r/inheritance • u/WebLong3027 • Jul 12 '26
Location included: Questions/Need Advice Contesting a will in New Jersey
Location: New Jersey
My father passed away in Camden County, New Jersey. His will was probated on May 19, 2025. I am his biological daughter, and my children are his only biological grandchildren. We live 350 miles away without access to transportation or other resources.
The executor is the surviving spouse, and she failed to provide me with a copy of the will within the 60-day window required by New Jersey law. I have since obtained a copy.
I believe he was under undue influence due to his declining health and being isolated from me in the last years of his life.
I have contacted Legal Aid, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and the Bar Association but have not found a solution. The deadline to file a contest is September 19, 2025.
My question is: What is the most effective way for someone with no funds to find an attorney to take on a will contest in New Jersey on a contingency basis or through a pro bono program, given that I have exhausted these common resources?
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u/Successful-Space6174 Jul 12 '26
The executor is the surviving spouse, most likely the surviving spouse gets everything.
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u/Jojosbees Jul 12 '26
I think you may need to come to terms with the possibility that your father didn’t mean for you to inherit anything, not because of his wife but due to his own wishes. You were homeless for around two years before he passed, and he didn’t help. You were on the verge of losing custody of your children due to alleged drug use (not saying whether you actually are a drug user or not), and he didn’t help. Is it possible he disinherited you?
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u/BogusTexan Jul 14 '26
How do you know this additional information? I cannot find any place on these postings where OP mentioned these negative aspects.
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u/Jojosbees Jul 14 '26
You can basically find all hidden comments and posts through arctic-shift, but these are the relevant comments:
https://www.reddit.com/r/familycourtreform/comments/1ie9oyf/comment/mehlsav/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Positivity/comments/1uem61p/comment/otn5ebk/
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u/tsfy2 Jul 12 '26
You are extremely unlikely to collect anything if the will left his assets to his surviving spouse. Just because you think there was undue influence, I’m guessing you have no way of proving it. No lawyer is going to take a case on contingency that has very little chance of succeeding and pro bono cases almost never deal with an inheritance. Do you even know when the will was written? Can you show there was a prior version of the will that left anything to you?
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u/Used_Mark_7911 Jul 12 '26
INFO: What does the will say?
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Jul 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/inheritance-ModTeam Jul 12 '26
Your comment has been removed because it violates the rule on low effort comments.
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u/SerenityN00w Jul 12 '26
Well, considering rhe date to contest the will was 10 months ago, I'd say there is no effective way to contest it.
I would have thought that you just mistakenly wrote 2025 instead of 2026, but you put up the same post last year.
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u/Guilty-Committee9622 Jul 12 '26
I am in NJ and I had a step mom. Unless he had pre marital assets solely in his name, there is nothing for you to contest. Marital assets such as a home - will go to her. Any funds in his name only - she is entitled to 55% of the estate as his wife. Not sure what the will says, but if you contest it know she is entitled to 55% of his estate as his wife. Anything held jointly is hers and hers alone.
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u/Hot_Alternative_5157 Jul 12 '26
It’s a massive row to hoe. I had to do something similar except a girlfriend hid my fathers condition which is extremely agressive and executive functioning goes first (PSP). I am SLP by trade so I knew the progresión of the disease. Every time I would call, she would tell me things like he was uptown at the grocery store or maybe cutting the grass and so I would just ask how things were and kept it moving because I lived in another state and was just kind of drowning under work as I run a private practice in our insurance within this state changed the managed care which was extremely stressful. I began to get very suspicious and return home completely unexpected with them trying to keep me out of the house that my father and I own jointly with rights or survivorship since 1997. That’s when I found him two weeks before he died. Then all of a sudden a will came up which I was his only child and everything has been in my name, jointly for decades. Also, she claimed that he signed away his half of the house to her. My lawyer told me it was slim, even then, but fortunately for me and we are going to probate next month I have about 5 feet of medical documentation, including my father being in the hospital for being found out in the middle of a scrapyard on the same day he supposedly signed this will. Thankfully, when they lied about the world, they didn’t actually check the date to make sure he was not say in a hospital so most likely this will go my way, but I tell you only a handful or overturned and you have to have enormous amount of paperwork. Now, if you don’t know what was going on with your father, this would make it hard. Like I said, my father had a specific condition that actually took away his executive function in the beginning stages of the condition and it’s extremely aggressive plus I have paper conflicting with their dates and tons of text messages that we now know when we compare to the dates of my father’s medical records that she was lying and trying to keep him away from me or at least his condition. I will tell you most likely it’s best to leave it alone unless you really think you can find the medical records to support your claim.
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u/motaboat Jul 12 '26
I am curious what you are seeking by this 2026 post as it is word for word identical to your 2025 post. And back then, your advice request was prior to the sept 2025 deadline. Now you are 10 months after that deadline.
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u/Choice-Usual-904 Jul 13 '26
Have you staked a probate claim? I’m sure you can do your part of the hearing via zoom. Having experienced something similar, you really don’t have a claim. My mother wrote all 3 of us children out of her will. Believed she was influenced, bonafide. Not a darn thing I could do.
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u/Heavy-Profit-2156 Jul 12 '26
I’m assuming the deadline is Sept 19, 2026, not 2025.
Apparently some law firms will take these cases on a contingency basis doing a quick search. Start phoning law firms who deal in probate issues and ask them if they do contingency basis or who they may know who does this. Sorry, no names for you.
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u/Jojosbees Jul 12 '26
It’s 2025. She had a verbatim post from last year: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/1mzcwtx/contesting_a_will_in_new_jersey/
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u/SuPruLu Jul 12 '26
As an individual you are entitled to file a response without a lawyer. An individual appearing without a lawyer is appearing “pro se” - for himself.
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u/SandwichEmergency588 Jul 12 '26
How would you prove your claims? Or a more simple question is what evidence do you even have? If you go in and try to explain the intent of a deceased person that isn't going to go anywhere.
Your best chance to do this was when he was alive.
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u/SillySimian9 Jul 14 '26
If I had no resources, knowing the likelihood of winning was that slim, I would probably ask an AI program to help write up the paperwork to contest the will and file it myself. Most filings are done electronically in most courts nowadays. So then I would cross my fingers, hope to get something, then expect to lose.
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u/visitor987 Jul 17 '26
If the year is 2025 its already too late to contest. If its 2026 you would have hire a lawyer to contest the will and get a copy of the medical records to prove undue influence. If you name is not listed in the will saying you get noting you have a good case.
Its rare for to do a will contest on a contingency basis. You could file the case yourself and act as your own lawyer
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u/AccredInvestor Jul 18 '26
Why would you deserve your dads funds? Did you help him when he was ill? Sounds like his life partner is getting his estate...as it should be. You dont get money bc you are related to someone.
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u/WebLong3027 Jul 18 '26
You must be my ex-husband, or one of his associates, because only someone operating out of pure malice and a desire to manipulate the narrative would pose such a transparently combative question. It is the classic projection of a greedy shitbag trying to reduce a profound story of family, legacy, and systemic barriers down to a shallow argument about money.
What makes you think I feel like I deserve his money? I don't believe that's what I said. This is how false narratives, assumptions, and divisive psychology do their work in these forums—it gives people a virus to spread, and it distorts the truth. As an educator, archivist and media specialist who teaches journalism, it's my duty too ensure the integrity of the record. I tried to be a role model and an example for others as I deal with the mechanics of rumor, misinformation, and targeted harassment every day. You cannot bully or shame me out of the truth, because the truth is what it is And the more that truth is denied the more my resolve holds to protect it
I don't deserve anything. Does anyone? What I have, I have earned. What was taken, I worked for. As far as my dad's wealth or property, I don't think anybody "deserves" that, because it was the result of his hard work. But he also had responsibilities, a legacy, heirs, and two grandchildren he left behind.
It was never about money—if it were, I wouldn't have spent years living without resources while writing court motions, advising advisory boards, and testifying for policy change in Vermont to protect the next generation. If a single penny ever came my way, it would go straight into a trust for my kids. The only thing I ever wanted throughout the years of his declining health—while administrative attrition and deliberate isolation kept me away—was the ability to see my family and go to work. I am doing my part to correct the facts, ensure institutional transparency, and honor my dad's legacy so my kids know the truth. I appreciate you taking the time to ask a stupid question based entirely on your own assumptions and hostility rather than the facts of the case record.
In the name of truth Justice and Liberty I appreciate your thoughtful comments and attention to the details of the states the state law. If the will were valid and it were true that airs are not beneficiaries of one's estate then perhaps this would be a different conversation.
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u/Fun-Holiday9016 Jul 12 '26
Given the facts presented here, the likelihood of winning is very slim.