Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: will and probate

Assuming that New Jersey law is the same as Massachusetts, the surviving children should have received notice of the petition to admit the will to probate. If your father died without a will, then you certainly would have been entitled to notice and to a share of the esstate.

Your best bet is to ask the court to send you a complete set of copies of whatever was filed with them. Then consult a New Jersey attorney.

Re: will and probate

As a surviving child, you were entitled to notice of probate and a copy of the will. However, assuming the will was otherwise valid, there is no reason your estranged father was required by law to include you as a beneficiary of his estate, and could have left his estate to whomever he wished.

However, if in fact he owed child support and there was a judgment against him, that would be required to be paid from estate funds prior to any other beneficiaries distributions. However, based on how long ago your parents were divorced (1960) it is unlikely that there would still be an enforcable judgement (assuming there ever was one).

Re: will and probate

On the facts that you give, it sounds as if your mother (or her estate) should be able to sue your father's estate and recover for the unpaid child support. The fact that the claim is late should not be a problem because you should have gotten a copy of the will when it was admitted to probate.

You probably do not have a direct claim against the estate. A parent can leave children out of the will. However, an executor of a will has an obligation to the creditors of an estate to pay the debts of the decedent before making any distribution of the assets to any beneficiaries. Back child support is such a debt. If some of that was owed to your mother, then she can sue to be paid before any of the beneficiaries. Even if the distribution has already been made, she should win the suit. Collection may be a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

Consider that some or all of the child support debt may be owed to the State. In NJ, when a family is forced to go on welfare because of missing child support, the State becomes the creditor to the extent of the welfare payments that it made. It is possible that the State is owed a share. That can be good and bad. On one hand, your private case might be worth less. On the other hand, there may be a source of legal help to get back what is owed.

There is no simple way to find out how much was in the estate. NJ does not require a routine accounting of every estate. Fortunately, since you are an heir, you should have an easy time in applying for an accounting and getting one mostly at the expense of the estate. That will tell whether there is anything worth going after with respect to the child support debt.

It certainly sounds as if there is something that warrants follow-up. My firm handles matters of this type. If I can be of further help to you, call or email.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

Re: will and probate

I have read what the other attorneys wrote, and John Corbett seems to be on target.

I would suggest you pursue it. This deadbeat dad might maybe be made to pay up.

I am in northern NJ. Find an attorney who does this kind of work (divorce and also estate litigation, which I do) who practices in the county where the Will was probated; that is probably also the county where he lived at the time of his death.

If you would like me to assist, please call my office. I am in Hackensack. A half hour consultation will be $75.00. You can then decide how you would like to proceed.

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: Your question and any response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and this law firm. You can not rely on the statements made by 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.