New Jersey Probate Types: Affidavit vs Probate of a Will vs Administration
New Jersey opens estates at the county Surrogate, not at a probate court hearing. The first question is whether the estate needs an affidavit, probate of a will, or a grant of general administration.
Compare eligibility, timing, court involvement, and local verification points
How to Compare New Jersey Probate Types
New Jersey runs probate through the county Surrogate in each of its 21 counties. The elected County Surrogate is a constitutional officer who also serves as deputy clerk of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part. The Surrogate admits an uncontested will to probate, issues letters testamentary or letters of administration, issues short certificates, records the will, and reports to the Division of Taxation. Uncontested probate is an over-the-counter proceeding rather than a hearing before a judge. This is not a county-clerk probate model and it is not a circuit-court model.
Which track fits depends on two things: whether there is a will, and how large the estate is. With a will, the executor probates it with the Surrogate for $100.00 when the will runs to not more than two pages, plus $5.00 for each additional page, and no will may be admitted until 10 days after the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22). Without a will, a small intestate estate can skip administration entirely on an affidavit, and a larger one takes a grant of general administration at $125.00 with a surety bond. A caveat, a doubtful or lost will, a formal accounting, or a removal action moves the matter to the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part.
Simplified Path vs Formal Path at a Glance
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| Category | Simplified Path | Formal Path | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it is opened | The affidavit is executed over the counter before the county Surrogate, with no letters issued | Probate of a will and general administration are also Surrogate filings, but the Surrogate qualifies a fiduciary and issues letters | Simplified Path |
| Cost to open | The affidavit costs $5.00 per $100.00 of estate value, capped at $50.00 and waived at $200.00 or less | Probate of a will is $100.00 for two pages or less and general administration is $125.00, before the bond premium | Simplified Path |
| Who can use it | The affidavit is intestate only, and only within the $50,000 or $20,000 ceiling | Probate of a will and general administration have no dollar cap and cover every other estate | Formal Path |
| Authority granted | The affidavit releases the assets but appoints no personal representative, so there is nothing to show beyond a true copy | Letters testamentary or letters of administration plus $5.00 short certificates are what banks, brokers, and the Motor Vehicle Commission ask to see | Formal Path |
| Bond | The affidavit requires no bond at all | General administration normally requires a surety bond, and the premium sits outside the $125.00 surrogate fee | Simplified Path |
| Duties that follow | An affiant still holds the assets for the heirs and creditors, and a surviving spouse or partner takes on an administrator’s duties and may be required to account | A qualified personal representative owes the same duties, with letters, court oversight on demand, and a formal accounting available | Tie |
Main New Jersey Probate Options
| Probate Type | Threshold | Filing Fee | Timeline | Real Estate | Attorney | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affidavit in Lieu of Administration N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4 | 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 where none survives and the remaining heirs consent in writing. Ceilings apply to a decedent dying on or after January 19, 2016. | $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, with no statutory waiting period | Yes, within the ceiling; both sections reach real and personal assets | No | Small intestate estates where the survivor or the consenting heirs simply need the assets released |
Probate of a Will N.J.S.A. 3B:3-24 and 3B:3-22 | No dollar cap. The route whenever the decedent left a valid original will. | $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; the qualification itself is an over-the-counter Surrogate proceeding | Yes | No statutory requirement; counsel is common | Any estate with a valid original will, from a modest one to a large one |
General Administration N.J.S.A. 3B:10-1 and 3B:10-2 | No dollar cap. The intestate route once the estate exceeds the affidavit ceiling. | $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 | Yes | No statutory requirement; counsel is common | Intestate estates too large for the affidavit, or where a formal grant of authority is needed |
Administration Ad Prosequendum N.J.S.A. 3B:10-11 | No dollar cap. A limited appointment for the sole purpose of prosecuting a wrongful-death action where the decedent died intestate. | $50.00 plus $5.00 for each additional page | Granted for the litigation, and it does not administer the rest of the estate | No; the appointment is limited to the wrongful-death claim | Counsel is normal, because the appointment exists to bring a lawsuit | An intestate wrongful-death claim that needs a plaintiff with standing |
Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part N.J.S.A. 3B:3-24 and 22A:2-30 | No dollar cap. The contested lane: a caveat filed before probate, a will that is not self-proving or whose execution is doubtful, a lost or copied will, a formal accounting, an elective-share complaint, a guardianship of an incapacitated adult, or an action to remove a fiduciary. | $175.00 for the first paper, $110.00 for the first answering paper, $15.00 per motion, and $25.00 to file or withdraw a caveat | A litigated schedule set by the court, materially longer than an over-the-counter Surrogate filing | Yes | Counsel is strongly advised | Disputed wills, demanded accountings, elective-share claims, and fiduciary removal |
Affidavit in Lieu of Administration
N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4
Small intestate estates where the survivor or the consenting heirs simply need the assets released
Threshold: 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 where none survives and the remaining heirs consent in writing. Ceilings apply to a decedent dying on or after January 19, 2016.
Filing Fee: $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
Timeline: Over the counter, with no statutory waiting period
Real Estate: Yes, within the ceiling; both sections reach real and personal assets
Attorney: No
Probate of a Will
N.J.S.A. 3B:3-24 and 3B:3-22
Any estate with a valid original will, from a modest one to a large one
Threshold: No dollar cap. The route whenever the decedent left a valid original will.
Filing Fee: $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
Timeline: No will is admitted until 10 days after the death; the qualification itself is an over-the-counter Surrogate proceeding
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement; counsel is common
General Administration
N.J.S.A. 3B:10-1 and 3B:10-2
Intestate estates too large for the affidavit, or where a formal grant of authority is needed
Threshold: No dollar cap. The intestate route once the estate exceeds the affidavit ceiling.
Filing Fee: $125.00 plus $5.00 per page for other documents, plus the surety bond premium
Timeline: Opened at the Surrogate once the bond and any renunciations are in place
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement; counsel is common
Administration Ad Prosequendum
N.J.S.A. 3B:10-11
An intestate wrongful-death claim that needs a plaintiff with standing
Threshold: No dollar cap. A limited appointment for the sole purpose of prosecuting a wrongful-death action where the decedent died intestate.
Filing Fee: $50.00 plus $5.00 for each additional page
Timeline: Granted for the litigation, and it does not administer the rest of the estate
Real Estate: No; the appointment is limited to the wrongful-death claim
Attorney: Counsel is normal, because the appointment exists to bring a lawsuit
Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part
N.J.S.A. 3B:3-24 and 22A:2-30
Disputed wills, demanded accountings, elective-share claims, and fiduciary removal
Threshold: No dollar cap. The contested lane: a caveat filed before probate, a will that is not self-proving or whose execution is doubtful, a lost or copied will, a formal accounting, an elective-share complaint, a guardianship of an incapacitated adult, or an action to remove a fiduciary.
Filing Fee: $175.00 for the first paper, $110.00 for the first answering paper, $15.00 per motion, and $25.00 to file or withdraw a caveat
Timeline: A litigated schedule set by the court, materially longer than an over-the-counter Surrogate filing
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: Counsel is strongly advised
* New Jersey charges no probate tax and no per-county probate filing fee. N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 fixes one statewide schedule collected by every county Surrogate: $100.00 to probate a will of not more than two pages plus $5.00 for each additional page, $125.00 for general administration when there is no will, $50.00 for administration ad prosequendum, and $5.00 for each short certificate. The affidavit in lieu of administration costs $5.00 per $100.00 of estate value, capped at $50.00. The cost of opening an estate does not scale with its value. The money that does scale is the personal representative commission under N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 and the Transfer Inheritance Tax under N.J.S.A. 54:34-2, and neither is a filing fee.
Unfamiliar terms in the comparison? The New Jersey probate glossary defines them in plain language.
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