Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
unread will
grandmother died in 2004, she had a joint account & her sister ran to the bank & took all $ from the account, while I was waiting for police & emt because she died at home. 4 years later her will was found (her sister told us there wasn't one-she is listed as executrix) gettting 1/2 of her estate & my mother (deceased) got the other 1/2. Listing if she died, the remainder of estate goes to myself & my sister. how do we go about getting the will read after all these years & was the $ taken from the bank 1/2 ours?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: unread will
I agree with Rich in almost all respects. I might add that a joint account is not covered by the terms of the Will but belongs to the joint survivor by account registration. The sole exception to the survivorship rules is where the account was set up solely to be an "accomodation", to allow the person named with the owner to sign checks, etc. This is usually done where a person cannot do this for themselves and traditionally a Power of Attorney, rather than joint ownership, is used. This is difficult to prove and, as Rich says, a business decision may need to be made if the costs that will be incurred will justify the results, if you could win the case. Was this the only asset of the estate? Many more facts are needed to give you a better response.
Re: unread will
The Will can still be probated, but you first need to determine if there are sufficient assets to make pursuit of this worthwhile. You may also have an action for fraud against her sister, but you are running out of time to do these things. See a lawyer ASAP.
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