Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in New Jersey

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and eligible property

N.J.S.A. § 3B:3-11 recognizes a separate written statement or list for tangible personal property that the will does not otherwise specifically dispose of. Money is expressly excluded. The section does not name additional exclusions for business property, securities, title documents, or evidences of debt, but the asset still must be tangible personal property.

Will reference

The testator's will must refer to the writing. It may describe a writing “to be in existence at the time of the testator's death,” so the list may be prepared after the will without executing a new will.

Handwriting or signature

New Jersey provides two alternatives. The writing may be in the testator's handwriting, or it may be signed by the testator. Section 3B:3-11 states no date, signature-placement, witness, or notarization requirement for the writing.

Item and devisee identification

The writing must describe both the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty. The statute does not prescribe serial numbers, addresses, relationships, estimated values, or alternate recipients as universal fields.

Timing and later changes

The writing may be prepared before or after will execution, may be altered after preparation, and may have no significance apart from its effect on the will's dispositions. Section 3B:3-11 does not state a date requirement or a rule that the newest of multiple writings automatically controls. An altered writing must still satisfy the statute's handwriting-or-signature condition to be admissible under the section.

What trips people up

The list cannot displace a specific gift already made by the will. Section 3B:3-11 reaches only tangible personal property “not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will.” A conflict clause in the list cannot expand that statutory boundary.

The statute permits alteration, but it does not say that a later writing automatically revokes every earlier one. A blanket “supersedes all prior lists” statement does not itself supply the missing statutory priority rule, and multiple inconsistent writings can create a proof or construction issue.

Common questions

Must the writing be dated?

No date requirement appears in § 3B:3-11.

Must it be witnessed or notarized?

No. The section requires handwriting or the testator's signature, not witnesses or a notary.

Can it be prepared after the will?

Yes. The will may refer to a writing to exist at death, and the writing may be prepared before or after will execution.

Does the writing need to be filed during life?

Section 3B:3-11 states no lifetime filing or delivery condition. It describes a qualifying writing as admissible evidence of the intended disposition.

Statutes and sources

• N.J.S.A. § 3B:3-11 — complete current rule for eligible property, will reference, handwriting or signature, reasonable-certainty identification, timing, alteration, independent significance, and admissibility. New Jersey Legislature: https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?xhitlist_vq=3B%3A3-11&f=xhitlist&xhitlist_q=%5BRank+100%5D3B%3A3-11&xhitlist_x=advanced&xhitlist_s=relevance-weight&xhitlist_mh=20&xhitlist_hc=%5BXML%5D%5BKwic%2C1000%5D&xhitlist_xsl=xhitlist.xsl&xhitlist_vpc=first&xhitlist_vps=20&xhitlist_sel=title%3Bpath%3Brelevance-weight%3Bcontent-type%3Bhome-title%3Bitem-bookmark%3Btitle-path%3Bhit-context&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu (accessed 2026-08-11; unannotated statutes updated through P.L.2025, c.405, and J.R.22).