You can make a will in NJ for free by drafting it yourself, using a free online template, or applying to a legal aid organization that prepares wills at no cost. New Jersey law asks for very little: you must be at least 18, of sound mind, and sign the document in front of two witnesses who then sign it themselves.1Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:3-4 – Making Will Self-Proved at Time of Execution Get those basics right and the will is legally valid, whether a lawyer touched it or not.
Three Free Ways to Create a Will
Write It Yourself
New Jersey’s requirements are simple enough that a plainly written, self-drafted will holds up. If your estate is straightforward — everything to a spouse, or split evenly among your children — writing your own is a reasonable choice. Use clear language, name people by their full legal names, and follow the signing rules below. Blended families, business interests, and trusts are where the free route starts to strain; that’s where paid help usually earns its cost.
New Jersey also recognizes holographic wills, which are wills written entirely in your own handwriting. A holographic will is valid without witnesses as long as the signature and the important provisions are in your handwriting.2Union County New Jersey. Probate of a Holographic Will They are riskier, though. Disputed handwriting or ambiguous wording can invite a challenge, and a witnessed will is the safer option every time.
Use a Free Online Template
Several websites offer free will templates and guided generators that ask about your assets, beneficiaries, executor, and guardianship preferences and then produce a document you print and sign with witnesses. Before you rely on one, confirm the template complies with New Jersey law, specifically the two-witness requirement and the option to add a self-proving affidavit. A generic template built for another state can leave out details New Jersey expects.
Legal Aid
If your income qualifies, New Jersey’s legal aid network will draft a will for you at no charge. The LSNJ Law Hotline provides free telephone legal advice and referrals in civil matters to low-income residents who cannot afford an attorney.3LSNJLAW. About the LSNJLAW Hotline Volunteer Lawyers for Justice runs a Wills and Estate Planning Program that pairs eligible clients with volunteer attorneys to prepare wills, medical directives, and power of attorney documents.4Volunteer Lawyers for Justice. Apply for Free Legal Help Both screen applicants based on income and assets, so have your financial information ready when you apply.
What Your Will Needs to Cover
Whichever route you pick, the document should handle four things. Missing any of them either creates confusion later or hands the decision to a court.
- Your assets and who inherits them. List real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, vehicles, and significant personal property. Name each beneficiary by full legal name and specify what they receive. Name alternates in case a beneficiary dies before you do.
- An executor. This is the person who files your will with the Surrogate’s Court, pays your debts, and distributes what’s left. Pick someone organized and trustworthy, and name a backup.
- A guardian for minor children. If you have children under 18, your will is where you name who raises them. Without this, a court decides. Name an alternate guardian too.
- Funeral or burial wishes. These are not enforced the same way as asset distribution, but including them gives your family clear direction at a hard moment.
Signing the Will Correctly
A will that isn’t executed properly can be thrown out no matter how carefully it was drafted. Sign in the presence of at least two witnesses. If you’re physically unable to sign, you can direct someone else to sign for you in your presence. Your witnesses need to watch you sign, or hear you acknowledge that the signature is yours, and each witness must then sign the document. New Jersey requires witnesses to sign within a reasonable time of watching your signature, so do it all in one sitting.1Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:3-4 – Making Will Self-Proved at Time of Execution
Pick two adults who are not beneficiaries. New Jersey does not automatically invalidate a will just because a witness is also a beneficiary,5Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:3-8 – Will Not Invalidated by Interested Witness but using a beneficiary invites suspicion and can lead to challenges in probate. Ask a neighbor, coworker, or friend instead.
Add a Self-Proving Affidavit
A self-proving affidavit is optional, but it is the single easiest thing you can do to make life easier for your executor. It is a sworn statement, signed by you and your witnesses in front of a notary public, confirming the will was properly executed. With it, the court can accept the will without tracking down your witnesses to testify.6Legal Information Institute. Self-Proving Will Without it, the court may need to locate them after your death, which can delay probate if a witness has moved or died.
To make a New Jersey will self-proving, you and both witnesses sign the affidavit in front of a notary at the same time you execute the will, and the notary notarizes it.1Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:3-4 – Making Will Self-Proved at Time of Execution Many banks, shipping stores, and libraries have notaries on staff, often for just a few dollars.
What a Free Will Can’t Do
You Can’t Fully Disinherit a Spouse
New Jersey law prevents you from cutting your spouse out entirely. A surviving spouse can claim one-third of the “augmented estate” regardless of what your will says, and the augmented estate includes not only assets passing through the will but also certain transfers made during your lifetime.7Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:8-1 – Elective Share of Surviving Spouse Civil union partners and domestic partners have the same right. The right disappears only if either spouse had filed for divorce, dissolution of civil union, or termination of domestic partnership before the death. If you’re married and want your spouse to receive less than a third, the will alone cannot accomplish that.
Some Assets Ignore Your Will Entirely
This is where DIY wills most often go wrong. Certain assets transfer automatically to a named beneficiary when you die, and your will has no power to redirect them. The beneficiary designation on the account controls, not the will.8The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Pitfalls of Pay on Death (POD) Accounts Assets that bypass a will include:
- Life insurance proceeds, which go to the named policy beneficiary.
- Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, and pensions, which pass to the designated beneficiary.
- Bank accounts with a payable-on-death (POD) designation, including checking, savings, CDs, and money market accounts.
- Brokerage accounts with a transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary.
- Jointly held property with right of survivorship, which passes automatically to the surviving co-owner.
If your will leaves your bank account to your daughter but the POD beneficiary is still your ex-spouse, your ex-spouse gets the money. When you finish your will, review every beneficiary designation and update it to match.
Storing and Updating It
A will you can’t find is a will that doesn’t work. Store the original somewhere secure and accessible: a fireproof safe at home, a safe deposit box, or on deposit with the Surrogate’s Court in your county. Tell your executor exactly where it is. If you use a safe deposit box, confirm your executor can actually get in after your death; some banks restrict access until the estate is opened, which becomes a problem when the will is inside. Keep a copy separate from the original, clearly marked as a copy. Courts probate originals. If the original can’t be found, New Jersey courts may presume you revoked it.
Review the document every three to five years, and sooner after marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a big change in assets, or a falling out with a beneficiary. New Jersey lets you revoke a will two ways: execute a new will that expressly revokes the old one (or that so thoroughly replaces it as to be inconsistent), or physically destroy the original — burning, tearing, or otherwise obliterating it — with the intent to revoke. If someone else destroys it, they must do so in your presence and at your direction. For a small change, you can add a codicil, a formal amendment that has to meet the same signing and witnessing rules as the will itself. If you have more than a couple of small changes, draft a new will instead of stacking codicils.
Dying without a will means New Jersey’s intestacy rules decide who inherits, and those rules follow a rigid family hierarchy that often ignores unmarried partners, close friends, and charities entirely.9Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:5-4 – Intestate Shares of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse A properly signed will, free or not, is the only way to direct your assets to the people you actually choose.