Whether a Testator can compel beneficiaries of an Estate to arbitrate potential disputes regarding the enforcement, interpretation, and administration of a Last Will and Testament by including a mandatory arbitration provision is a novel legal issue which, until recently, had not been considered by the courts in New Jersey. For those hoping that an arbitration provision could be used when drafting a Last Will and Testament to bar litigation in court and thereby reduce the possible time and expense of estate disputes, a recent New Jersey decision dashed such hopes and held that arbitration provisions in a will are unenforceable.<\/p>\n
In the case of In Re Estate of Hekemian<\/em>, the plaintiff, Richard E. Hekemian, one of the Decedent\u2019s four sons and a beneficiary of his Estate, filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from two of his brothers, Peter S. Hekemian and Edward G. Imperatore, in their capacities as Co-Executors of their late father\u2019s Estate. Upon notice of the litigation, the defendants filed a motion to compel arbitration based on an arbitration provision in the Decedent\u2019s Will. In turn, the plaintiff opposed the motion claiming that the arbitration provision in the will is invalid under New Jersey. <\/p>\n While noting that the State of New Jersey, as a matter of public policy, generally favors arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism, the New Jersey Superior Court determined that an arbitration provision in a Decedent\u2019s Last Will and Testament was unenforceable. The court began its analysis by noting the hallmark principle that a testator\u2019s intent should be honored and upheld. To wit, the court cited to the statute at N.J.S.A.<\/em> 3B:3-33.1 which states that \u201cthe intention of a testator as expressed in his will controls the legal effects of his dispositions\u201d.<\/p>\n