Court Filings

The Fourth Court of Appeals reversed a probate court's summary judgment that had declared Reynaldo Hernandez’s 2022 will invalid on grounds of forgery. The probate court had accepted a contestant’s handwriting expert affidavit and voided the will despite the document bearing a notarized self-proving affidavit. The appeals court held that a will with a self-proving affidavit carries a statutory presumption of valid execution and that competing competent evidence about the signature created a genuine fact issue. Because summary judgment was improper when credibility and weight of evidence are disputed, the court reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

The Appellate Division affirmed the Chancery Division's May 14, 2025 order denying the executors' motion to compel arbitration of will/trust disputes under Samuel Hekemian's 2002 will. The court held the will's arbitration clause is not a valid, enforceable waiver because interested parties did not mutually assent to arbitrate or knowingly relinquish their right to court adjudication. The court also held arbitration clauses in testamentary instruments that would displace statutory court supervision of estates conflict with New Jersey's Probate Code, so the disputes must remain subject to court proceedings.