Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
Suing an Estate
My mother and father divorced 19 years ago and in the meantime my father was supposed to hold a life insurance in my mother name payable upon his death. After my father died the insurance policy had not been kept up. My mother is suing the estate in order to get this money. In the course of going over some of the finances it appears that my father hid marital assets from my mother that she just found about this weekend. Does she have any claim on that money as well even though it is 19 years later? He never disclosed these during their divorce court proceedings.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Suing an Estate
The question is when a Statute of Limitations to bring a suit begins to run. If the information she just found was readily available and she sat on her rights to discover it, she may be barred. On the other hand, if the information was unavailable until now, and could not be discovered previously, using reasonable diligence, the Court may allow her claim to proceed. This is a separate issue from the insurance, if it was required to be maintained. Did she ever get notice that the policy had lapsed? If so, and she sat on her rights to have the policy reinstated or a new one issued, that claim may fall also.
Re: Suing an Estate
If it's been 19 years since your parents were divorced, even assuming the statute of limitations is not a complete bar to her recovery [based on a fraud claim], your mother will likely have a very, very difficult time proving her case based on the time that has elapsed. Also, since your father is deceased, testimony and accurate records may be obstacles to proving her case.
Re: Suing an Estate
Since she is suing the estate, I'll have to assume she has a lawyer, and if so, I would have to direct this question to her representative.
If she does need advice and counsel, I'll be happy to discuss the matter with her.
Mike
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