Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

My mother put my brother's share in trust & gave me absolute discretion with no mandatory distributions in his lifetime because she hated him and his lifestyle. He filed a disclaimer in order to force me to distribute money to his children. The trust agreement mandates distributions after his death to his kids as they reach age 30. A lawyer I consulted said it could've been invalidated if my brother would've disclaimed assets he already received, but he excluded them; he has no creditors to evade; there is no requirement for a disclaimer to be in accordance with the grantor's intent. He says I don't have a case. Is this true? It's a travesty of my mother's wishes. Is there any other basis to invalidate a disclaimer?


Asked on 4/20/15, 10:06 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Chester The Law Office of Jonathan S. Chester, Esq., LLC

Legally, it seems your brother has done nothing wrong and assuming the disclaimer is valid under NJ law, the assets would pass as though he predeceased your mother. I would need to review the Will to know what that would be. I'm not sure how the disclaimer would make a 'travesty' of your mother's wishes. Once your brother disclaims, he gets nothing.

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Answered on 4/21/15, 6:14 am


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