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The family is aware that they cannot control what decisions are made but can they at least be informed as to what is being done to the Principle? The Principle is their mother.
answered on Apr 6, 2020
The starting point is the document itself. For estate planning purposes, a person can sign a document called a "power of attorney" ( POA), which, under certain conditions, gives that person the authority to step into the other persons shoes and handle his / her financial affairs ( among... View More 
Does this also include decisions over her finances? Should there also be a POA for her finances? And does it restrict any family (children particularly) from knowledge of her health or financial decisions? Thank you.
answered on Apr 6, 2020
A durable power of Attorney for Healthcare is supposed to be for healthcare decisions only. An attorney would need to review her document to tell you what powers the DPA gives to the person.
My father passed away in the spring of 2019. The executors are finally sending myself and seven siblings the proposed settlement of his estate. I think I'm getting a bad deal. How long do I have to contest or challenge the settlement proposal?
answered on Apr 4, 2020
Talk with an attorney to go over the settlement. Most attorneys will give you a free consultation. It is better to have someone that deals with these situations on a daily basis give you an opinion. If you feel something isn't right you owe it to your self to get a second opinion.
My uncle withdrew his entire fee and now the estate account is empty with property taxes, home insurance and utilities overdue and is looking into selling the house. Is my uncle or myself(beneficiary living in the home) responsible for the bills? Also, is there estate tax and inheritance tax due in... View More
answered on Mar 27, 2020
The fee should not be taken until the estate is settled. The house sounds like it is going to need to be sold to make the estate whole. The estate tax is based on who takes what and the relationship to the deceased. You are better off talking to a probate attorney to get direct answers to your... View More
The estate only consists of a house which will have to be sold. Can I just give my portion to my aunt who currently lives in the house and will be buying it from the estate?
answered on Mar 22, 2020
A beni can disclaim an interest in estate.
Intestacy [Someone died and no Will or Will not done correct and not admitted to probate]
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies owning property greater than the sum of his or her enforceable debts and funeral... View More
My father has (5) children in total (4) of which live outside PR He has properties in various places in the states and 1 condo owned free and clear in Puerto Rico.. His primary residence is and has always been outside of PR.. He has a will in place where he has given (3) of his children equal... View More
answered on Mar 7, 2020
You need to have an attorney admitted in PR review the will. They are the only people that can tell you whether the will is going to do what you want it to.
Just because you say the will is set to do something, doesn't mean the will legally will stand up. My firm deals with wills... View More
Sisters or will giving it up just put my share back in the "pot" to be distributed among all 4 siblings?
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answered on Mar 6, 2020
If you disclaim your inheritance, your share will be distributed as if you had predeceased the decedent. There is no way for anybody to know what would happen to your share in that case without reviewing the will.
suing the estate saying liability carries over to the estate. The property was never in the estate as it was sold prior to his death. Can they sue for clean up? I understood the liability for my father stopped when he died. The buyer never did due diligence when buying the lot and cannot claim as... View More
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answered on Mar 5, 2020
You will need to have a real estate attorney review the 2004 sale documents and the documentation regarding the alleged contamination to provide an opinion as to whether the buyer has a claim or not. The real estate attorney can then assist your probate attorney with either paying or negotiating... View More
Do her parents or cousins get the money? What happens if I don't mark her per stirpes?
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answered on Feb 27, 2020
She might have children before you die, so if it is your intent that it go to her children if she predeceases you, then, yes, you should mark per stirpes for her.
If you don't mark per stirpes for her, then the IRA will go to your contingent beneficiaries if she predeceases you, even... View More
NJ intestate laws support spouse keeping whole estate but will in NY specifies 1/3 of his portion to surviving spouse and 2 adult children as heirs of his estate. I live in NY and estranged mother in NJ. She wants me to authorize will administrators to send her entire amount so she doesn't... View More
answered on Feb 16, 2020
You need to speak with a probate attorney. Depending on how much money there is in the estate there may be money you are entitled to under the will. How ever without knowing your father's debts, and total assets there is no knowing if you would be able to collect anything if your mother... View More
husband did not live will but left a lot of shares of stock. Need help trying to liquidate it.
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answered on Feb 9, 2020
You need an attorney who is a Probate attorney. The right documents are obtained by an attorney and the stock is liquidated by a stock broker. That is all you require. A fair amount of work may be required depending on what you have already done with the Surrogate.
if somebody goes to law school and earned the J.D, they took the bar exam which they passed But not sworn in Due to the criminal past they had does that make them a lawyer still? Or just a higher educated paralegal? Someone I know claimes they can still practice as a lawyer even though they... View More
answered on Jan 27, 2020
The short answer is no.
In NJ you can search for the status of an attorney here:
https://ecourts.judiciary.state.nj.us/webe5/AttyPAWeb/pages/_rlvid.jsp.faces?_rap=captchaAction.execute&_rvip=/pages/home.jsp&currLocaleBanner=en
Nephews made funeral arrangements no mention of grown step children in obituary cause out of state never would let step children in family home. Father had died 2 years prior with brain tumor cancer and had him change his will 2 weeks before passing Grown children let it go cause thought property... View More
answered on Jan 22, 2020
You need to sit down with a probate attorney as soon as possible to go over the situation. A family tree is going to need to be created to go over all living heirs to figure who is entitled to what. The attorney will also need to review a copy of the will.
The 28,500 is for a person that purchased a co-op then moved out and left the house(co-op) to my mom. Years later asked for her deposit back. My mom changed her will to leave her the money. 2 questions. Can we close without a Tax Waiver and how much effort do we need to put into finding the... View More
answered on Jan 21, 2020
The short answer is that the tax waiver will be required. Based on the fact that $28,500 is passing to a class D beneficiary, you cannot file an NJ Form L-9 – Affidavit for Real Property Tax Waiver. Instead, you must file an inheritance tax return and upon its completion, you will receive a tax... View More
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answered on Jan 19, 2020
You haven’t quite inherited it until it is re-titled in your name, as a practical matter. You should consult with a probate attorney about probating your dad’s estate so that the house title will be in your name.
My father just passed away. He was married at the time of his death but not to my mother. My mother passed away 16 years ago and my father eventually remarried. My father had no will. He owned his house outright before he married his current wife. This is my childhood home that he and my birth... View More
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answered on Jan 4, 2020
In New Jersey, if a person dies without a will (which is called dying "intestate") and leaves a surviving spouse plus children from a previous marriage, the surviving spouse inherits the first 25% of the decedent's intestate property -- as long as it is not less than $50,000 or more... View More
answered on Dec 19, 2019
As per N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4, Creditors of the decedent shall present their claims to the personal representative of the decedent’s estate:
-in writing, and
-under oath,
-specifying the amount claimed, and
-the particulars of the claim.
-within nine months from the date of the decedent's death.
My aunt just died interstate and my dad (with dementia)..is the last surviving sibling. There are 18 nieces and nephews. My brother is my dad‘s power of attorney and been depleting his funds for the last five years to live on and take himself out of pre-foreclosure. Now that my dad has an... View More
answered on Nov 25, 2019
It sounds like you are on the right track as far as what needs to be done.
In short your brother does not automatically get to act as the administrator of the estate. He would have to be named the administrator by the Surrogate court.
You should sit down with an attorney to go... View More
I brought my father to living in New Jersey 3 years ago because of his declining health. My father never put the property under my name because he was always to ill to go back to PR. My father is now in a nursing home and we don't know what to do about the property. We don't want to lose... View More
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answered on Nov 10, 2019
You need to contact an attorney who is licensed there.
answered on Nov 3, 2019
Responding from a New York perspective, if all four parties cannot agree, if your father passed and had a will, the world should be probated and the executor would then have the power to sell. If he did not have a well, and administrator could be appointed, preferably one of the four children, and... View More
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