Redact Legal New Jersey Small Estates Forms For Free

New Jersey Summary: Under New Jersey statute, where as estate is valued at less than $50,000, a surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner, may present an affidavit of a small estate before the Superior Court.

The affiant should fill out the form in the presence of a notary public, and file it with the surrogate court in the county where the decedent resided at the time of death.

In New Jersey, if the total value of a deceased person's estate (excluding real estate and assets that pass outside of probate) is $50,000 or less, the estate can be settled without going through the formal probate process.

If a person dies with assets but no will or trust, an administrator for his/her estate must be appointed by a court. If a person owns assets or property jointly with another person or in trust, then probate and estate administration is not necessary because ownership automatically goes to the surviving owner.

If there is no will and the value of a NJ estate does not exceed $50,000, a surviving spouse or domestic partner can request an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse from the court (see Court below), enabling the spouse to collect assets from their current custodians and to settle the estate in the normal manner: resolve any ...

A Small Estate Affidavit in lieu of administration may be an option when there is no will and the value of the estate does not reach a certain threshold. In New Jersey, the term ?small estate? refers to estates that are valued at less than $50,000 for a surviving spouse or less than $20,000 for next of kin.