Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: searching

If your father established a trust under his will, you will be able to go to the Surrogate and obtain information about the trust, including a copy of the will (which will contain the trust provisions).

If your father set up the trust outside his will (inter-vivos trust) the task may be more difficult. However, the trustee is obligated to provide you with information concerning the trust if you are a beneficiary (the trustee can't hide information about the trust from the beneficiaries). The problem is getting the information. Since your mother already told you she is the trustee, I would start by demanding she give you a copy of the trust.

Re: searching

Diane: Sorry for your loss. There are some problems that the others have not mentioned. If there was a trust set up during your father's lifetime, information may not be known, depending upon how it was established. For example, if there were merely a bank account, set up by your father, registered as "XXX in trust for YYY", YYY might not be notified and the Executor of your father's Will could handle this without proper notification to YYY. If there were a living trust established (one created by your father during his lifetime at a bank or brokerage firm) this would not be a public record, and might not be known to the Surrogate. In short, the only way a Surrogate would know about a possible trust, is if it were mentioned in your father's Will or was created in the Will. My best suggestion is to contact the Surrogate's Office in the County where your father lived when he died, to see if any probate proceeding involving a Will has been initiated. For a small fee to cover photocopying costs, you could get copies of all documents that have been filed. This would be the Will and any information on who was appointed Executor and if there is an attorney representing the estate. This may give you some leads on information. Understand that probate only includes assets in your father's name alone, covered by the Will, and would not give you any information on joint accounts (bank, brokerage, etc.) accounts with named beneficiaries (like bank or brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, insurance policies, etc.), or other assets that are not covered by the Will. If you need more information or assistance, contact me directly.

Re: searching

You have to get some information, and you need some good legal advice. You should contact an attorney in your area who practices in 'estate litigation', which means lawsuits concerning Wills and Trusts.

I understand that you believe that your mother may have stolen money from your father's trust or his estate. you really need an attorney to assist.