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Recently Discovered Property of deceased father of 13 years

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Almandy

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

I recently found out that my deceased father's name is on a house in South Carolina with 2 other individuals. This information was kept from me. I am his only child and he was not married. I want to apply to become administrator of his estate here in New Jersey so that I can present it in South Carolina to have my father's name removed from the deed and replaced with my name. Are these documents the only ones that need to be completed to take to the surrogates court in NJ to become the administrator: Application Administration, Power of Attorney Administrator, Affidavit of Assets, Administrator Qualification? Are there any missing documents that I need to complete or should I omitt any of the above? I want to be completely prepared when I go to the surrogates office to apply for administrator of his estate.
 


justalayman

Senior Member
so, are we to presume your father had no debts at the time of his death? or that they were all paid through a probate action that was opened when he died?

was he ever married?
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
It also matters how the property is titled, if it was joint tenants with right of survivorship then you have zero claim to it.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
Property is a state issue, as is probate. There may need to be a reopening of the probate, not just an opening of one, with the current administrator and not the OP. Then, there will probably need to be an ancillary probate opened in South Carolina. In addition to what the others have said, there will also be the problem of not paying taxes for all those years. This is not a do it yourself project unless one has a ton of time and a good ability to read and understand complex laws.
 
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Almandy

Member
Was dad a resident of NJ, when he died? If not, you may need to apply in SC. Was his estate ever probated in court?
He was a resident of NJ when he died. He didn't have anything of value that I needed to become administrator of his estate. At least, that is what I thought at the time. I wasn't aware that this house was in his name. His brothers and sisters kept that information from me.
 

Almandy

Member
so, are we to presume your father had no debts at the time of his death? or that they were all paid through a probate action that was opened when he died?

was he ever married?
He had not debts. He was married to my mother years ago. They were divorced over 38 years or more agao. My mother has since remarried and has been married now for well over 30 years.
 

Almandy

Member
It also matters how the property is titled, if it was joint tenants with right of survivorship then you have zero claim to it.
Under the yorkcounty government website the property is listed as James Hinton ETAL or is how the property titled something else? And if so, where would I locate that information. I have a copy of the deed with my fathers name on it along with two other people.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
et al simply means :and others.

the deed is what is important. What you saw doesn't give you the answer you need.


He had not debts. He was married to my mother years ago. They were divorced over 38 years or more agao. My mother has since remarried and has been married now for well over 30 years.
But when was this property acquired by him?

and no debts? Funeral expenses? Final taxes? medical debts from his final treatment? The electric bill for his residence? Not many people have no debt when they die.
 

Almandy

Member
Property is a state issue, as is probate. There may need to be a reopening of the probate, not just an opening of one, with the current administrator and not the OP. Then, there will probably need to be an ancillary probate opened in South Carolina. In addition to what the others have said, there will also be the problem of not paying taxes for all those years. This is not a do it yourself project unless one has a ton of time and a good ability to read and understand complex laws.
I kind of assumed that I would need legal counsel in South Carolina but I thought I would be able to handle becoming the administrator of his estate here in NJ on my own. The taxes have been paid on the property to date. One of the owners has and still resides in the house. The other owner lives in Connecticut. Originally my grandfather requested in his will for the house to be sold and divided amongst his children. Two children were living in the house at the time of his death. The other children decided to forfeit their share of the property to the individuals living in the house to keep the house in the family. At the time of my fathers death, I was approached saying there was some money due to me from the house and if I gave a copy of my father's death certificate I could get the money which I was told it was about 6 - 7,000.00 dollars. I mailed a copy of the death certificate, but never received any money. I followed up once but was given the run around so I left it alone. The house was put into the name of the individuals that refused to forfeit their share of the house which was my father, one of his brothers and one of his sisters.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
The house was put into the name of the individuals that refused to forfeit their share of the house which was my father, one of his brothers and one of his sisters.
I thought you said there is currently property titled in your fathers name. It would appear that is not true.
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
It appears on the surface, the property had a survivor-ship deed. You provided the death certificate for them to convey the title.
 

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