Blog & Resources

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I am a New Jersey resident serving as the Personal Representative of my mother’s Atlantic County, New Jersey estate. I hired a Atlantic County attorney to probate the estate and help me administer the estate, but I cannot get her to return my calls. What can I do?

We hear questions like these more often than you might think, especially from families who have never really required the services of a skilled attorney. Hiring a lawyer can be intimidating, and it’s especially hard to focus on day-to-day tasks when you’re also dealing with grief. However, customer service means everything in every industry, especially ours. It’s not enough to assume that your probate attorney’s going to do their job if they’re seemingly too busy to communicate with you.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother is incapacitated and living in an assisted living facility in Atlantic County, New Jersey. She appointed my brother Agent under her Power of Attorney. My mother has a life insurance policy that names me as beneficiary. My brother refuses to make the payment, so the policy will soon lapse. Can I make the payment?

The insurance company does not care who sends the check. Therefore, you certainly can make the payment.

The real question you should be asking here is: should you make the payment?

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Our entire lives, my parents and I have lived in Burlington County, NJ. My father died two years ago, and my mother passed away last week. I was an only child and everything in my mother’s will was left to me. I am executor. Do I need to probate her will, or open an estate? Her only assets were our family home (valued at $600,000) and her car.

The short answer is: no, you cannot transfer the deed without going through probate.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother, who lives in Burlington County, New Jersey, is having serious health problems. She wants me to be able to use her general power of attorney, but it says I need a doctor’s note saying that she is incapacitated. Is that normal?

Your mother has a “Leaping” Power of Attorney, which at one time was the normal document that Burlington County Estate Planning Lawyers would prepare. A Leaping Power of Attorney gives the “Agent” the power to act for the person if—and only if—that person has become incapacitated, and the Agent can secure a letter from the person’s doctor stating that the person is incapacitated. Without the letter the power of attorney is useless.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I have signed a General Power of Attorney giving my daughter the power to act for me, but I don’t want her to have it yet. I only want her to have it when (or if) I become unable to care for myself. Should I keep it in my safe deposit box? We both live in Philadelphia, so she is close by.

Safe deposit boxes work so well because they’re designed to keep people out. The problem with putting your General Power of Attorney in your safe deposit box is that if you become incapacitated, your daughter will likely be unable to get into the box.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: The attorney handling my uncle’s Lehigh County estate mailed me a Receipt, Release, Refunding and Indemnification Agreement. There are no details about how much he spent or other expenses. If I sign this, do I waive my rights to ask any questions?

A Receipt, Release, Refunding and Indemnification Agreement is a probate tool that allows the executor to distribute estate funds to a beneficiary with the promise from the beneficiary to return the funds if it later turns out they were distributed in error. The same form can contain language that, if you sign, means that you agree to take the funds without an accounting and waive your rights to ask future questions.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My husband’s aunt willed him a share of the proceeds on the sale of her jewelry, but the executor told us that the money was mine and sent me a check. We looked up the will ourselves at the Atlantic County Surrogate, and it looks like my husband should get more money. The executor will not answer our questions. What can we do?

As an heir listed in the will, your husband has the legal right to force the executor to account for the estate. Even though the money landed in your household, there could be plenty of reasons for you to insist that the cash is properly accounted for.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother named me her Agent under her Gloucester County, New Jersey Power of Attorney, and I cared for her for years. Now my sister claims I embezzled and stole money using the Power of Attorney. How do I clear my name?

As Agent, you are permitted to retain a Gloucester County Surrogate’s Court Attorney to assist you in filing a Formal Accounting of all your actions as Agent. This accounting is then provided to all interested parties, who are free to either accept the terms or to object.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Years ago, I gave my friend a General Durable Power of Attorney. Now I am married, living in Lehigh County and want to give Power of Attorney to my spouse. My former friend will not give me the old Power of Attorney. Can I revoke or void the Power of Attorney if he still has the original?

Yes, you can void a Power of Attorney at any time as long as you have the requisite mental capacity.

Your situation will be a little more complex, as you have given the original document to your former Agent. I have not seen that Power of Attorney, but it may have a paragraph that states that banks and others need not confirm with you that the document is still in power.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My Grandfather, a resident of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, died of dementia 12 years ago. Shortly before his death, his will was changed giving everything to my aunt. We believed that my grandfather died broke, but now that my aunt died we found out that he had a joint account with her containing a large sum of money. The prior will states that I would receive one-fourth of his estate. Can I challenge the will?

First, a will challenge case alone based on incapacity or undue influence, even if successful, would not help you. You stated that the funds were in a joint account. A joint account passes outside of probate, meaning the will has no effect on the joint ownership.