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New Jersey Probate Guide

County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in New Jersey.

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Types of Probate in New Jersey

New Jersey probate runs through the county Surrogate's Court in each of the state's 21 counties. The elected County Surrogate is a constitutional officer who also serves as deputy clerk of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part, and an uncontested estate is opened over the counter rather than at a hearing. Nothing can be probated until 10 days after the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22). Where there is a will, the named executor presents the original will and a certified death certificate and receives letters testamentary and short certificates. Where there is none, the Surrogate grants letters of general administration and normally requires a surety bond. An intestate estate small enough to skip administration entirely uses an affidavit before the Surrogate: $50,000 of real and personal assets for a surviving spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3), or $20,000 for one heir with the written consent of the remaining heirs (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4). A contested probate, a caveat, a formal accounting, or an elective-share complaint goes to the Superior Court instead. Fees are set statewide by N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 and are identical in every county: $100 to probate a will of not more than two pages and $125 for general administration, with no probate tax and no per-county filing fee. New Jersey repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2018 but still levies the Transfer Inheritance Tax (N.J.S.A. 54:34-2), which is charged on what a beneficiary receives; Class A takers, including a spouse, partner, parent, child, stepchild, and grandchild, pay none.

See the full comparison of New Jersey probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.
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New Jersey Probate Filing Offices by County

Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 21 counties have detailed data.

Full data available: AtlanticFull data available: BergenFull data available: BurlingtonFull data available: CamdenFull data available: Cape MayFull data available: CumberlandFull data available: EssexFull data available: GloucesterFull data available: HudsonFull data available: HunterdonFull data available: MercerFull data available: Middlesex
Show all 21 counties
Full data available: MonmouthFull data available: MorrisFull data available: OceanFull data available: PassaicFull data available: SalemFull data available: SomersetFull data available: SussexFull data available: UnionFull data available: Warren

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New Jersey Probate Guides

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New Jersey Probate Guide
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New Jersey Probate Guide

How to Avoid Probate in New Jersey
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New Jersey Probate Timeline

New Jersey Executor Duties
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New Jersey Executor Duties

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New Jersey Advance Directive

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New Jersey Ancillary Probate

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Probate Basics

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Executor Duties

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Property Transfer

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Avoiding Probate

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New Jersey Probate Self-Help and Online Resources

New Jersey Estate Law Overview

New Jersey Estate Tax Info

Most New Jersey families owe no inheritance tax, because Class A beneficiaries (spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children including adopted children, stepchildren, and grandchildren and further descendants of a child) are exempt from the tax.

No
State Estate Tax
Yes
Inheritance Tax
Federal estate tax info

Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).

Who Inherits Without a Will?

Intestate succession decides who receives probate property when a New Jersey resident dies without a valid will.

View spouse inheritance rules
No descendant of the decedent and no parent of the decedent survives100%

The surviving spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner takes the entire intestate estate under N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3(a)(1).

All of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse or partner, and that spouse or partner has no other surviving descendant100%

The surviving spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner takes the entire intestate estate under N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3(a)(2).

No descendant of the decedent survives, but a parent of the decedent survivesThe first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000 and not more than $200,000, plus three-fourths of any balance

N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3(b). Example: on a $400,000 intestate estate the preferred share is $100,000 (25%, inside the $50,000-$200,000 band) and the spouse also takes three-fourths of the $300,000 balance, or $225,000, for $325,000 total.

All of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse or partner, but that spouse or partner has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedentThe first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000 and not more than $200,000, plus one-half of the balance

N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3(c)(1).

One or more of the decedent's surviving descendants is not a descendant of the surviving spouse or partner (for example, a child from a prior relationship)The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000 and not more than $200,000, plus one-half of the balance

N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3(c)(2).

View order of inheritance (no spouse)
  1. 1Descendants (children, grandchildren, and their descendants)The balance after any spousal, civil union partner, or domestic partner share, or the entire estate if none survives, by representation
  2. 2ParentsIf no descendant survives, to the parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent, except where a parent is disqualified under N.J.S.A. 3B:5-14.1
  3. 3Descendants of parents (brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews)If no descendant or parent survives, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them, by representation
  4. 4Grandparents and their descendants (aunts, uncles, first cousins)If no descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent survives, half passes to the paternal grandparents equally or the survivor, or to their descendants by representation, and the other half passes to the maternal side in the same manner. If one side has no surviving grandparent or descendant of a grandparent, the entire estate passes to the other side.
  5. 5Descendants of grandparents where no grandparent survivesIf no descendant, parent, descendant of a parent, or grandparent survives, but descendants of grandparents survive, they take equally if all are of the same degree of kinship, and by representation if of unequal degree
  6. 6Step-children and their descendantsIf there are no surviving descendants of grandparents, the estate passes to the decedent's step-children or their descendants by representation

New Jersey Homestead Protection

New Jersey has NO general homestead exemption. There is no constitutional homestead, no statutory dollar homestead exemption from creditors, and no homestead allowance in an estate. The only general New Jersey exemption from execution is $1,000 of personal property plus all wearing apparel under N.J.S.A. 2A:17-19. The one carve-out is new: the New Jersey Veterans and Military Spouses Asset Protection Act (P.L.2025, c.326) created an unlimited-value residence exemption for veterans, service members, and military spouses only.

Restrictions on leaving homestead in will

With minor children:

No homestead devise restriction. New Jersey provides no homestead allowance and no maintenance allowance for minor children. The only estate set-aside is the family exemption in N.J.S.A. 3B:16-5, and even that may not be permitted to conflict with the will.

Exempt Property

New Jersey's only estate set-aside for a decedent's family is the FAMILY EXEMPTION under N.J.S.A. 3B:16-5: the decedent's wearing apparel plus personal property to the value of $5,000, reserved for the use of the family against all creditors and before any distribution. New Jersey has NO Uniform Probate Code homestead allowance and NO monthly or lump-sum family maintenance allowance.

New Jersey Probate Questions

How much does probate cost in New Jersey?
New Jersey probate filing fees vary by county and type of administration. Typical costs include the court filing fee plus certified copy fees, publication notice fees where notice is required, and potential bond premiums. Use our free New Jersey fee calculator for county-specific estimates.
How long does probate take in New Jersey?
Most New Jersey estates run about 9 to 12 months. The floor is set by the creditor bar: claims must be presented to the personal representative in writing and under oath within NINE MONTHS of the DATE OF DEATH (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4). New Jersey requires no publication of a notice to creditors, so there is no shorter mailed-notice window that can be started early, and the personal representative must allow or dispute a presented claim within 3 months after it is presented (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-7). Along the way, nothing may be probated until 10 days after the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22), the Notice of Probate goes out within 60 days of probate with proof of mailing filed within 10 days after that (R. 4:80-6), and the Transfer Inheritance Tax return is due eight months after death. No routine inventory is required, so there is no inventory deadline unless the court orders one or the family exemption is being set off (N.J.S.A. 3B:16-2). The affidavit routes that skip administration entirely carry no waiting period and often finish in a single Surrogate visit.
Do I need an attorney for probate in New Jersey?
New Jersey does not require a personal representative to hire an attorney, and an uncontested probate at the Surrogate is designed to be handled without one. Counsel is worth retaining when a caveat is filed or the will is contested, when the will is not self-proving or the original is lost, when a surviving spouse considers the elective share, when the estate is insolvent and the seven-class payment ladder in N.J.S.A. 3B:22-2 has to be worked, when a formal accounting or a fiduciary removal heads to the Superior Court, or when the Transfer Inheritance Tax and the waivers needed to release assets get complicated. New Jersey sets no statutory attorney-fee schedule, so the fee is agreed or court-allowed. Consult a licensed New Jersey attorney about your own situation.
Are these New Jersey probate resources county-specific?
No. This map shows state-level source links from Settled data. Use it with the New Jersey county page and the county office handling the estate before filing.
Which New Jersey source should I use first?
Start with the official court, form, or agency source for the task, then confirm local requirements with the county filing office, clerk, register, or office that accepts the filing.
Does the New Jersey Probate Resource Map replace attorney review?
No. The map is source navigation. It helps families find current public sources, but it does not decide eligibility, prepare filings, or replace advice from counsel.