Settle a small estate in New Jersey without probate

In New Jersey this is called: Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (or civil union / domestic partner) and Affidavit of Next of Kin, filed with the County Surrogate (assets without administration). If the person died without a will and left a small estate, a surviving spouse or partner (estate up to $50,000) or, if there is no spouse or partner, one heir with the written consent of the other heirs (estate up to $20,000) signs an affidavit before the County Surrogate.

Up to $20,000 (deaths on or after January 19, 2016), filed with a court.

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Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.

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Free tools

Small estate checker

Add up the estate and compare it with the New Jersey limit for the date of death.

Letter to a bank

Present your signed affidavit to a bank or other holder in New Jersey.

Balance request letter

Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.

What-to-gather checklist

Papers, steps, forms and fees for New Jersey, by procedure.

Car, bank, house in New Jersey

Car or other vehicle

All transfers are done in person at an MVC vehicle center (make an appointment). If the title is in both spouses' or partners' names, the survivor brings the signed title, a copy of the death certificate and a notarized affidavit.

Bank accounts

Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and a payable-on-death account goes to its named beneficiary. For an account in the person's name alone, if there was no will and the estate is small enough, the spouse or partner (up to $50,000) or the consenting heir (up to $20,000) presents a copy of the affidavit marked a true copy by the Surrogate; the bank that pays on it is fully discharged.

Related pages

Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, Partner in a Civil Union or Domestic Partner (assets without administration)

When the person died without a will and everything they owned is worth $50,000 or less, the surviving spouse or partner signs an affidavit before the County Surrogate and becomes entitled to all of the person's property, real and personal, without opening a full estate.

Limit

Up to $50,000 (deaths on or after January 19, 2016)

Date of deathLimit
On or after January 19, 2016
$50,000
On or before January 18, 2016
$20,000

For a death on or after January 19, 2016, the person's real and personal assets together cannot be worth more than $50,000. For earlier deaths the limit was $20,000. The first $10,000 of the assets is free from all of the person's debts.

What counts

The total value of the person's real and personal assets in the estate. County Surrogate guidance describes this as property in the person's name alone; joint and payable-on-death property passes outside the estate.

Waiting period

The law sets no waiting period for this affidavit.

Who can use it

The surviving spouse, partner in a civil union or registered domestic partner of a person who died without a will. A person who had a pending divorce or dissolution complaint, an equitable distribution cut-off or settlement agreement, or who had separated and divided assets, does not count as a surviving spouse or partner.

Court or where to file

Surrogate of the county where the person lived at death. If the person did not live in New Jersey, the Surrogate of a county where any of the assets are. It may also be done before the Superior Court.

Notary

The affidavit is sworn before the County Surrogate. If you live outside New Jersey, the Surrogate may authorize in writing that you sign it where you live before an officer who can take acknowledgments.

Papers to attach
  • Affidavit stating you are the surviving spouse or partner, the person's residence at death, the nature, location and value of each real and personal asset, and that the total does not exceed $50,000
  • Death certificate
  • Records showing each asset's value, such as bank statements and the vehicle title
Steps
  1. Confirm the person left no will and list everything in their name alone with its value.
  2. Contact the Surrogate's office in the county where the person lived to make an appointment and ask what to bring.
  3. Sign the affidavit before the Surrogate. The Surrogate files and records it.
  4. Get copies of the affidavit with the Surrogate's raised seal for each bank, the MVC and other holders.
  5. Present a sealed copy to each holder to collect or transfer the asset.
Fee

By statute the Surrogate charges $5 for each $100 of assets (or part of $100), up to a total of $50, and waives the fee when the assets are $200 or less. Counties also charge for extra copies (for example, $5 each in Camden County).

If you can't pay

The Surrogate's fee is waived when the estate's assets do not exceed $200.

Debts and responsibility

The spouse or partner gets all the rights, powers and duties of an appointed administrator and can be sued and required to account as if appointed by the Surrogate. The first $10,000 of the assets is free from all of the person's debts.

What the bank or holder must do

A bank, savings and loan, corporation or other person that pays or delivers assets to the affiant on a copy marked a true copy by the Surrogate is forever discharged from all claims for those assets, even if the estate turns out to be over the limit or the affidavit is wrong.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-5; N.J.S. 22A:2-30

Source: Official page

Affidavit of Next of Kin (heirs entitled to assets without administration)

When the person died without a will, left no spouse or partner, and everything is worth $20,000 or less, one heir, with the written consent of all the other heirs, signs an affidavit before the County Surrogate and collects the property for all the heirs and creditors.

Limit

Up to $20,000 (deaths on or after January 19, 2016)

Date of deathLimit
On or after January 19, 2016
$20,000
On or before January 18, 2016
$10,000

For a death on or after January 19, 2016, the person's real and personal assets together cannot be worth more than $20,000. For earlier deaths the limit was $10,000.

What counts

The total value of the person's real and personal assets in the estate. County Surrogate guidance describes this as property in the person's name alone.

Waiting period

The law sets no waiting period for this affidavit.

Who can use it

One heir of a person who died without a will and without a surviving spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner, after getting the written consent of all the other heirs.

Court or where to file

Surrogate of the county where the person lived at death. If the person did not live in New Jersey, the Surrogate of a county where any assets are. It may also be done before the Superior Court.

Notary

The affidavit is sworn before the County Surrogate. If you live outside New Jersey, the Surrogate may authorize in writing that you sign it where you live before an officer who can take acknowledgments.

Papers to attach
  • Affidavit stating the person's residence at death, the names, addresses and relationships of all the heirs, the nature, location and value of each real and personal asset, and that the total does not exceed $20,000
  • Written consent of every other heir
  • Death certificate
  • Records showing each asset's value
Steps
  1. Confirm the person left no will and no spouse or partner, and list every heir.
  2. Get each of the other heirs to sign a written consent.
  3. Contact the Surrogate's office in the county where the person lived for an appointment.
  4. Sign the affidavit before the Surrogate and file it with the consents.
  5. Get sealed copies and present them to banks, the MVC and other holders.
  6. Use the assets for the benefit of all the heirs and creditors.
Fee

By statute the Surrogate charges $5 for each $100 of assets (or part of $100), up to a total of $50, and waives the fee when the assets are $200 or less. Counties also charge for extra copies (for example, $5 each in Camden County).

If you can't pay

The Surrogate's fee is waived when the estate's assets do not exceed $200.

Debts and responsibility

The heir who signs receives the assets for the benefit of all the heirs and creditors, gets all the rights, powers and duties of an appointed administrator, and can be sued and required to account as if appointed by the Surrogate. No bond is required.

What the bank or holder must do

A bank, savings and loan, corporation or other person that pays or delivers assets on a copy marked a true copy by the Surrogate is forever discharged from all claims for those assets, even if the estate is over the limit, the affidavit is wrong, or the consents were not obtained.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-4, 3B:10-5; N.J.S. 22A:2-30

Source: Official page

What counts toward the limit in New Jersey

Add up the value of all the person's real and personal assets in the estate: property in their name alone, including real estate. Property that passes to a surviving joint owner or a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiary is outside the estate. The statute does not say whether mortgages or other debts are subtracted.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Kind of propertyHow it is treatedDetails
Bank accounts in the person's name alone
Counts

Bank accounts in the person's name alone count.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
Left out

Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and a payable-on-death account goes to its beneficiary, so these are not part of the estate.

Law: N.J.S.A. 17:16I-5

Cars and other vehicles
Counts

A vehicle in the person's name alone counts; the MVC accepts the sealed affidavit to transfer it. A vehicle titled with a transfer-on-death beneficiary, or in both spouses' names, passes outside the estate.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4; N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b

Boats and mobile or manufactured homes
Counts

A boat, mobile home or other personal property in the person's name alone counts.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Real estate in New Jersey
Counts

New Jersey real estate in the person's name alone counts. These affidavits cover real as well as personal assets.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Main home (primary residence)
Counts

The person's home counts if it was in their name alone. A home owned with a spouse as tenants by the entirety or in joint tenancy passes to the survivor.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Real estate in another state
Not clear

Ask the County Surrogate how real estate in another state is treated.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Unpaid wages owed to the person
Counts

Unpaid wages are an asset of the estate. Separately, an employer may pay all wages due a deceased worker, on proper demand and without letters, to the surviving spouse, then adult children, parents, brothers and sisters, or whoever paid the funeral expenses.

Law: N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.5

Military pay owed to the person
Not clear

Ask the County Surrogate how to list military pay owed to the person.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person
Left out

Life insurance and retirement benefits paid to a named beneficiary belong to that beneficiary and are not part of the estate.

Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate
Counts

Insurance or retirement money payable to the person's estate counts.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Property in a living trust
Left out

Property held in a trust passes under the trust and is not in the person's name alone.

Property owned jointly with right of survivorship
Left out

Property owned jointly with a right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner and is not counted.

Law: N.J.S.A. 17:16I-5

Property going to a surviving spouse
Counts

Property in the person's name alone counts even though the spouse or partner receives it; the spouse's limit is $50,000.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3

Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts
Counts

Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone count. Securities registered in transfer-on-death or payable-on-death form go to the beneficiary.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4; N.J.S. 3B:30-1 et seq

Furniture, jewelry and other belongings
Counts

Furniture, jewelry and other belongings count at their value.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Source: Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in New Jersey

All transfers are done in person at an MVC vehicle center (make an appointment). If the title is in both spouses' or partners' names, the survivor brings the signed title, a copy of the death certificate and a notarized affidavit. If the title is in the person's name alone and there was no will: a surviving spouse or partner (estate up to $50,000) brings the title and an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse with the County Surrogate's raised seal; an heir with no spouse or partner (estate up to $20,000) brings the title and an Affidavit of Next of Kin with the Surrogate's raised seal. For larger estates, or when there is a will, the administrator or executor signs the title and presents the Surrogate's short certificate. Liens must be paid before a new title is issued unless the lien moves to the sole owner.

Law: N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b, 39:3-30.1c; N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4

Source: form BA-62

Agency
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC)
Fee

$60 title fee. An existing registration can be transferred to an immediate family member for $4.50.

Transfer-on-death title

An owner can name a transfer-on-death beneficiary for a New Jersey-titled vehicle. The vehicle is then not part of the estate and no letters are needed: after the death the beneficiary presents the completed Transfer on Death Beneficiary form, the title, the death certificate and a Universal Title Application. A will does not override the TOD designation.

Source: Official page

Bank accounts after a death in New Jersey

Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and a payable-on-death account goes to its named beneficiary. For an account in the person's name alone, if there was no will and the estate is small enough, the spouse or partner (up to $50,000) or the consenting heir (up to $20,000) presents a copy of the affidavit marked a true copy by the Surrogate; the bank that pays on it is fully discharged. Otherwise an executor or administrator appointed by the Surrogate collects it.

Law: N.J.S.A. 17:16I-5; N.J.S. 3B:10-3 to 3B:10-5

Source: Official page

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in New Jersey

Real estate (TOD deed)

No

New Jersey law does not provide a transfer-on-death deed for real estate. Real estate in the person's name alone passes through the estate (it can pass by a small estate affidavit if the whole estate is under the limit and there is no will); real estate held as tenants by the entirety or joint tenants passes to the survivor.

Law: N.J.S. Title 3B

Vehicle title (TOD)

Yes

Law: N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b

Bank account (POD)

Yes

Law: N.J.S.A. 17:16I-5

Securities (TOD)

Yes

Law: N.J.S. 3B:30-1 et seq

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in New Jersey

If there is no will and the estate is worth $50,000 or less, the surviving spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner can take all of it by Affidavit of Surviving Spouse before the County Surrogate, and the first $10,000 is free from the person's debts. A vehicle titled in both spouses' names passes to the survivor with MVC form BA-62. An employer may pay a deceased worker's unpaid wages to the surviving spouse without letters.

Debts of the person in New Jersey

A person who signs either affidavit has the duties of an administrator and can be sued and made to account for what they received. Under the spouse's affidavit, the first $10,000 of assets is free from all of the person's debts. Under the next-of-kin affidavit, the heir receives the assets for the benefit of all heirs and creditors. When assets are not enough to pay everything, New Jersey law sets an order of priority for claims (N.J.S. 3B:22-2).

Medicaid estate recovery in New Jersey

DMAHS must seek repayment from the estates of people who received Medicaid services at age 55 or older, including managed-care capitation payments. New Jersey uses a broad definition of estate: it includes not only probate property but any property the person had an interest in at death, including property passing to a survivor through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, a life estate or a living trust. Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary is not included, but insurance paid to the estate is. No recovery is sought while there is a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently and totally disabled child; it is postponed until those conditions end. DMAHS may also not pursue recovery when it is not cost-effective, when the property is the only source of income for survivors who would otherwise need public assistance, or (by delaying enforcement of a lien) when a family member has lived in the home continuously.

Law: N.J.S.A. 30:4D-7.2, 30:4D-7.2a

Agency
New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS), Department of Human Services
Official page
Official page

Who inherits with no will in New Jersey

If there is no will: the surviving spouse or partner gets everything if the person left no descendants or parents, or if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants. If no descendants but a parent survives, the spouse gets the first 25% (at least $50,000 and no more than $200,000) plus three-quarters of the rest. If either has children from another relationship, the spouse gets the first 25% (same minimum and maximum) plus half of the rest. Anything else goes to descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents' families.

Law: N.J.S. 3B:5-3, 3B:5-4

Source: Official page

Death certificates in New Jersey

Certified copies are issued only to close relatives (spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, parent), legal representatives, government agencies or by court order, and requests must include valid ID and proof of relationship. Others receive a certification that cannot be used for legal purposes. Information line: 1-866-649-8726.

Where to get it
New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, or the local registrar where the death occurred
Official page
Official page

Where to file in New Jersey

Both small estate affidavits are signed and filed with the Surrogate of the county where the person lived at death (or, for a non-resident, a county where assets are). Call the Surrogate's office first; most work by appointment. The Surrogate gives sealed copies to present to banks and the MVC. If there is a will, these affidavits cannot be used; the executor probates the will with the County Surrogate.

Good to know in New Jersey

  • Both New Jersey affidavits are only for people who died without a will (N.J.S. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4).
  • Real estate can pass by these affidavits: the spouse or partner becomes 'entitled absolutely to all the real and personal assets' (N.J.S. 3B:10-3).
  • A bank or other holder that pays on the Surrogate's true copy is discharged even if the affidavit later proves wrong (N.J.S. 3B:10-5).

National rules that apply in every state

Federal estate tax

  • For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
  • Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.

Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)

The final income tax return

  • Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
  • Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
  • To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).

Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)

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Social Security

  • Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
  • If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)

Savings bonds

  • If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.

Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)

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Debts

  • Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
  • If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
  • You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)

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A house with a mortgage

  • For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
  • Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
  • Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/

Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31

FDIC insurance on bank accounts

  • After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.

Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)

Medicaid estate recovery

  • States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
  • The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
  • Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)

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Death certificates

  • Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.

Free help in New Jersey

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.

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Questions about small estates in New Jersey

What is a small estate affidavit called in New Jersey?

In New Jersey this is called: Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (or civil union / domestic partner) and Affidavit of Next of Kin, filed with the County Surrogate (assets without administration). If the person died without a will and left a small estate, a surviving spouse or partner (estate up to $50,000) or, if there is no spouse or partner, one heir with the written consent of the other heirs (estate up to $20,000) signs an affidavit before the County Surrogate.

What is the small estate limit in New Jersey?

Up to $20,000 (deaths on or after January 19, 2016), filed with a court.

How long do I wait in New Jersey?

The law sets no waiting period for this affidavit.

Do I have to go to court in New Jersey?

Surrogate of the county where the person lived at death. If the person did not live in New Jersey, the Surrogate of a county where any assets are. It may also be done before the Superior Court.

How do I transfer a car after a death in New Jersey?

All transfers are done in person at an MVC vehicle center (make an appointment). If the title is in both spouses' or partners' names, the survivor brings the signed title, a copy of the death certificate and a notarized affidavit.

What happens to a bank account after a death in New Jersey?

Money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and a payable-on-death account goes to its named beneficiary. For an account in the person's name alone, if there was no will and the estate is small enough, the spouse or partner (up to $50,000) or the consenting heir (up to $20,000) presents a copy of the affidavit marked a true copy by the Surrogate; the bank that pays on it is fully discharged.

Who inherits in New Jersey if there is no will?

If there is no will: the surviving spouse or partner gets everything if the person left no descendants or parents, or if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants.

Do I owe the person's debts in New Jersey?

A person who signs either affidavit has the duties of an administrator and can be sued and made to account for what they received. Under the spouse's affidavit, the first $10,000 of assets is free from all of the person's debts.

Sources