How do I find out if my father had a will

[Cienna Lee]

Jurisdiction

New Jersey

Hello,

My father passed away 15 years ago and I'm trying to find out if he had a will and, if so, how I can go about requesting a copy.

My mother refuses to discuss it with me and she just says he didn't have a will because he didn't know he was going to die. No one else in the family seems to know anything about it.

Is there, instead of requesting a copy of the will, I could do some kind of reverse check on myself to see if I am listed as a beneficiary?

I'm also having issues with accounts in my name that I do not have access to. I am 29 and until the last year my mother would not grant me access to two accounts (that I know of). I'm in the middle of getting the 2nd turned over, but I think she may have been misappropriating the money. I wouldn't want to go as far as to sue her, but is there anything I can do to see exactly how much she has spent and where it has gone?

 

[zddoodah]

My father passed away 15 years ago and I'm trying to find out if he had a will and, if so, how I can go about requesting a copy.

If your family members don't have any relevant info or won't discuss this with you, your options are limited. You can check with the surrogate's court for the county where your father lived at the time of his death to see if his estate was probated. If it was, the court's file should indicate whether or not he had a will and, if he did, contain a copy. If his estate was not probated, then answering this question will be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Is there, instead of requesting a copy of the will, I could do some kind of reverse check on myself to see if I am listed as a beneficiary?

Since you were a minor when he died, anything you would have received would have gone to your mother for your benefit.

is there anything I can do to see exactly how much she has spent and where it has gone?

Without any real context here, it's difficult to opine. However, if she won't provide the information voluntarily, suing will be the only possibility.

 

[ElleMD]

Do you have any reason to think your father had a will? If so, why do you think you would have been named as a beneficiary as your mother is still alive and you were just a child?

You don't mention what kind of accounts your mother has access to so we can't advise you how to go about removing her from them. If both of your names are on the account, you have as much access as she does. Why would you not know about accounts which are in your name?

 

[Cienna Lee]

Do you have any reason to think your father had a will? If so, why do you think you would have been named as a beneficiary as your mother is still alive and you were just a child?

You don't mention what kind of accounts your mother has access to so we can't advise you how to go about removing her from them. If both of your names are on the account, you have as much access as she does. Why would you not know about accounts which are in your name?

I'm not certain he had a will but it's not beyond her to lie about something like that. Just knowing my father it's hard to believe he didn't have a will at all. (Although I admit it's possible).

Regarding the accounts I may be using the wrong terms. They are UGMA accounts and she is the custodian. My name is only listed as the beneficiary.

 

[ElleMD]

If you are 29, those funds have been solely yours for many years. If that is truly the type of account, they became yours when you became an adult.

 

[Cienna Lee]

If you are 29, those funds have been solely yours for many years. If that is truly the type of account, they became yours when you became an adult.

Yes, but my mom never initiated the transfer for it to be solely in my name. Whenever I'd ask her about it she said the money wasn't for me until she "drops dead". I know that's not the case or how it works, but short of suing her there wasn't much I could do.

 

[army judge]

The shop has sailed.

The train has departed.

The airplane has left the gate.

Old Bobby Joe died yesterday.

A NJ lawyer discusses probate in NJ.

A-GUIDE-TO-THE-PROBATE-PROCESS Theodore Sliwinski Esq. Attorneys East Brunswick New Jersey

 

[ElleMD]

The money is already yours. Ready or Not, Your Kids Own the Money

Contact whomever the investment is with and take Mommy Dearest off.

 

[Cienna Lee]

The money is already yours. Ready or Not, Your Kids Own the Money

Contact whomever the investment is with and take Mommy Dearest off.

Thank you, this article was very helpful. I have been in contact with the advisor managing the account and it has been taking quite a while to get things going. He also happens to be friends with my mom.

Something I find especially interesting in the article is the following sentence:
"The children often find out about it only when they are no longer minors and parents must get their signature to withdraw money."

I know my mother has definitely taken out money but I've given her my signature. Is there another way she could have withdrawn it or would she have had to forge my signature?

 

[ElleMD]

You are going to have to ask the company where the funds are held. We would have no way of knowing their rules or what might have been done in any particular case.