probate

Importantly, setting up a trust would help your husband’s executor — that is, you — to avoid probate.

First, the statute of limitations to contest a will in California is 120 days from the day the will is entered into probate.

“If you are an out-of-state resident with an interest in a will or potential interest, New Jersey law provides a longer period of 180 days from the notice of probate to contest a will.”

So far, no one in the family has received anything from her estate, and based on county records, it appears the probate process has not yet begun.

As Antony started to engage with the messy business of probate, he came across a small brown leather case in his father's old flat in the Hampshire town of Lymington.