NJ Estate law question?

Question

A distant relative died almost two years ago. The estate is still not settled and the executor will not return phone calls. He is extremely old (80+) and not very mobile. The assets were supposed to have been considerable, both stocks and property. He has spent a tremendous amount of money fixing up the house (which has not sold). What are our options to push this estate to closure??

I am not in line for anything, this is for my husband's grandparents, who live in Texas and are trying to deal with this NJ issue from there. 

Thanks

Eisbär · Accepted Answer

The house will sell when it sells. We are in a bad real estate market right now. They will probably just have to be patient. Is there a lawyer handling the estate that you can talk to other than the executer? Is there a real estate company listing the house? Call them and ask them the status of the house.

EDIT: The probate judges usually like to tie everything up at the same time so the house will probably have to sell first before he/she will close the estate. Once that happens, they can equally distribute the assets at one time. Judges don't care that it might take a while, they just want to make sure everything is done properly, equally, and fair and they don't want to run the risk of allowing all the estate funds to be distributed when the estate might need the money to help pay for the mortgage, etc. The judge could do a partial distribution but if the only reason for that is because they just "want money faster," the judge won't allow that either.

If you can't get a call back from the executer, check with the courthouse to see if anything was filed. Also, ask for a copy of the accounting of the assets so you know where any of the estate money had to go for bills etc.

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NJ Estate law question?

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