New Jersey Probate attorneys Tag Archives

Published on: June 22, 2018

What Can a Beneficiary Do When a New Jersey Estate Administrator Fails to Act?

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The Executor or Administrator of an estate in New Jersey accepts, under oath at the county surrogate’s office, that she will be responsible for administering the estate of the decedent, which includes gathering and liquidating assets, paying debts and taxes, filing required court documents, preparing and filing tax returns, and distributing the assets to beneficiaries. However, county surrogates do not supervise how an executor or administrator carries out the administration of the estate. On occasion, an Administrator or Executor fails to timely carry out their duties. This could be due to negligence such as failing to file timely tax returns or failing to keep appropriate records, or it could be more intentional misconduct such as misappropriating funds or ignoring instructions in the Will. In either case, if you, as a beneficiary, are not satisfied with the handling of the estate, you can seek to have the executor or administrator removed and replaced.

In order to remove an executor or administrator who has been appointed by the court, a beneficiary must file a formal complaint for an accounting and seeking removal .

A complaint for Accounting is filed in Superior Court of New Jersey, Probate Part to request an accounting, removal of the current Executor or Administrator and request appointment of a new person to serve as administrator to complete the estate administration. Such a complaint must be accompanied by a certification from one or more beneficiaries stating the wrong doing accompanied by an order to show cause. The order to show cause will be signed by the judge and will direct the executor or administrator to file a written answer to the complaint and appear in court. This will commence litigation which seeks to compel the administrator or executor to provide an accounting of the estate and which also seeks to have the executor or administrator removed and replaced with another person.

Published on: May 22, 2017

Discharge Federal Estate Tax Liens Prior to Sale of Property

by Jennifer C. Meusel

key-2114044__340-300x169 Generally, before the estate of a decease person can sell real estate, the individual(s) named as executor in the will must probate and be formally appointed as executor. If there is no will, then the closest heir at law must apply to the surrogate’s court to be appointed as administrator of the estate. An administrator would follow the same steps as an executor in order to sell real estate.

Estates with a value in excess of $5,450,000 are subject to federal estate tax pursuant to IRC Section 6324. IRS estate tax liens automatically attach to real property (“real estate”) which was owned by a decedent on her date of death. In order to have this tax lien discharged, the seller must follow these steps in order to close on the sale of the property and have the federal estate tax lien discharged:

The executor of the estate must complete and file IRS Form 4422 and provide the required supporting documents. In order to compete this form you must know the value of all estate assets and expenses. And you must have the required supporting documentation including: the last will and testament, the contract for sale of the real estate, the closing statement or proposed closing statement for the sale (which shows all payments, credits, expenses and offsets), the federal estate tax form 706 and documentation reflecting the value of all the estate’s assets. With Form 4422 the executor must also submit for 8821, a tax information authorization form. Additionally, IRS Form 4422 must be filed at least 45 days prior to the closing of the sale of the real estate.

Published on: February 23, 2017

Estate Planning for Digital Accounts

by Jennifer C. Meusel

When you think about estate planning, most people think about their physical possessions, their real estate and their financial assets, but in this day and age, you also need to consider your digital assets. You may have as much as 20 years of active digital presence. This can include documents, photos, and on-line accounts such as Facebook, Google, back-up services, Linked In, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. Such digital accounts generally have no expiration date.

It is important to consider what will happen when you die to your accounts and the data contained them. It is important to consider what will happen if you do nothing, and decide if that is what you want to happen. It is an often overlooked part of estate planning.

Many online accounts allow you plan during life for what will happen to the account upon death. However, this is all very new and some of the most popular online accounts do not provide a way to plan for what will happen to the account upon the account owner’s death. For any accounts which do not allow you to plan, it is desirable to establish a plan now with a trusted loved one.