Blog & Resources

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Do my husband’s parents inherit his estate? “My husband died without a Will in Chester County, PA. He owned real estate and had several accounts in his name alone. He had no children, but his parents are both alive. Do my husband’s parents inherit his estate?”

Our “Ask a Question” mailbag, addresses the issue of what if you die without a Will.

“My Mom died without a Will as a widow in Philadelphia. How do I sell her home?”

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My father became ill the year before his death. I think that in the confusion his Will was thrown away. What if we can never find my father’s Will?

If you can locate a copy of the will, and if it can be shown that your father did not wish for it to be revoked, then the copy might be accepted. If you cannot even find a copy of the Will, then your father will be deemed to have died without a Will, and his estate can be opened with the Register of Wills as an Administration.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother passed away in Camden County, New Jersey divorced, with four adult children, leaving no will. She only owned a house, but it has a mortgage taken out by her boyfriend. How do we sell the house?

When a person dies a resident of New Jersey without a will, they die “intestate.” New Jersey has a set of rules that dictate who has the right to Petition the Camden County Surrogate to be named the Administrator of an intestate estate. In your case, all four children have this right.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I am married to my second wife and live in Chester County, Pennsylvania. We have been married for many years and everything we own is in joint names. I don’t have a will. If I die first, don’t my children from my first marriage get part of my estate?

If everything you own is held jointly with your wife and she survives you, then she has the right to take all of your assets. Your children will get nothing. Your second wife has no obligation to give your children anything, so she could disinherit them at her death.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother passed away in Atlantic County, New Jersey. She was divorced, with four children, leaving no will. She only owned a house, but it has a mortgage taken out by her boyfriend. How do we sell the house?

When a person dies as a resident of New Jersey without a will, they die “intestate.” New Jersey has a set of rules that dictate who has the right to petition the Atlantic County Surrogate to be named the Administrator of an intestate estate. In your case, all four children have this right.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Before he died, my dad lived with me in Camden County, New Jersey for several years. My wife and I took him to the doctor and cared for him when he became bedridden. He died without a will and all his assets are being divided between my brothers and I equally. They never helped with his care. This is not fair. Can I make the estate pay me for my time?

Under New Jersey rules, your father could have made a will and given you the entire estate. Alternately, he could have made a Will that said you would receive more of his estate to reflect the work you did. Because he did not make a Will at all, the New Jersey intestate rule divides his assets between all children, equally.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My grandfather, a resident of Philadelphia, 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. However, 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.

If you die without a will in New Jersey you are said to die “intestate”. If you die intestate, your probate assets are divided up under the New Jersey Intestate Rules. These rules can easily be avoided by writing a will, but if you do not have a will, the Intestacy Rules are in place to clearly state who inherits your probate property in order to avoid conflict.

If you die without a will in New Jersey you are said to die “intestate”. If you die intestate, your probate assets are divided up under the New Jersey Intestate Rules. These rules can easily be avoided by writing a will, but if you do not have a will, the Intestacy Rules are in place to clearly state who inherits your probate property in order to avoid conflict.