Contested Probate Interview Form

KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC ATTORNEY AT LAW  2053 Woodbridge Avenue Edison, NJ 08817 (Phone) 732-572-0500 (Fax)  732-572-0030 website: www.njlaws.com Contested Probate / Questions on removing executor in Estate Administration          Please fill out completely and fax or mail back. This form is extremely important. Your accuracy and completeness in responding will help me best represent you. All sections and information must be filled out prior to sitting down with the attorney. Consult fee $200. PLEASE PRINT YOUR NAME _____________________________________________ ADDRESS _______________________________________________ CITY ______________________ STATE ____    ZIP _____________ CELL (____)_____________________________________________ PHONE-DAY(____)_______________ NIGHT (____)______________ Email   _______________________________________________ Decedent’s Name    _______________________________________ Date of Death (mm/dd/yy) ___ ___ /___ ___ /___ ___ ___ ___  Referred By:     __________________________________________        If referred by a person, is this a client or attorney?  If you heard about the law office on the internet, which search engine?  What search terms did you use? Your relation to the person who passed away: __________________ Date of Will? (mm/dd/yy) ___ ___ /___ ___ /___ ___ ___ ___ (If no will, write no will) Location of original Will __________________________________ TODAY'S DATE ____/_____/__________                    contested Probate Q interview       rev 3/14/15 *All Pages and Information must be filled out prior to seeing the Attorney.  This information is required by the Surrogate's Office and the Inheritance Tax Bureau.                                                                                   Indicate if Surrogate Probate letters were issued and County where issued: ________________________________________________ ADVERSARY PARTIES IF ANY: ___________________________________ ADDRESS OF THE OTHER PARTY: __________________________________ DESCRIPTION OF MATTER:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Are you challenging the Will on the grounds of incapacity or undue influence? If yes, provide details on incapacity or undue influence.                                                                                                                                                                                                     What are your goals? What do you want to happen?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Do you currently have an attorney or have you discussed your matter with another attorney? ____________________________________________________ Use back of sheet or additional pages for more details or more questions.         *The following questions were required by the Surrogate's Office and the Inheritance Tax Bureau to be answered.  Please answer all these questions to the best of your knowledge so we can best help you. If none, write none. SCHEDULE “A” REAL PROPERTY  If none, write none 1. Street and Number _____________________________________ Town: ____________________ Lot: ___ Block:  ____ County: ____________________ Title/Owner of Record: _______________ Tax Assessor Assessed Value: $____________________ Full Market Value of Property:  $____________________  Mortgage Balance: $______________________ Any other Real Estate: $______________________ SCHEDULE “B (1)”   BANK ACCOUNTS, STOCK, CD, OTHER ASSETS          All Other Personal Property Owned Individually or Jointly; Market Value, Indicate the Manner of Registration at Date of Death.          If none, write none for each line Bank Account - Name of Bank, Acct. # _____________    $_________ ___________________________________________   $_________ ___________________________________________    $_________ Stock - Name of Stock Co., Acct. # ________________  $_________ ___________________________________________   $_________ Cars _______________________________________   $_________ Other assets over $10,000 ______________________  $_________ ___________________________________________  $_________ ___________________________________________  $_________ ___________________________________________  $_________ ___________________________________________  $_________ ___________________________________________  $_________          BENEFICIARIES AND ADDRESSES (State full names and addresses of all who have an interest, vested, contingent or otherwise, in estate) HEIRS AT LAW/ NEXT OF KIN:  RELATIONSHIP:   ADDRESS:   APPROX. AGE:    % INTEREST:                                      ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ What questions do you have? Write down below.  How can we help you? Is there anything else important? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ New clients:    When you come into the office would you like: T-Shirt __, Pen ___, Foam can holder ___,  USA key chain ___, Calendar ___          All new clients are entitled to receive our Free Email Newsletter featuring updates in Probate, Traffic Law, and Personal Injury/ Insurance.   Thank you.      1. Attach a photocopy (not original) of the decedent’s Will, Death Certificate, codicils, trusts. This is required by the Surrogate's Office (Tax Bureau). In the future you may also need photocopies of the Deed and Tax Bill.  Will/Trust Inheritance Contests If you have evidence a Will was not prepared properly, the signer was incompetent, there was undue influence, you may be able to prevent the filing of the Will in probate if you immediately hire an attorney to file a Caveat to the Will. A. Caveat       Is a formal notice by someone to prevent the proving of a Will or the grant of administration of an Estate. The following is one of the NJ Court Rules dealing with a Caveat to Will RULE 4:82. MATTERS IN WHICH THE SURROGATE'S COURT MAY NOT ACT      Unless specifically authorized by order or judgment of the Superior Court, and then only in accordance with such order or judgment, the Surrogate's Court shall not act in any matter in which (1) a caveat has been filed with it before the entry of its judgment; (2) a doubt arises on the face of a will or a will has been lost or destroyed; (3) the application is to admit to probate a writing intended as a will as defined by N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2(b) or N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3; (4) the application is to appoint an administrator pendente lite or other limited administrator; (5) a dispute arises before the Surrogate's Court as to any matter; or (6) the Surrogate certifies the case to be of doubt or difficulty.                 If there is no dispute on the validity of the Will, sometimes the Executor does not do their job and you want to have the Executor removed and replaced. Under New Jersey Law, the person selected as an executor of a Will have numerous legal responsibilities following the death of the person who signed the Will. Primarily, they have a duty to probate the Will, liquidate assets, pay bills and taxes, file all necessary court and tax returns, and then distribute the assets to beneficiaries          Unfortunately, the Executor occasionally fails to timely carry out their duties. They may fail to timely file tax returns, fail to keep records, misappropriate assets or ignore instructions under the Will.         In this case the Executor __ has failed to comply with the Duties of Executor in Probate & Estate Administration to: 1. Conduct a thorough search of the decedent's personal papers and effects for any evidence which might point them in the direction of a potential asset, namely mineral rights; 2. Keep records of expenses 3. Timely Sell real estate 4 Timely File required inheritance tax returns and provide a copy to Kim      It is unclear if the executor timely preformed the below duties: Apply to Federal Tax ID # Set up Estate Account at bank (pay all bills from estate account) Pay Bills Notice of Probate to Beneficiaries  File notice of Probate with Surrogate  File first Federal and State Income Tax  Prepare Inheritance Tax Return and obtain Tax Waivers  File waivers within 8 months upon receipt  Prepares a accurate Informal Accounting     In General. The executor's job is to (1) administer the estate--i.e., collect and manage assets, file tax returns and pay taxes and debts--and (2) distribute any assets or make any distributions of bequests, whether personal or charitable in nature, as the deceased directed (under the provisions of the Will          Do you think you're entitled to money or might be entitled to money from an estate or trust?  Do you believe that someone is unfairly claiming money or property that is rightfully yours?  If so, and you are a prospective plaintiff or defendant, then you may need an attorney to protect your rights.          These areas are extremely complex, and you should not attempt to reach a decision on whether or not to take action (and, if so what action to take) without the assistance of counsel. Ken Vercammen’s office charges a $200 consult fee either in person or over the phone.