Important legal terms

• Will: A will is a written document that directs how a person's estate is distributed after his or her death.
  
• Estate is a legal term for the things that a person owns at the time of his or her death (assets and possessions), and includes two parts: personal property and real property.
  
• Personal Property is a person's belongings, such as clothing or jewelry.
  
• Real Property is land or buildings.
  
• Testator: A man who makes a will is called a testator.
  
• Testatrix: A woman who makes a will is called a testatrix.

Who can make a will?
In New Jersey anyone 18 years of age or older who is mentally competent can make a will.