In re the Probate of the Alleged Will of Araneo

WEFING, J.S.C.

This case raises a matter of apparent first impression in New Jersey, the construction of N.J.S.A. 3B:5-16(b). This statute provides:

If at the time of execution of the will the testator fails to provide in his will for a living child solely because he believes the child to be dead, the child receives a share in the estate equal in value to that which he would have received if the testator had died intestate.

The issue arises in the following context. Gerard Araneo died intestate on November 5,1984, a resident of Hudson County. His will, which was executed on March 2, 1981,…