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My wife mother has passed away do I have any legal claims to her part of thee estate
Optional Information: State/Country: New Jersey
Hi there. Who are participates in your wife's mother's estate depends on one of two things: 1) if she had a will, the will provisions govern who participates in any estate assets after the payment of debts; or 2) if she did not have a will, the state's intestacy laws govern who participates. If you are designated as a beneficiary in the applicable situation, then if there are assets remaining after the payment of all dates, you will participate.
I hope this has given you the guidance you were seeking. I wish you the best of luck!
The information given here is not legal advice. As all states have different intricacies in their laws, the information given is general only. This communication does not establish an attorney-client relationship with you. I hope this answer has been helpful to you.
Experience: Texas lawyer for 32 years; Also RE developer
there is a will that lists my wife and her sister and brother on it every thing to
go 3 ways the problem is my brother in law is sitting on his hands because he may be getting a divorce and he does not want his wife to get her hands on the money he is now the exuctor of the will the estate is worth about 1.5 million what would a resonable amount of time be that a judge would step in and force him to settle the estate
In general, six months to a year is required for all the procedures. A very simple estate can be settled within three months, while a more complex estate settlement can take up to three years.
If you are a beneficiary that has not been settled in a reasonable time, you do have remedies. It's possible in this kind of situation for one or more beneficiaries to go to court to ask to have the executor replaced or to force the executor to act, but this might not be a good idea unless the situation is very serious. You need to make sure that the executor really is acting unreasonably, because the court will only remove an executor chosen by the deceased if the executor has really acted badly or negligently. If the executor successfully defends against an attempt to remove him, the costs of the defense can be taken out of the estate assets, including your share, and the dispute will slow down the settlement of the estate even more.