Free Fillable New Jersey Last Will and Testament Form

Do you have assets you have amassed throughout your life? Do you have a precious family you would like to inherit all of your properties after you pass away? If you do and dread the idea that your family members can remain at the state’s mercy, do something today!

How do you rise and do something? By creating a New Jersey last will and testament. This step is one sure way of ensuring that your family doesn’t fight over your estate. This precious document ensures that every inheritor knows what they are entitled to and in what measure.

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Free Fillable New Jersey Last Will and Testament Form

Depending on how much of your wealth you want to share, writing a last will takes care of all target beneficiaries. For instance, will template is the only document that lets you share your estate with beneficiaries outside of your family. It lets you donate to charity, friends, and less privileged society members.

So, keep reading to learn everything about this all-important document in New Jersey. We will walk you through everything New Jersey laws say about it. Eventually, you will have a strong legal standing and backup as you write your last will today.

Why Is It Important?

It is necessary to start by stating what the law requires from all New Jersey residents regarding the last will and testament. First, the law doesn’t compel you to write a last will. However, it has a say over how you write it and how your executor executes it. Thus, it’s prudent to be on the right side of the law. However, it’s still highly beneficial to write a last will before your death because it benefits those you love and want to inherit your assets.

You can use this document as a planning tool that ensures your assets remain within your family business. Suppose you are a business person with a family business empire. In that case, the last will lets you plan with finality what dimension or division of your business dynasty remains among your descendants.

Documenting the last will saves your family from the “mercy and discretion” of the state. The reason is that when you die without a will, the state has a legal obligation to oversee your estate’s distribution. The problem here is that it will never distribute your assets the way you would have wished. Why? Because the government might not know which of your assets were intended for which inheritor and to what extent. For example, if you know that one of your sons is good in a specific business niche, you are better placed to appoint them heirs as per their fortes. However, the state will allocate these assets using mathematical formulas of equality.

Writing a will also ensures that your underage children’s inheritance remains under trusted guardians. The last will allows you to appoint guardians you are sure will have your children’s best interests at heart. Therefore, you won’t just leave their inheritance in the hands of people because of legal obligations. Instead, you leave their inheritance under a guardian based on proven personal connections.

Fourth, the last will ensures that your family members remain at peace because the document clearly and definitively determines who gets what and in what measure. Thus, everyone runs in their own lane because the boundaries are set. Eventually, you save your children potential conflicts that might degenerate into bitter and lingering family feuds.

Therefore, you need to write your last will today because tomorrow is unguaranteed. Remember, they say that today is a gift, and that’s why it’s called the “present.” Tomorrow is just that, a promissory note! What about the past? It’s just that, a past tense! So, do your family a favor, download our forms, and write your last will today!

What Happens If One Dies Without a Last Will?

Although this document is critical to your assets’ allocation after your demise, thousands of people die without it. Thus, they leave their families at the government’s discretion and mercy. The state invokes intestacy laws to divide the decedent’s assets among their surviving spouse and children. New Jersey laws will do the following:

If the deceased left a domestic partner or spouse without children or a spouse with whom they had children, the spouse inherits the entire estate;
If the decedent left children but no spouse, the children will inherit everything.

Other Recognized Last Wills

New Jersey laws also accept handwritten last wills if their signatures or most of their sections are in the testator’s handwriting. All such last wills don’t need witnessing.

Amending the Last Will

You can change your last will any time by writing another will or through a codicil.

Will Revocation

The law also allows you to revoke your last will if you burn, tear, cancel, obliterate, or destroy it.

There you go with all you needed to know about the last will and testament in New Jersey. Download our forms and write yours today.

Basic Legal Requirements

A New Jersey last will and testament becomes legally binding if it meets the following requirements set in the code section 3B:3-1, et seq.:

The testator is aged 18 years and over;
The testator is sane;
It must bear the testator’s signature or that of their trusted appointee written in the testator’s name, presence, and at their direction;
The last will should have at least two competent witnesses who also sign the will and witnessed its writer signing it;
The will must be written;
The testator can appoint anyone inside or outside their family to inherit their assets.

What Assets are Exempted?

The law exempts some classes of properties from distribution through the last will. For instance, New Jersey laws only allow assets registered in your name to appear in your last will. Thus, all assets you own jointly are exempted from this will. The law also allows your surviving spouse to take an elective share in your assets even when you don’t include them in your last will.