under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, which is a custodial account for the benefit of your son, with you being the custodian. This would allow you son to sue you later if you did anything improper, not that I am suggesting you might. This does give the attorney some protection, although not as much as having Court authorization. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not to be considered legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. Note that different facts or omitted facts could produce a different response.