Bill Text: NJ A1176 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that will is not valid unless signed by testator or substantially written in testator's handwriting.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A1176 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A1176-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PATRICIA EGAN JONES
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman JAY WEBBER
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Provides that will is not valid unless signed by testator or substantially written in testator's handwriting.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning wills and amending N.J.S.3B:3-3 and N.J.S.3B:3-2.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.3B:3-2 is amended to read as follows:
3B:3-2. Execution; witnessed wills; writings intended as wills.
a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section and in N.J.S.3B:3-3, a will shall be:
(1) in writing;
(2) signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction; and
(3) signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after each witnessed either the signing of the will as described in paragraph (2) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will.
b. A will that does not comply with subsection a. 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.
c. Intent that the document constitutes the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence, including for writings intended as wills, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.160, s.2)
2. N.J.S.3B:3-3 is amended to read as follows:
3B:3-3. Writings intended as wills.
Although a document or writing added upon a document was not executed in compliance with N.J.S.3B:3-2, the document or writing is treated as if it had been executed in compliance with N.J.S.3B:3-2 if:
a. the document or writing is signed by the testator or is substantially in the testator's handwriting; and
b. the proponent of the document or writing establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document or writing to constitute: (1) the decedent's will; (2) a partial or complete revocation of the will; (3) an addition to or an alteration of the will; or (4) a partial or complete revival of his formerly revoked will or of a formerly revoked portion of the will.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.160, s.3)
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be applicable to any will or other document purporting to be a will filed with the Surrogate on or after the effective date.
STATEMENT
This bill would provide that a will is not valid unless it is signed by the testator or substantially written in the testator's handwriting.
Under current law, set out in N.J.S.3B:3-2, a will is generally valid only if it is in writing, signed by the testator (or signed by another person in the testator's presence and at his direction), and signed by at least two witnesses. There are exceptions to these requirements: (1) A will that does not comply with the requirements can still be valid as "a writing intended as a will" if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting; or, (2) pursuant to N.J.S.3B:3-3, a document or writing can be treated as a valid will if the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended it to constitute his will.
In In re Estate of Ehrlich, 427 N.J. Super. 64 (App. Div. 2012), the Appellate Division upheld as a valid will a copy of a typed document that was titled "Last Will and Testament" but was not signed by the testator or by any witnesses. The court held that under the circumstances the typed document was a valid will, because it was intended by the decedent to constitute his will and therefore complied with the provisions of N.J.S.3B:3-3.
This bill is intended to overturn the Ehrlich decision as applied to future cases. The bill provides that a document or writing may be treated as a valid will only if, in addition to a showing by the proponent of the decedent's intent, the document or writing is signed by the testator or is substantially in the testator's handwriting.
The bill would apply to any will or other document purporting to be a will filed with the Surrogate on or after the bill's effective date.
