Where to put your original Will, Power of Attorney and Living Will?
Keep your original Will a fireproof box in your bedroom, under the bed or in your closet. Only the original Will can be admitted to probate by the Surrogate. The County Surrogate cannot probate a photocopy of Will or scanned Will. That is why it is important that you know where the original Will is located, and it is in a place the Executor can easily get to it.
After documents are signed, for record keeping, It is a good idea to email scanned copies of your documents to family, Executors, Trustee, Guardian and children if appropriate. Advise where the originals are if appropriate. Also email the Living Will to doctors.
Also email documents signed outside of the attorney’s office to the attorney who drafted the documents.
A popular website addressed making sure the original documents are accessible to the Executor.
After you've created a will, the next decision is where to store the Will so that your executor can easily find the original document when needed. Because the executor will need the original will to handle your affairs efficiently, a will should be stored in a safe and accessible place and the executor should know exactly where it is kept.
Not being able to get a hold of the original copy of your will can end up being a nightmare for your beneficiaries, both emotionally and financially. Below are ways to store the original copy of your last will and testament so that it is accessible to your executor after you are gone.
Best- Keep your original Will a fireproof box in your bedroom, under the bed or in your closet
Good: Have Executor #1 keep the originals in their house.
The original Will is property of the client so Attorneys typically do not keep the original. The exception is where the attorney is the Executor when the person does not have nearby family to serve as Executor,
Bad: A Bank safe deposit box. During the Covid shut down, the public was barred from banks. Also, you may need the Living Will on a weekend or evening if there is an emergency. The bank is not going to open up for you on the weekend.
Can a Will be filed with the Surrogate prior to death? No
Wills are not filed prior to death with the NJ Surrogate prior to death. The original Will is typically held by the person signing the Will, or given by the person to their Executor 1. There is no free public access depository for Wills in NJ, NY or PA.
A Will cannot be accepted for probate by the County Surrogate until after death Under New Jersey law, the executor must wait 10 full days after a death to probate a will.
An Executor may submit the application prior to expiration of the 10-day period. The Surrogate then must sit on the papers until the end of ten days. If the Will is filed after the 10-day waiting period, many Courts will issue a judgment for probate the same day with the filing of the probate papers.
NJSA 3B:3-22. Time for probate of will; preliminary filing
No will shall be admitted to probate until after 10 days from the death of the testator; but the complaint and other papers in any action for the probate of a will may be filed, and the depositions of the witnesses thereto and the qualification of the executor or administrator with the will annexed may be taken at any time subsequent to the death of the testator and before the will is admitted to probate .
NJ Rule 4:80-1
(c) Filing. The application for the probate of a will or for letters of administration shall be filed with the Surrogate's Court of the county in which the decedent was domiciled at death, or if at that time the decedent was not domiciled in this State, then with the Surrogate's Court of any county in which the decedent left any property or into which any property belonging to the decedent's estate may have come.
A scanned Will cannot be admitted to probate by the Surrogate.
