Distribution of assets to the beneficiaries
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Distribution of assets to the beneficiaries
When Mom died, she had a will but there was no money or property to distribute to her heirs. Subsequent to her death two and one half years ago, we are to receive proceeds from a lawsuit filed for Mom treatment in a nursing home which resulted in the need to set up an estate account New Jersey law. If Mom still had her house when she died and the house was sold, the distribution would have been 40 to me, 40 to my sitser, 10 to each of the two grandsons. According to the will which was never probated, one grandson was not to receive his 10 until the age of 35. Does this apply to the distribution of the proceeds of the lawsuit which will go into the estate account??
Asked on April 1, 2017 under Estate Planning, New Jersey
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
It is difficult to guide you here without seeing all the documents. Under basic estate law if a party dies without a will the intestacy statute of the state would apply. Here you and your sister would receive half of the estate each as the next in line to inherit. But, your mother left a Will that wanted her estate to be distributed differently (or so it seems from what you have said here). The grandosn's also inherit. Do they only inherit from the sale of the house or under all the terms of the Will? Were these funds anticipated or are the considered party of her "residuary" estate thereby distributed under that section of her Will? All this matters. The grandsons have tanding (the legal ability to object) if you do not probate the Will since they are named in it. Please seek help. Good luck.
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