Blog & Resources

New Jersey allows you to form a Revocable Living Trust. These trusts can own almost any asset including bank accounts, autos, stocks, gold, and your Atlantic County real estate. While Revocable Trusts can serve many purposes, the primary goal is to avoid probating the will with the Atlantic County Surrogate.

Question: My father died over two years ago and the executor has not yet sold the Brigantine house and will not return my calls, what can I do?

The executor is a fiduciary, with an obligation to follow the terms of the Will.
First, the beneficiary should examine the Will. Does the Will give any specific instructions concerning the house? Klenk Law often states in the Wills they draft that real estate “shall be sold”, to be clear that the executor needs to move forward selling the property.

Question: How do I reopen a closed estate in Atlantic County? My brother served as executor of my father’s estate and in the will I was named as the successor executor. My brother has since died, and I have discovered more assets.

First, understand that an estate is never “closed”. Estates run out of things to do and the file might be moved from the Atlantic County Surrogate’s Office long-term storage area, but once someone is named as executor, they continue to be the executor.
That being said, if the successor executor has discovered more assets that belong to the father and, if the original executor were still alive, it would be a simple matter to get updated paperwork from the Atlantic County Surrogate to prove he is still the executor.

A revocable living trust is a trust created during lifetime over which the grantor reserves the right to terminate, revoke, modify, or amend. These trusts are generally used to avoid probate, provide assistance to a parent who needs help managing assets, address family situations, provide privacy and provide for orderly administration of assets after your death. During your lifetime, any assets in the revocable trust are used for your care. Because the trust is revocable the assets in the trust are still available to your creditors and are part of your taxable estate, but they are not part of you probate estate.

Any good estate plan considers the tax ramifications of your death and the possible ways to reduce those taxes. If your estate plan also includes giving money to charity, then a charitable remainder trust might be a useful tool that not only provides you with a way to fulfill your charitable gift, but also reduce your taxes.