Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: What type of attorney should be consulted

Wow. Isn't that just wonderful. Stepmother fights are fairly common, I have one going now. Your adult children should fight this tooth and nail. Remove from a deed? remove from an Estate? what possible basis could she come up with?

You need an experienced courtroom attorney who has litigated Estate matters successfully. This attorney should be at least a bit familiar with divorce law as well. If you were in northern New Jersey, then I and a half dozen lawyers I know could handle this well. I have only a few good lawyers I know in south Jersey. Call me if you would like to chat briefly, perhaps I can steer you to the right lawyer. No charge for a brief phone call. I will do what I can to help you out.

My contact information can be obtained from the links below, just click on the Attorney Profile link. Let my secretary know you found me through LawGuru.

Disclaimer: you can not rely on the advice of an attorney given over the internet. The exact facts of your situation, including facts which you have not mentioned in your question, may completely change the result for your situation.

Re: What type of attorney should be consulted

I agree and disagree with Robert's reply, but more facts are necessary to give you a proper answer. The suit should be defended by an attorney familiar with estates and estate litigation. Some of the issues involved appear to be (1) the date on the Deed (when was it made) in relationship to the marriage date? (2) What are the relative assets of both the estate and the step-mother? In brief, the issue appears to be the conflict between intestacy laws (the laws that control the disposition of an estate when a person dies without a Will) and the spousal election laws (which prevents a spouse, even a second wife, from being disinherited and entitles a spouse to a portion of the decedent's estate). Were there any pre-marital agreements between the parties? These are complicated matters and an expert in these areas is needed. If there is no or only a partial basis for the claim, attorneys fees can be reimbursed, but, again, more facts are needed. This is a reply to an Internet question and any response is for informational purposes only and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.