New Jersey Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

New Jersey's Surrogate's Court, one elected Surrogate in each of the state's 21 counties, handles most probate matters as paperwork rather than a court hearing. New Jersey repealed its separate estate tax in 2018, but it still taxes many inheritances directly, a distinction its own tax forms don't spell out.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in New Jersey

New Jersey probate begins with the county Surrogate, an elected official who serves as the presiding officer of the county's Surrogate's Court under the state's constitution. For an uncontested estate, admitting a will or appointing an administrator is largely a paperwork process at the Surrogate's office: the executor named in the will (or the closest heir, if there is no will) files the death certificate, the original will if one exists, and a short application, and the Surrogate issues letters testamentary or letters of administration authorizing that person to act for the estate. No courtroom appearance is required for a routine, uncontested matter.

If a dispute arises, such as a will contest, a challenge to who should be appointed, or a disagreement among heirs, the matter transfers out of the Surrogate's Court and into the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part, for formal litigation before a judge. New Jersey has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so it does not use the informal/formal/supervised track language that Uniform Probate Code states like New Mexico use; New Jersey's system is simply administrative for uncontested matters and fully judicial once contested.

Once appointed, the executor or administrator must give creditors formal notice. Under N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4, creditors have nine months from the date of death to present claims against the estate, and a personal representative who distributes assets before that window closes risks personal liability if a valid claim shows up later. This nine-month window is the main reason a routine New Jersey estate administration commonly runs nine to eighteen months in practice, even when nothing is contested.

Intestate Succession in New Jersey: Who Inherits Without a Will

New Jersey's intestate succession statute, N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3, sets the surviving spouse's share based on whether the decedent's children are also the spouse's children. If every one of the decedent's surviving descendants is also a descendant of the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no descendants of their own from outside the marriage, the surviving spouse inherits the entire intestate estate.

If the decedent has descendants who are not also the spouse's descendants (commonly, children from a prior relationship), or the surviving spouse has descendants of their own from outside the marriage, the formula changes: the spouse takes the first 25% of the intestate estate (not less than $50,000 nor more than $200,000) plus one-half of whatever remains, and the balance passes to the decedent's descendants by representation. If the decedent leaves a spouse but no descendants at all, and a parent survives, the spouse takes the first 25% (again, not less than $50,000 nor more than $200,000) plus three-fourths of the balance, with the remainder to the surviving parent or parents.

Where there is no surviving spouse or partner, the entire estate passes to the decedent's descendants by representation. If there are none, it passes to the decedent's parents, equally or to the survivor. If there are no parents, it passes to the descendants of the decedent's parents (siblings, and nieces and nephews by representation of a deceased sibling). Failing all of that, N.J.S.A. 3B:5-4 splits the estate in half between the decedent's paternal grandparents (or their descendants) and maternal grandparents (or their descendants). New Jersey is not a community property state, so none of these shares are affected by a community-property ownership rule the way they would be in New Mexico.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following New Jersey's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free New Jersey Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in New Jersey

New Jersey uses two separate small-estate thresholds depending on who is filing, both handled through the county Surrogate rather than full estate administration. If the affiant is the decedent's surviving spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner, an estate consisting of real and personal property worth up to $50,000 can be administered through a simplified affidavit under N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3, without appointing a full administrator.

If there is no surviving spouse or partner, any other next of kin can use the same kind of simplified affidavit for an estate up to $20,000 under N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4, but only after obtaining the written consent of the other heirs and executing the affidavit before the county Surrogate or the Superior Court. Both procedures are filed at the County Surrogate's Court and are designed to let genuinely modest estates avoid the cost and delay of full administration.

Does New Jersey Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

New Jersey has no separate state ESTATE tax. It was repealed for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2018, confirmed by the New Jersey Division of Taxation. That repeal is often misread as "New Jersey has no death tax," which is not accurate: New Jersey still levies an INHERITANCE TAX, a different tax based on who receives the property rather than the total size of the estate.

New Jersey's inheritance tax rate depends entirely on the beneficiary's relationship to the decedent. Class A beneficiaries, which include a spouse, civil union or domestic partner, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, and parents, are fully exempt and owe no inheritance tax at all. Class C beneficiaries, siblings and sons- or daughters-in-law, get the first $25,000 exempt, then pay 11% up to $1,075,000, 13% on the next portion up to $1,375,000, 14% up to $1,700,000, and 16% above that. Class D beneficiaries, everyone else, including nieces, nephews, friends, and unmarried partners, get no exemption at all: 15% on the first $700,000 and 16% above that. In other words, a New Jersey estate passing entirely to a spouse and children can owe nothing, while the same size estate passing to a niece, a friend, or an unmarried partner can owe a substantial tax bill.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

Many uncontested New Jersey estates move through the Surrogate's Court without an attorney, especially small estates using the affidavit procedures above. An attorney is worth engaging when a will is likely to be contested, when the estate includes a business interest, when the family situation is blended in a way the intestate succession statute does not cleanly cover, or when a beneficiary falls into Class C or Class D and faces a real New Jersey inheritance tax bill that a lawyer or accountant can help plan around.

See Probate by State for how New Jersey's rules compare to other states, including states with no inheritance tax at all.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in New Jersey as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in New Jersey, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, a blended family, or a beneficiary facing New Jersey inheritance tax. Figures, thresholds, and program details change; verify current details directly with the New Jersey Surrogate's Court or the Division of Taxation before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.