Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Probate costs in New Jersey

The probate costs are simply the costs involved to probate the Will, which is based upon the number of pages of the Will and how many Surrogate's Certificates you need. If the Will is only a few pages, the cost will be about $100.00 or so. You do not need an attorney to handle the probate and can do it yourself, just bring the original Will and a death certificate to the Surrogate's office in the County where your dad resided when he died. However, if you need the assistance of an attorney in the administration of the estate, to help with the asset transfers or other matters, fees will usually be based upon the amount of time involved (usually not more than a few hours or so), and to close your appointment after the transfers are completed. In light of your mother's current health, and depending upon the language of the Power of Attorney, the successor executor named in the Will might more properly be appointed (you probably). Also, in light of her health, you might want to consider, if the POA allows it, to do some creative estate planning for your mother while your dad's estate is still in probate. If you need help or suggestions, contact me at 973-377-3313.

Re: Probate costs in New Jersey

Dear sir or madam:

The Surrogate's court fees for probate, certified copies, etc. depend on the size of the estate and the length of the will. Attorneys fees for probate are usually on an hourly basis, and are difficult to estimate.

My firm handles probate and estate administration from the very first steps of obtaining death certificates to filing the filing estate tax returns (if necessary). We handle cases in NYC and northern New Jersey. We also offer fixed-fees for some cases (to give clients some certainty as to costs). You can contact my office by email ([email protected]) or by phone.

Good luck.

Anthony S. Park

Re: Probate costs in New Jersey

To probabe the will in New Jersey is quite simple. You do not need a lawyer. Just call the County Surrogate for the county where your father lived at the time of his death to make an appointmen. However, based upon your mother's condition, the alternate should qualify or you should be appointed instead with a doctor's note indicating her condition. As to the estate you should see an attorney before going to the Surrogate to see about waiving your mother's interest in the estate if the stocks were just in your father's name. This would avoid this money having to be used for nursing home care for your mother unless he want it to. For more information please call for an appointment.