Best Estate Planning Attorneys in Jersey City, NJ

Tip 8: Get it in writingnnOne common theme I hear is that some heirs don’t want anything from the estate of the person who died, but they won’t sign anything saying so. If that happens, do NOT just take their word for it. If you don’t get it in writing - and the form of the writing matters - then you could be in big trouble if they change their mind. For example, dad dies without a will survived by two children. Brother tells sister she can have one of the properties (dad owns 3) because she lived in it before dad died and the property had significant fire damage and he didn’t want to contribute any money to fix it up. Sister doesn’t get it in writing. She spends $50,000.00 of her own money fixing up the house and sells it for over $300,000.00. Brother changes his tune and says he never said she could have it and wants half of the $300,000.00. The two have been in court for two years and have racked up a total of over $200,000.00 in attorney fees. If you have an heir who doesn’t want anything but won’t sign off you have to go to court and get approval. That might require hiring a lawyer but that fee will be significantly less than what a full blown trial would cost.