Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: How to Determine Who is legally entitled to an estate

You need to deal with the executor or administrator of the Estate. I would not deal with someone who claims to be an heir. Once an administrator is appointed they will be bonded to protect the heirs of the estate.

Re: How to Determine Who is legally entitled to an estate

You do not say how your trust is funded or how an account is established for a "beneficiary". Are the funds provided by the respective musician, in which case you could require that they name a specific beneficiary. If they merely name the estate, you should deal with the estate representative (executor, administrator or personal representative) and not a claimed heir, as you have no way of verifying that the person claiming to be an heir is the person actually entitled to a distribution. This determination would be made in either of 2 ways: (1) By requiring that a copy of the Will be provided or, in the event of an intestacy (dying without a Will) some form of probate document indicating who is entitled to the estate under the intestacy law and the documents filed with the Probate Court; or (2) by having your document specify that if no designated beneficiary is named, your own order of payment (e.g., spouse, children or grandchildren, parents or grandparents, etc.) which would follow the traditional intestacy distribution schedule. In any case, you should require an original court document (Surrogate's Certificate) naming the estate representative and/or an original Death Certificate. A form similar to a Release and Refunding Bond should be obtained from the anticipated payee of the funds before a check is issued. These forms are generally available at the Surrogate's web site in the County where the decedent died.

Re: How to Determine Who is legally entitled to an estate

If you are incorporated, you should have corporate counsel to establish these plans and procedures, and represent you in legal proceedings.

Determining the legal beneficiaries of an estate is an area with no margin for error; there is no "good faith" defense if your trust makes a distribution to a unqualified person. An affidavit by an interested party will not be sufficient to protect your organization should you make a wrongful distribution of an estate asset.

In matters where ownership cannot be definitively established, you should consult with a firm that maintains a multistate probate practice. Plese contact me if you have further questions.