New Jersey Small Estate Affidavit

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

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 property	How it is treated	Details
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

Questions about small estates in New Jersey

How long must I wait to use the affidavit in New Jersey?

The law sets no waiting period for this affidavit.

What does the affidavit cost in New Jersey?

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).

Am I responsible for debts if I use the affidavit in New Jersey?

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.

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.