Can I make a handwritten will?

A handwritten will, also referred to as a holographic will, is valid as a will, under NJSA 3B:3-2, if it is signed by the testator, whether or not it has been witnessed, and if the material portions of the document are in the testator’s handwriting. Where the requirements of NJSA 3B:3-2 is not met, then clear and convincing evidence will need to be presented by the proponent of the will to show that the document was intended to be the testator’s will to be admitted to probate, as laid out under NJSA 3B:3-2. —Allison J. Busch, Esq., Hartman Doherty, LLC