Salem County Surrogate's Court Guide

Note: New Jersey Surrogate fees are fixed by statute in N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 and are identical in all 21 counties. There is no separate county probate filing fee, no percentage probate fee, and no probate tax. Probate of a will of not more than two pages, including letters testamentary and one certificate, is $100.00, plus $5.00 for each additional page of the will and $5.00 for each additional certificate. General administration of an intestate estate, covering the complaint, bond, surety affidavits, recording, indexing, the report to the Division of Taxation and the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the original letters, is $125.00, plus $5.00 per page for other documents. Administration ad prosequendum is $50.00. The affidavit in lieu of administration is charged at $5.00 for each $100.00 of estate value or part thereof, with a total that shall not exceed $50.00, and is waived where the assets do not exceed $200.00; the $50.00 recorded here is that statutory cap, which any qualifying estate above $1,000 reaches. A short certificate is $5.00 each, and $3.00 to validate one within a year of issue. Filing the first paper in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part is $175.00 ($200.00 for a determination of incapacity and appointment of a guardian), filing or withdrawing a caveat is $25.00, and a combined refunding bond and release of not more than two pages is $10.00. A formal accounting carries a separate value-scaled audit fee on top of a $175.00 complaint fee. Personal representative commissions (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13 and 3B:18-14), surety bond premiums, newspaper advertising, and the New Jersey Transfer Inheritance Tax (N.J.S.A. 54:34-2) are separate from these filing fees. The Salem County Surrogate publishes its own fee page, and it is linked here as the fee schedule source. Confirm the exact charge for your filing with the Salem County Surrogate, because the total depends on page counts and on how many short certificates you order.