Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Will

I noticed that you posted to both FL and NJ. You can probate (put through court) your mother's estate both where she died and where she owned property. For land, only a court of the state where the property is located will have jurisdiction to determine the status of the land. If she owns land in multiple states, then you have to address the land in each state separately.

The Will: I am licensed only in Florida, and can give you general background on Florida law. If the will is probated in Florida, then handwritten additions will not be accepted as part of the will. In Florida, a will can be revoked by a physical act, such as tearing up the will or marking out parts of it. By writing on the will, your mother may have revoked it. The person who wrote the will must have the intent to revoke by doing these things, but it seems that your mother had this intent since she was focused on outing the will and replacing it. If she wrote on a copy, then you are probably OK, but if she wrote on the original will, then this could be complicated and she may not have any will at all.

Because you have a mortgage on the house, and presumably your mother is on the mortgage, you absolutely positively must see a lawyer to have ownership of the property sorted out. The mortgage company will not discuss the mortgage with anyone who is not on the mortgage agreement and on the deed to the land. This is not a problem now, while you are current with payments. But if you ever have trouble with the mortgage, you will need to be able to talk with them to sort that problem out.

The first step in probate is appointing a personal representative (also called an executor or administrator) who will represent your mother's estate to the world. Once the personal representative is appointed, you will be able to communicate with creditors (like the mortgage company). That first step is simple, but you do not want to do it while racing a foreclosure. Also, to avoid foreclosure the normal strategy is to try to sell the property before it is foreclosed. To get a probate court to issue a deed is not terribly complicated, but a fast estimate of time is that this will take 3 to 6 months. The reason for the time is that you have to notify different parties of the steps you take and then wait a certain number of days before you can proceed to the next step. It's not painful, but it does take some time - most of which is spent waiting.

Even if foreclosure is never an issue, you will need to have the land sorted out or else you cannot sell it, or get loans against it, or do just about anything other than live on it and use it. Eventually, you will have to sort it out. Now is better than later.

You absolutely should see a lawyer who is licensed in the state where the land is located, and take the necessary steps to arrange the property and mortgage now before something urgent comes up. The money you spend will save you trouble and pain later.