New Jersey Court Says – “NJ Law Does Not Necessarily Require Signature of a Will!”

You do not need a probate lawyer to tell you signing the will is crucial in  West Palm Beach. Can you ever imagine a judge admitting an unsigned will to probate? It may be hard to believe but that is exactly what one probate judge almost had to do in New Jersey. The Court of Appeals there interpreted the statute to not necessarily require any signature. Do you think that would fly in West Palm Beach?

Executing the Will

• Executing a will is a fancy way to say signing it but there is more to it than just your signature. 
• In fact you can sign with any symbol or words you want its intent that matters.
• In West Palm Beach you are going to need two witnesses to sign the will as well.
• Why are they signing?
• The witnesses are attesting to your signature.
• Then those witnesses may have to come down to the probate court before your will is admitted to the Court.
• There are ways around this though.
• Make sure to ask your West Palm Beach probate attorney about self-proving affidavitsthat save the witnesses the trouble of coming down to probate court.
• Either way you need to sign the will.
• Apparently that is not always the case outside of West Palm Beach.
• If you don’t believe me check out this case from 2010 out of New Jersey.

In re Will of Macool

• This was a very interesting probate appeal from New Jersey.
• A beneficiary under a will brought a will contest to invalidate an earlier will and codicil and to admit the will he had which had been drafted by the decedent’s counsel but unsigned and never reviewed by the client.
• What do you think happened?
• The trial court said NO!
• Well the beneficiary had some wherewithal because he appealed!
• Not only that he got the judges on the appeals panel to admit that a signature is not always necessary,
• That is right, the New Jersey Superior Court told the trial probate court that under some circumstances an unsigned will may be admitted into probate.
• Not only that the decedent had never even read that will!
• Do you agree with this?

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.