A will from 1970 with language no one could validate. Thirteen heirs, most of them unreachable. A property deteriorating while the clock ran out over and over. We stepped in, found what was missing, and helped our client sell in 60 days.
Irvington, NJ
Single-Family
Stalled Probate
The property in Irvington had been stuck in probate for over two years. The seller had inherited it, but the will dated back to 1970 and the language was so outdated that it couldn't be validated under modern probate standards. Without a certified will, nothing could move.
To make things harder, the estate had 13 heirs who all needed to be formally served. The probate attorney, based in a different county and unfamiliar with Essex County's specific procedures, kept hitting the same wall: the 30-day serving window would open, they'd come up short on locating everyone, the window would expire, and the clock would reset. This cycle repeated itself for two years.
We first connected with the seller in early 2024, gave them some guidance, and stayed in touch while they continued working with their attorney. In February 2025, we got the call they were stuck again and needed help at the ground level. We drove to the attorney's office and laid everything out on the table.
Squatters had been breaking in repeatedly, causing mounting damage throughout the process. Property taxes kept accumulating, paid out of the seller's own pocket since the estate generated no income. Every delay was also a financial setback. Another tax bill was due within weeks of when we finally got involved.
We didn't advise from a distance. We went to the attorney's office, reviewed every document, identified the single remaining blocker, solved it the same day, then moved straight into contract.
Rather than working the problem from afar, we went directly to the probate attorney's office, reviewed every document, and identified what was actually left to resolve, not what everyone assumed was the issue.
The search had been failing for over a year. We sent it to our internal team that same day. The missing heir, the single person holding the entire process back, was located in under 30 minutes and confirmed in Union, NJ by that afternoon.
With the final heir served, the 30-day window ran to completion without another restart. The will was certified, surrogate court approved it, and Letters of Administration were issued, ending over two years of legal freeze in a single cycle.
The moment the seller had legal authority to sell, we moved immediately. We tracked the upcoming tax deadline and closed a day before it came due, saving the seller another out-of-pocket payment on a property that had been costing them for years.
Close on a property that had been legally frozen for over two years, finally ending the process
Avoid another property tax payment, the transaction closed a day before the bill came due
Walk away with proceeds from a sale that had seemed permanently out of reach
Leave behind the squatter damage, the accumulating costs, and two years of uncertainty
"We will stick with our sellers for years if we need to to get to the finish line. Things that somebody was dealing with for two years, we had to figure it out in 60 days and close money in their pocket."
Office Location
50 Park Place, Suite 301
Newark, NJ 07102
Office Location
50 Park Place, Suite 301
Newark, NJ 07102