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A New Jersey will is in writing, signed by the testator and by at least two witnesses to the signing or to the testator's acknowledgment (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2), and may be made self-proved by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-4). After the death it is probated no sooner than ten days later (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22); the executor gives notice of the probate within sixty days (R. 4:80-6); the elective share runs six months after the executor's appointment (N.J.S.A. 3B:8-12).
Dernière vérification par rapport aux New Jersey Statutes et mise à jour : 2026-10-25.
The original, and where it lives
Keep the signed original where your executor can find it, and tell that person where. New Jersey has no court deposit of a will during the testator's life and no custodian's duty to deliver it after the death; the Secretary of State keeps a will registry in which a testator or the testator's attorney may record the testator's name, the will's date and its location — never a copy — for $10, searched by interested persons after the death, with no effect on the will's validity (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2.1). A court may order a person believed to hold a will to produce it (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-29). No will is admitted to probate until after ten days from the death of the testator, though the papers may be filed sooner (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22).
How it was signed, and proving it
A will is in writing; signed by the testator, or in the testator's name by another individual in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction; and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2(a)). A will that does not comply is valid as a writing intended as a will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2(b)); intent that the document be the testator's will may be established by extrinsic evidence (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2(c)). A will may be simultaneously executed, attested and made self-proved by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments, in substantially the form the statute sets out (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-4), or made self-proved at any time after its execution (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-5).
Your executor
The executor you name offers the will for probate before the Surrogate of the county of the testator's domicile, who admits it and grants letters (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-17); where a caveat is filed or a doubt or dispute arises, the matter goes to the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part (R. 4:82). Within sixty days after the probate, the executor mails every beneficiary under the will and the next of kin a notice that the will was probated, the place and date, the executor's name and address and that a copy of the will is furnished on request, and files proof of mailing within ten days (R. 4:80-6). Creditors present their claims to the executor in writing and under oath within nine months from the date of death (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4); no action lies against the executor within six months after the letters, except for funeral expenses or by leave of court (N.J.S.A. 3B:14-40); and the court may require an inventory, not before three months after the letters (N.J.S.A. 3B:16-2).
What changes a will
A codicil or a later will takes the same formality — in writing, signed by the testator and by at least two witnesses (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2). A revocable trust is amended or revoked by the method its terms provide or, where they provide none, by a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or by any other written method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-43(c)). Review the will after a marriage, a civil union, a divorce, a birth or a death; the surviving spouse's or partner's right is the statute's regardless — an elective share of one-third of the augmented estate, unless a complaint for divorce or dissolution was pending at the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:8-1), by complaint in the Superior Court within six months after the appointment of a personal representative (N.J.S.A. 3B:8-12), waivable after fair disclosure (N.J.S.A. 3B:8-10). A provision penalizing an interested person for contesting the will is unenforceable where probable cause exists for the proceeding (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-47).
A will and a trust together
Many plans pair a will with a revocable trust. The trust governs what is titled to the trustee; the will governs what is not, and a trust may be created by a will or another disposition taking effect at death (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-18). A trustee under a will accepts by obtaining letters of trusteeship from the court that admitted the will (N.J.S.A. 3B:11-2; N.J.S.A. 3B:31-46(a)(1)), and no fiduciary transfers estate property to a testamentary trustee before the letters issue (N.J.S.A. 3B:23-23). A life insurance beneficiary other than the insured takes the proceeds against the creditors of the insured and of the person who effected the policy (N.J.S.A. 17B:24-6). A small intestate estate may be collected by the surviving spouse or partner on an affidavit where its value does not exceed $50,000, or by an heir where it does not exceed $20,000 with the other heirs' consent (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4). New Jersey imposes no estate tax on a death on or after January 1, 2018 (N.J.S.A. 54:38-1); the transfer inheritance tax falls on a resident decedent's transfers by each beneficiary's class (N.J.S.A. 54:34-2).
What happens at your death
Your will is offered for probate before the Surrogate, no sooner than ten days after the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22); the executor gives the notice of probate within sixty days (R. 4:80-6); creditors present their claims within nine months (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4). A person aggrieved by the probate or the grant of letters may move to set it aside within four months after it, or six months where the person resided outside the State (R. 4:85-1). The surviving spouse or partner may elect the one-third elective share within six months after the executor's appointment (N.J.S.A. 3B:8-12). Property passes under the will, or to your heirs where the will does not reach it — the surviving spouse's or partner's share (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3), and the rest to the descendants by representation or, where none survive, to the parents and then the more distant kin the statute lists (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-4). The transfer inheritance tax is due at the death and bears interest from eight months after it (N.J.S.A. 54:35-1; N.J.S.A. 54:35-3).
When a licensed New Jersey attorney is the right next call
Whether the will was properly executed, whether to make it self-proved, how the will and the trust fit, what the elective share means for the plan, and whether a codicil or a new will is the better change are questions a licensed New Jersey attorney of your choosing answers from your documents. TrusteeClear explains the statute and organizes the record; it decides none of them.
Questions fréquentes
Does New Jersey have a self-proving affidavit for wills?
Yes. A will may be simultaneously executed, attested and made self-proved by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments, in substantially the form N.J.S.A. 3B:3-4 sets out, or made self-proved at any time after its execution (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-5).
Where should a New Jersey will be kept?
Where your executor can find it. New Jersey has no court deposit during life; the Secretary of State's will registry records a will's existence, date and location — never its contents — for $10 (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2.1), and a court may order a person believed to hold a will to produce it (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-29).
Can my New Jersey will change my trust?
A revocable trust is amended or revoked by the method its terms provide or, where they provide none or the method is not expressly exclusive, by a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises property that would otherwise have passed under it (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-43(c)); whether a particular will does that is a question for a licensed New Jersey attorney of your choosing.
What does a New Jersey executor do first?
Offers the will for probate before the Surrogate after ten days from the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22; N.J.S.A. 3B:3-17); within sixty days after the probate, mails the will's beneficiaries and the next of kin the notice of probate and files proof within ten days (R. 4:80-6); receives creditors' claims presented within nine months (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4); and prepares an inventory where the court requires one (N.J.S.A. 3B:16-2).
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