Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

You may be opening a can of worms if someone is seeking to contest the will following the death of the individual. The original will must be intact and untampered with to submit it to probate.

It depends on what you mean by "open a will".

Opening an estate means filing (probating) the will with the Surrogate's office. This may not be done until after a person dies, and is the beginning of administration of the estate of the deceased. People also sometimes refer to "reading of the will", which is not a legal term. Movies show heirs gathered in the office of a lawyer who reads the will. There is no such legal requirement in NJ, although it may happen at a meeting to tell heirs what the will says.

Once the will has been filed with the Surrogate's office, heirs are given notice and may examine the will at the Surrogate's office, if they have not already been given a copy.

As Ms. Klauber wrote, no one should be tampering with or making any changes on the original will. If the person whose will it is wants to make changes, s/he has to write and sign a new will. By "write", I mean having a lawyer draw up a new will based on the persons desires, and having the lawyer conduct the will signing so that it observes the legal requirements and formalities of proper signing, witnessing, acknowledging.

Often people try to write and sign a will themselves, and it will not be sufficient because those formalities were not observed. If the will does not qualify for filing (probating), the estate will be treated as if there was no will, and state law will govern who receives what.

This response is not legal advice, since I do not have all of the information that would be required, and I do not have a representation agreement with you.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

I agree that nothing should be done with or to the original that might invalidate it. You do not indicate who you are, what relationship, if any, you have to its maker, and what is your motive and/or intent in reading it. For most purposes, a Will is revocable up to time of death, which means it can always be changed, so what you have and what you read might not be what is the final version. I suggest leaving it alone, as if you are an heir, you will be notified of its probate, have access to a copy of the version probated and if you have a legitimate basis, time to contest it.