Elective Share

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes a spouse wants to disinherit their other spouse. More often, a couple gets married and one party, who had already executed a will leaving everything to their dear aunt Edna, dies before revising it. What does the surviving spouse do? Are they resigned to a life of poverty?

The law in New Jersey does not allow that to happen. A spouse in New Jersey is entitled to at least one-third of the proceeds of an estate, and if there is no will that percentage is usually substantially higher.