Is a hand-written will (that is a "Last Will and Testament"),properly
witnessed by two witnesses and notarized, accepted as a legal document
(will) in the State of New Jersey? Please note that the intent of this
inquiry is to consider the hand-written document as a substitute for
the typical "Last Will and Testament" prepared by an attorney-at-law.

Hello geronimo,

Great question. I found a New Jersey government related site that
gives us our answer. It states the following:

"Any person who is at least 18 years old and of sound mind may make a
Will. In order to be valid in New Jersey, a Will must be in writing,
signed by the person making the Will (testator or testatrix) and the
signing must be witnessed by at least two people over the age of 18. A
handwritten Will, known as a holographic Will, may be valid if it can
be proved that the signature and the important provisions are in the
same handwriting and the handwriting is that of the testator or
testatrix. This handwritten document, if accepted by the Superior
Court as the decedent's Last Will, must be probated in Superior Court
rather than Surrogate's Court. Accordingly, this is a very expensive
document to probate and a typewritten, formally signed Will, is always
preferable."

So in short - the answer is yes, it will be acceptable, so long as the
terms set forth in the law are met.

Here is the site:

Bergen County New Jersey - Wills Information
http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/Surrogate/BCSC_Wills.htm

The site I found this at is the Bergen County government page, but the
law is applicable to whole state of New Jersey. I should note that
every site I found recommends that this type of will (referred to as a
'holographic will'), should only be used as a last resort, when you
are unable to have a typed one prepared.

I found the answer to your question by searching Google for:
handwritten "wills" new jersey laws
://www.google.com/search?q=handwritten+%22wills%22+new+jersey+laws


I hope this concise answer meets your needs. If you need
clarification, or want me to go into more details, please ask before
rating this answer as I would love to be of further assistance.

Thanks for the great question!
SgtCory

Well documented response and specific to the original question. Thank
you for your assistance.

The hand-written will (called a holographic will) is acceptable, but
there could be problems--if you don't have it legally reviewed by a
probate attorney to make sure it complies with the state legal
requirements, then there is a strong chance that it will be thrown out
as invalid.  If you can afford $200-$500 to have it prepared by an
attorney, the money spent would be well worth it in order to avoid
future complications.  The will must mention the spouse, children and
grandchildren and of course can mention any other beneficiaries of
your choice.

SINCERELY
4keith-ga