Source: http://njwills.blogspot.com/2012/07/
Timestamp: 2018-02-21 12:48:18
Document Index: 132885739

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 10', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 27', '§ 27']

Wills and Estate Administration-Articles from www.njlaws.com: July 2012
The Legislature enacted N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 in 2004, as an amendment to the New Jersey Probate Code. L. 2004, c. 132, § 10, eff. Feb. 27, 2005. It is virtually identical to Section 2-503 of the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), upon which it was modeled. Senate Judiciary Committee, Statement to Senate Bill No. 708, enacted as L. 2004, c. 132 (reprinted after N.J.S.A. 3B:1-1).2 The comments to that Section by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws express its clear purpose: "[s]ection 2-503 means to retain the intent-serving benefits of Section 2-502 formality without inflicting intent-defeating outcomes in cases of harmless error." Unif. Probate Code, cmt. on § 2-503. Of particular note, the Commissioners' comments state that Section 2-503 "is supported by the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers § 3.3 (1999)." Recognizing that strict compliance with the statutory formalities has led to harsh results in many cases, the comments to the Restatement explain,
We recently had occasion to interpret N.J.S.A. 3B-3.3 in a case wherein we held that under New Jersey's codification of the "harmless error" doctrine, a writing need not be signed by the testator in order to be admitted to probate. In re Probate of Will and Codicil of Macool, 416 N.J. Super. 298, 311 (App. Div. 2010).
Thus, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3, in addressing a form of testamentary document not executed in compliance with N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2, represents a relaxation of the rules regarding formal execution of Wills so as to effectuate the intent of the testator. This legislative leeway happens to be consonant with "a court's duty in probate matters . . . 'to ascertain and give effect to the probable intention of the testator.'" Macool, supra, 416 N.J. Super. at 307 (quoting Fidelity Union Trust v. Robert, 36 N.J. 561, 564 (1962)) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted in original). As such, Section 3 dispenses with the requirement that the proposed document be executed or otherwise signed in some fashion by the testator. Macool, supra, 416 N.J. Super. at 311.
Rule 1:4-8 also permits an attorney to be sanctioned for asserting frivolous claims on behalf of his or her client. United Hearts, L.L.C., supra, 407 N.J. Super. at 389. An assertion is deemed frivolous when "'no rational argument can be advanced in its support, or it is not supported by any credible evidence, or it is completely untenable.'" First Atl. Fed. Credit Union v. Perez, 391 N.J. Super. 419, 432 (App. Div. 2007) (quoting Fagas v. Scott, 251 N.J. Super. 169, 190 (Law Div. 1991)). Where a party has a reasonable and good faith belief in the claims being asserted, reallocation of attorneys' fees and expenses will not be awarded. Ibid. Moreover, "a pleading will not be considered frivolous for purposes of imposing sanctions under Rule 1:4-8 unless the pleading as a whole is frivolous." United Hearts, L.L.C., supra, 407 N.J. Super. at 394. Thus, when some allegations are later proved unfounded, a complaint is not rendered frivolous if it also contains non-frivolous claims. Id. at 390.
By its plain terms, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 only allows the admission to probate of a defectively executed will, not an unexecuted will. N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 provides that if "a document
. . . was not executed in compliance with N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2," it may nonetheless be "treated as if it had been executed in compliance with N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2 if the proponent . . . establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document or writing to constitute [his or her] will." Thus, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 may be invoked only in a circumstance where the document "was not executed in compliance with N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2"; it does not apply if the document was not executed at all.
The conclusion that N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 was only intended to authorize the admission to probate of a defectively executed will, and not an unexecuted will, is confirmed by its legislative history. N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 was enacted in 2004 as one of a series of amendments to the New Jersey Probate Code. L. 2004, c. 132. The Senate Judiciary Committee's statement to the bill states that it was "modeled upon the 1990 version of the Uniform Probate Code." Senate Judiciary Committee, Statement to Senate Bill No. 708, enacted as L. 2004, c. 132 (reprinted after N.J.S.A. 3B:1-1).4 N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 is virtually identical to section 2-503 of that Uniform Probate Code. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the comments of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to determine the circumstances under which N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 may be relied upon to admit to probate a writing that has not been executed in conformity with N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2.
In addition, the Commissioners' comments state that Section 2-503 "is supported by the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers § 3.3 (1999)." That section provides:
Thus, both the comments to section 2-503 of the 1990 version of the Uniform Probate Code, from which N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 was derived, and the comments to the Third Restatement of Property, which are cited with approval in the comments to the Uniform Probate Code, indicate that N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 only authorizes probate of a defectively executed will, and not a document such as the one the trial court admitted to probate, which does not contain either the signature of the decedent or any form of attestation.5 This view of the intent of section
The majority's decision relies heavily upon this court's interpretation of N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 in In re Will of Macool, 416 N.J. Super. 298, 310 (App. Div. 2010), which concluded that for a will to be admitted to probate under this section, it must be established "by clear and convincing evidence, that: (1) the decedent actually reviewed the document in question; and (2) thereafter gave his or her final assent to it." Although I was on the panel that decided Macool, upon further reflection I have concluded that that opinion gives too expansive an interpretation to N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3; specifically, I disagree with the dictum that seems to indicate a draft will that has not been either signed by the decedent or attested to by any witnesses can be admitted to probate, provided the putative testator gave his or her "final assent" to the proposed will. See id. at 310-12.
The majority states, quoting Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Robert, 36 N.J. 561, 564 (1962), that "a court's duty in probate matters is 'to ascertain and give effect to the probable intent of the testator.'" Ante at 16. However, "the doctrine of probable intent is available only to interpret, but not to validate, a will." In re Will of Smith, 108 N.J. 257, 265 (1987). "Probable intent comes into play only after a will is found to be valid." Ibid. Therefore, even if the probate of the decedent's unexecuted will would be more likely to effectuate his testamentary intent than intestacy, a draft will that was not executed in conformity with N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2 and does not satisfy the prerequisites of N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 may not be admitted to probate.
Although N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 does not authorize the admission to probate of the unexecuted copy of the decedent's purported will, there is a common law doctrine under which a copy of a lost will may be admitted to probate if the party seeking probate can present satisfactory evidence of the original will's contents and execution and that the will was not revoked before the testator's death. See generally 3 Bowe-Parker, Page on Wills, §§ 27.1 to .15; 29.156 to .166 (3rd ed. 2004). The term "lost will" includes a will "which may be in existence but which cannot be found so as to be produced for probate." Page on Wills, supra, § 27.1, p. 433. There are New Jersey cases, mostly quite old, dealing with the attempts to admit copies of alleged lost original wills to probate in accordance with this common law doctrine. See, e.g., In re Will of Davis, 127 N.J. Eq. 55 (E. & A. 1940); In re Will of Bryan, 125 N.J. Eq. 471 (E. & A. 1939); Campbell v. Smullen, 96 N.J. Eq. 724, 725-29, 733-34 (E. & A. 1924); In re Will of Roman, 80 N.J. Super. 481 (Law Div. 1963); In re Will of Calef, 109 N.J. Eq. 181 (Ch. 1931), aff'd o.b., 111 N.J. Eq. 355 (E. & A. 1932), cert. denied, 288 U.S. 606, 53 S. Ct. 397, 77 L. Ed. 981 (1933); Coddington v. Jenner, 57 N.J. Eq. 528 (Ch. 1898), aff'd o.b., 60 N.J. Eq. 447 (E. & A. 1900).
Despite Jonathan Ehrlich's reliance upon N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 in seeking to probate the unexecuted copy of the decedent's will found after his death, Jonathan does not appear to claim that the decedent actually intended that document to be his will, as required for probate under N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3. Instead, Jonathan's claim appears to be that the will found in the decedent's home was an unexecuted copy of an original executed will, which the decedent sent to his executor Van Sciver, and that the original was lost by Van Sciver or Van Sciver's estate after his death. For the reasons previously discussed, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 does not address such a claim.
In my view, Jonathan is entitled to prevail only if he can show, in conformity with the common law authority dealing with lost wills, that the unexecuted will found in the decedent's home is a copy of an original executed will sent to Van Sciver, which was lost and not revoked by the decedent. However, because this case was presented solely under N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3, the trial court did not make any findings of fact regarding these issues. Indeed, the trial court concluded that the copy of the will found in the decedent's home could be admitted to probate under N.J.S.A. 3B:3-3 "[e]ven if the original . . . was not signed by [the decedent]." Therefore, I would remand to the trial court to make such findings. I would not preclude the parties from moving to supplement the record to present additional evidence on the question whether the unexecuted copy of the will found in the decedent's home may be admitted to probate as a copy of the alleged executed original sent to Van Sciver.
Posted by Kenneth Vercammen Esq. Edison at 2:34 PM No comments:
DOCKET NO. A-4577-10T4
HENRY MANGARELLI, JR.,
OF THE ESTATE OF HENRY A.
MANGARELLI,,
RUTH E. SNYDER,
Submitted April 16, 2012 - Decided
Jersey, Law Division, Passaic County,
Docket No. L-2007-09.
Robert J. Stack, attorney for appellant.
Piro, Zinna, Cifelli, Paris & Genitempo,
attorneys for respondent (Alan Genitempo,
Henry was hospitalized again early in 2006. After he was discharged, he and defendant went to a financial advisor and opened a joint account, listing her address. The advisor consolidated all but one of Henry's accounts into that joint account. The lone exception was an account on which the beneficiaries were defendant and plaintiff's wife.
Between June 2005 and Henry's death in January 2008, plaintiff and his family were in regular contact with Henry but never discussed financial matters. Defendant made Henry's funeral arrangements and paid the expenses and his bills from the account in which she and plaintiff's wife had an interest. Apart from the accounts in which defendant had an interest, there was nothing in Henry's estate other than a truck that plaintiff sold for $5000.
On those facts, the judge concluded that defendant had a confidential relationship with her father. Contrary to defendant's claim, that finding is based on adequate evidence and a proper application of the law. Consequently, we cannot disturb it. Rova Farms Resort, Inc. v. Investors Ins. Co. of Am., 65 N.J. 474, 483-84 (1974).
The essential elements of a confidential relationship — confidence in and dependence upon the person benefited — are present. See Pascale v. Pascale, 113 N.J. 20, 34 (1988) (noting the significance of a parent's delegation of authority to manage legal and financial affairs to a child); Estate of Ostlund v. Ostlund, 391 N.J. Super. 390, 401-02 (App. Div. 2007) (listing characteristics of a confidential relationship, such as one person's placing confidence in another who exercises control). Henry consulted defendant's former attorney, and she accompanied him to meetings with that attorney despite his advice to the contrary. Henry also had defendant accompany him to meetings with his financial advisor, and by executing a power of attorney he gave defendant authority to conduct his legal and financial affairs months before he established their joint account. That evidence demonstrates Henry's confidence in defendant and his dependence upon her relevant to the transactions from which she benefited.
Defendant argues that a confidential relationship is not enough to give rise to a presumption of undue influence. But the judge recognized that the presumption is warranted "[w]hen there is a confidential relationship coupled with suspicious circumstances." Estate of Stockdale, 196 N.J. 275, 303 (2008). The judge found suspicious circumstances as well. Here, the judge deemed it suspicious that Henry executed a will naming plaintiff as the sole beneficiary with a plan to have his assets pass outside, but he then delayed nearly six months before establishing the joint account essential to achieve that goal. We see no basis for disturbing that determination, because it too is supported by the evidence and consistent with the law.
Labels: Mangarelli v. Snyder