The New Jersey Will Registry is a voluntary state database, run by the Secretary of State, where you can record that you have a will and where it is kept. It costs $10 to file, it does not store the will itself, and registering has no effect on whether the will is legally valid. What it does is solve one of the most common estate problems: nobody knowing where the will is after you die.
What the Registry Stores
The registry was created under N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2.1, which directs the Secretary of State to maintain a database where a testator or their attorney can record basic details about a will.1Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:3-2.1 – Creation, Maintenance of Will Registry; Fees The stored information is limited to the name of the person who made the will, the date it was executed, and where it was being kept at the time of registration. No copy of the will goes into the registry, and nothing about the will’s contents is recorded.2New Jersey Department of State. New Jersey Will Registry
Registration is entirely optional. Skipping it does not weaken the will. But if a will cannot be located after death, the estate can end up in intestacy proceedings under N.J.S.A. 3B:5-2, where the court distributes assets by a statutory formula rather than the person’s wishes.3Justia. New Jersey Code 3B:5-2 – Intestate Estate That default rarely matches what people actually want, which is the practical reason the registry exists.
How to Register Your Will
You register by completing Form WR-1 from the Secretary of State’s office. The form asks for your full name, address, the date the will was executed, and where the will is stored. Date of birth and place of birth are listed but marked optional.4State of New Jersey. New Jersey Will Registry Form WR-1 Either you or your attorney can sign and submit it.
Mail the completed form with a $10 check or money order payable to “The State of New Jersey” to the Office of the Secretary of State, PO Box 300, Trenton, NJ 08625-0300.2New Jersey Department of State. New Jersey Will Registry There is no electronic filing option. Registration is by physical mail or in-person delivery only, which catches many people off guard.
The underlying will still has to meet New Jersey’s traditional execution rules: a paper document signed by the testator and by at least two witnesses who sign within a reasonable time after watching the testator sign or acknowledge the will. Registering an improperly executed will does not fix it.
Keeping the Registration Current
If you execute a new will, submit an updated WR-1 with the new execution date and storage location, along with another $10 fee.2New Jersey Department of State. New Jersey Will Registry Older entries are not removed automatically. That matters. An outdated registry entry pointing to a will you have since revoked, or a storage location you no longer use, is worse than no entry at all because it sends your executor down a dead end.
To delete a registration entirely, send a written request to the Secretary of State’s office with your full name, date of birth, and a signed statement revoking the prior entry. Revoking the registration does not revoke the will; it only deletes the database record.
Who Can Search the Registry
The registry is not open to the general public. Only “interested persons” as defined by statute may search it, but that category is broader than most people expect. It includes children, spouses, potential heirs, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, creditors, and anyone else with a property right or claim that could be affected by the estate.2New Jersey Department of State. New Jersey Will Registry
There is an important limit on what a searcher gets back. Interested persons can confirm whether a will was registered, but only executors or fiduciaries receive the actual storage location. During your own lifetime, you can always access your own registration.
Getting Registry Information After a Death
To request information after a testator has died, an interested person files Form WR-2, the Request for Will Registry Information. The form requires the requester to certify that the testator is deceased, that the requester is (or represents) an interested person, and that acceptable proof of death is attached.5State of New Jersey. Request for Will Registry Information
Acceptable proof of death is not limited to a death certificate. The WR-2 form lists several options:
- An official death certificate
- The Social Security Number Death Index, useful when a certified certificate is delayed
- A letter from the military for servicemembers who died on active duty
- A letter from the U.S. State Department for deaths that occurred abroad
The retrieval fee is $10, payable by check or money order to “The State of New Jersey.”2New Jersey Department of State. New Jersey Will Registry Requests are accepted by mail or in person. Once the request is verified, the Secretary of State’s office discloses where the will was being stored at the time of registration. The office does not provide a copy of the will. Retrieving the original document from wherever it is kept is on the executor.
What the Registry Does Not Do
The registry is a locator, not a substitute for probate. It does not hold your will, it does not prove your will is valid, and it does not transfer authority to your executor. Once the will is found, it still has to be filed for probate with the surrogate’s court in the county where the decedent lived, and the executor still has to qualify there before acting on the estate. A New Jersey will cannot be admitted to probate until at least 10 days after the testator’s death.
Used well, the registry does one job cleanly: it makes sure your family knows a will exists and can find out where you put it. That is often the difference between your instructions being followed and the state’s default formula taking over.