Court Safekeeping of Original Wills in New Jersey
At a glance
| Statutory safekeeping route | Preliminary probate papers may be filed after death, before admission (§ 3B:3-22). |
|---|---|
| Who may deposit | § 3B:3-22 addresses a probate action, not a lifetime depositor. |
| Proper court or clerk | Resident's will may be probated in county surrogate's court or Superior Court (§ 3B:3-24). |
| Envelope and filing record | § 3B:3-22 specifies no sealed-wrapper or safekeeping record. |
| Fee and receipt | § 3B:3-22 specifies no safekeeping fee or deposit receipt. |
| Custody before death | Preliminary probate filing begins after death (§ 3B:3-22). |
| Retrieval before death | § 3B:3-22 gives no lifetime withdrawal procedure. |
| Notice after death | Death precedes the preliminary filing permitted by § 3B:3-22. |
| Opening and release after death | Complaint, witness depositions, and executor qualification can precede admission (§ 3B:3-22). |
After-death filing
Section § 3B:3-22 separates preliminary filing from probate admission. It allows the complaint and other papers in a will-probate action to be filed after the testator's death, and allows witness depositions and executor or administrator qualification before admission. Admission itself must wait until more than 10 days after death. These are steps following death; the section does not specify sealed storage or withdrawal during a living testator's lifetime.
What trips people up
The permission to file probate papers early under § 3B:3-22 does not accelerate the ten-day wait for admitting a will. For a resident, § 3B:3-24 names the surrogate's court of the county where the person resided at death or the Superior Court as the places where the will may be admitted to probate.
Common questions
Can witness testimony be taken before probate admission? Yes. Section § 3B:3-22 allows the witnesses' depositions after death and before admission.
Does preliminary filing itself admit the will? No. Section § 3B:3-22 expressly separates filing from admission and sets the latter after the ten-day period.
Statutes and sources
- N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 3B:3-22 and 3B:3-24. Verbatim official text, section URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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