New Jersey Estate Checklist | Small Estate Map

Which procedure

Your name (optional)

Papers most holders ask for Certified copies of the death certificate Your photo ID The will, if there is one Recent statements for each account, car and property

Papers for this procedure: Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, Partner in a Civil Union or Domestic Partner (assets without administration) 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

Other formats

Your checklist

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 death	Limit
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

Confirm the person left no will and no spouse or partner, and list every heir.
Get each of the other heirs to sign a written consent.
Contact the Surrogate's office in the county where the person lived for an appointment.
Sign the affidavit before the Surrogate and file it with the consents.
Get sealed copies and present them to banks, the MVC and other holders.
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.

Forms

Camden County Surrogate: forms (Heir Affidavit, Consent of Heir) and fees

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

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

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

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.

Related pages

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.