Can a Will Be Filed with the Surrogate Prior to Death? No

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.