New Jersey Probate Cost: A Flat Surrogate Fee and a Statutory Commission
New Jersey charges a flat statutory surrogate fee that does not scale with the size of the estate. The numbers that do scale are the personal representative commission and the Transfer Inheritance Tax, and neither one is a filing fee.
Opening an estate in New Jersey costs $100.00 to probate a will of not more than two pages, plus $5.00 for each additional page, or $125.00 to open a general administration when there is no will. N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 fixes those amounts statewide, so they are the same at all 21 county Surrogates. New Jersey charges no probate tax and no per-county probate filing fee, and the cost of opening an estate does not rise with its value. Short certificates, the proof of authority banks and transfer agents ask for, are $5.00 each.
The larger value-linked cost is the personal representative commission under N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14: 5% of the first $200,000 of corpus received, 3.5% of the excess over $200,000 up to $1,000,000, and 2% above $1,000,000, plus 6% of income received under N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13. Both are takeable without a court allowance. The other number that scales is the Transfer Inheritance Tax, charged on what each beneficiary receives rather than on the size of the estate. New Jersey sets no statutory attorney-fee schedule, so an estate attorney is paid an agreed or court-allowed reasonable fee.
Quick Summary
- Surrogate opening fee
- $100 / $125Will of two pages or less / general administration
- Affidavit fee
- $50 cap$5 per $100 of estate value, waived at $200 or less
- Corpus commission
- 5% / 3.5% / 2%Plus 6% of income (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 and 3B:18-13)
- Transfer Inheritance Tax
- 0% to 16%By beneficiary class; Class A pays nothing
The N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 schedule is statewide, so the base amounts are identical at all 21 county Surrogates. What moves a total is your own paperwork: the page count of the will, how many $5.00 short certificates you order, and any optional service. Some county sites publish a slightly higher opening figure (Union County lists administration at $135.00 against the statutory $125.00 base) because they quote the base plus the routine per-page and ancillary charges the same section allows. Surety bond premiums, newspaper advertising, appraisals, and deed recording are billed outside the surrogate schedule and do vary. Deed recording goes to the County Clerk, or to the Register of Deeds and Mortgages in Essex and Hudson counties. Confirm the exact charge with the Surrogate where the decedent lived.
Typical Total Cost Ranges
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| Procedure | Estate Size | Court Fee | Timeline | Attorney? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affidavit in Lieu of Administration | Intestate estates only: real and personal assets of $50,000 or less where a spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner survives, or $20,000 or less for an heir with the written consent of the remaining heirs (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4) | $5.00 per $100.00 of estate value or part of it, capped at $50.00 and waived where the assets do not exceed $200.00 | Over the counter at the Surrogate, with no statutory waiting period | No | Small intestate estates that need the assets released without an appointment |
| Probate of a Will | No dollar cap. The route whenever the decedent left a valid original will (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-24) | $100.00 for a will of not more than two pages, plus $5.00 for each additional page; $50.00 without letters; $25.00 per codicil | No will is admitted until 10 days after the death, then qualification is an over-the-counter Surrogate proceeding | No statutory requirement; counsel is common | Any estate with a valid original will |
| General Administration | No dollar cap. The intestate route once the estate exceeds the affidavit ceiling (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-1 and 3B:10-2) | $125.00 plus $5.00 per page for other documents, plus the surety bond premium | Opened at the Surrogate once the bond and any renunciations are in place | No statutory requirement; counsel is common | Intestate estates too large for the affidavit route |
| Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part | No dollar cap. Caveats, doubtful or lost wills, demanded accountings, elective-share claims, guardianships, and fiduciary removal (N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30) | $175.00 for the first paper, $110.00 for the first answering paper, $15.00 per motion, $25.00 to file or withdraw a caveat | A litigated schedule set by the court | Counsel is strongly advised | Contested probate and anything that needs a judge rather than the Surrogate |
Additional Costs to Expect
Surrogate Opening Fee
N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 fixes one statewide schedule. The $100.00 probate fee covers the complaint, filing proof of death, the deposition of one witness, qualification of the executor, the surrogate certificate, the judgment for probate, letters testamentary, a plain copy of the will, recording, the report to the Division of Taxation, and the report to the Clerk of the Superior Court. The $125.00 administration fee covers the complaint, bond, surety affidavits, recording, indexing, and the original letters. Two reductions exist: no fees at all where the estate is less than $100.00 and half fees where it does not exceed $200.00 (N.J.S.A. 22A:2-31), and no fees on an estate of $1,000.00 or less where the decedent died in active military or naval service in time of war or emergency and part of the estate passes to a spouse, parent, sibling, or lineal descendant (N.J.S.A. 22A:2-32).
Personal Representative Commission
N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 sets the corpus commission on all corpus received by the fiduciary, and N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13 adds 6% of all income received. Both are takeable without a court allowance, which makes a New Jersey commission a statutory computation rather than a request. Worked examples: $10,000 on $200,000 of corpus, $20,500 on $500,000, $38,000 on $1,000,000, and $58,000 on $2,000,000. Add 1% of all corpus for each additional fiduciary, capped so no one fiduciary beats the single-fiduciary amount. The court may allow more for unusual or extraordinary services on a settlement of accounts (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-16), and may cut the commission only on a beneficiary application and an affirmative showing that the services were materially deficient.
Transfer Inheritance Tax
New Jersey taxes what each beneficiary receives, not the size of the estate (N.J.S.A. 54:34-1, 54:34-2, 54:34-4). Class A covers a spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, child including an adopted child, stepchild, grandchild and other issue, parent, and grandparent, and pays no tax. Class C covers a sibling and a son-in-law or daughter-in-law. Class D is everyone else, including nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Class E covers qualified charities, religious, educational, and medical institutions, and the State. Transfers under $500 to a beneficiary are not taxed. The return and payment are due within eight months of the date of death; unpaid tax bears 10% interest per annum and stays a lien on the decedent property for 15 years, which is why banks often release only half an account until a waiver issues.
New Jersey Estate Tax
No New Jersey Estate Tax is imposed on the estate of a resident decedent dying on or after January 1, 2018 (N.J.S.A. 54:38-1). For a death in calendar 2017 the exclusion was $2,000,000, and for earlier deaths the tax ran off a $675,000 applicable exclusion. Use the rule for the date of death. A page that says New Jersey has an estate tax is wrong for every death since the start of 2018, and a page that says New Jersey has no death tax is wrong because the Transfer Inheritance Tax survived the repeal.
Short Certificates, Copies, and Recording
A short certificate is the surrogate certified proof that a named person holds letters, and every bank, brokerage, transfer agent, and title company wants one. They are $5.00 each and $3.00 to validate within a year of issue. A certified extra copy of a will is $5.00 per page plus $5.00 for the certificate; a plain copy is $3.00 per page. Exemplifying a will of not more than two pages for another state is $75.00. A combined refunding bond and release of not more than two pages is $10.00 plus $5.00 for each additional page, and that filing is how most uncontested New Jersey estates close (N.J.S.A. 3B:23-24). The record search fee is $10.00 per estate. Order several short certificates early.
Certified Death Certificates
The New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, charges $25.00 for the initial search and one certified copy or certification, and $2.00 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. Local and municipal registrars set their own counter fees and often differ from the State amount, and phone or online partner services add their own surcharges. Verify with the municipality of death or the State office before quoting a total.
Accounting Audit Fee (Formal Accounting Only)
New Jersey does charge a value-scaled fee, but only when a formal accounting is filed. The Surrogate charges $175.00 for the complaint plus the first page and $5.00 for each additional page, then an audit fee on a bracket table: no additional fee up to $2,000; $100.00 from $2,001 to $10,000; $125.00 to $30,000; $150.00 to $65,000; 3/10 of 1% with a $300.00 minimum to $200,000; and 4/10 of 1% with a $400.00 minimum above $200,000. A balance carried forward from a prior account is excluded from the computation. Most uncontested estates never file a formal accounting and close on refunding bonds and releases instead.
Bond, Publication, Appraisal, and Professional Fees
A surety bond is generally required of an administrator in an intestate estate and may be required of an executor; the premium depends on the bond amount and the surety, and the $125.00 surrogate fee covers preparing the bond and surety affidavits rather than the premium. Newspaper advertising for a presumption-of-death proceeding, a sale of land, or a notice of settlement of accounts is billed by the paper and is expressly outside the surrogate fee. Real property, business interests, or unusual personal property may need valuation for the inheritance-tax return; the Surrogate charges $25.00 to appoint appraisers, and the appraisers are paid separately. Deed recording is charged by the County Clerk or the Register of Deeds and Mortgages. New Jersey sets no statutory attorney-fee schedule, so the estate attorney is paid an agreed or court-allowed reasonable fee, and where the fiduciary is a licensed New Jersey attorney who also performed professional services the court allows a just counsel fee in addition to the commissions (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6).
One more cost source to check: if the person who died received Medicaid long-term care benefits, the state may file a recovery claim against the estate. The New Jersey Medicaid estate recovery guide explains when that applies.