Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

What is this will's validity?

Is a will created by a spouse after a decedent passes intestate valid?

The reason I ask this question is that if a decedent never knew what his or her spouse was doing with his or her assets then how could an assumption be made on whether he or she would had left anything to a surviving heir upon death?

I ask this question because according to NJ Succession Laws my stepmother is entitled to my fathers house since it was owned jointly but now that she has passed she is willing away the house to her son but not me her stepson. So how can her will be valid if it could had gone against my fathers wishes?


Asked on 6/16/08, 5:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Chester The Law Office of Jonathan S. Chester, Esq., LLC

Re: What is this will's validity?

Once someone [your father in this case] either leaves property to their spouse in their Will or via intestacy, or title to their jointly owned property passes to the surviving spouse...the survivor is generally able to do whatever they want with it...including disinheriting step-children. Your father should have hired an estate planning attorney to prevent this from happening [assuming he didn't want it to happen].

I hear these type of stories all the time. Most can be solved with proper planning. Unfortunately, many people, for whatever reason, don't take the time to have an estate planning attorney prepare an estate plan that will meet their goals.

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Answered on 6/17/08, 9:12 am


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