Executor Checklist New Jersey: Surrogate, Taxes and Deadlines

New Jersey estates start at the county Surrogate's Court, and the biggest surprise for many families comes later: an inheritance tax that depends on who the beneficiaries are. This executor checklist New Jersey readers can use covers the Surrogate process, the small estate affidavits, the deadlines, tax waivers and the order of the main steps.

Executors, administrators and the Surrogate

An executor is named in a will and an administrator is appointed when there is no will; both are personal representatives. Applications go to the Surrogate, an elected county officer who serves as judge of the Surrogate's Court and also acts as deputy clerk of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part, in the county where the deceased lived.

Your authority is evidenced by Surrogate's Short Certificates. Banks, the Motor Vehicle Commission and others will ask for one, and some institutions only accept a certificate dated within 60 days, so ordering several over time is common.

Route check: affidavit, probate or administration

• Probate (there is a will, N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22). The executor applies to the Surrogate with the original will and a death certificate. The will cannot be admitted to probate until more than 10 days after death, though papers can be prepared earlier.
• Administration (no will). An heir applies for Letters of Administration. Relatives with equal standing must sign renunciations, and a surety bond based on the estate value is typically required.
• Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3). No will, a surviving spouse, and total estate assets of $50,000 or less.
• Affidavit of Next of Kin (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4). No will, no surviving spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner, and total assets of $20,000 or less, with written consent of any other heirs.

Check your county Surrogate's what-to-bring list and fee schedule before the appointment.

New Jersey deadlines

If a creditor's claim arrives after nine months, you are not liable to that creditor for assets already paid or distributed in good faith.

Inheritance tax and tax waivers

New Jersey Estate Tax is not imposed for deaths on or after January 1, 2018. The transfer inheritance tax still applies, by beneficiary class:

• Class A (spouse, civil union or domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children, stepchildren, grandchildren and further descendants) and Class E (charities and exempt institutions) are exempt.
• Class C (siblings, a child's spouse or civil union partner): first $25,000 not taxed, then 11% on the next $1,075,000, 13% on the next $300,000, 14% on the next $300,000, and 16% above $1,700,000.
• Class D (everyone else): 15% on the first $700,000 and 16% above that.

Tax not paid within eight months carries interest at 10% a year, and a filing extension does not extend the time to pay. Banks may release up to 50% of funds before a waiver. If all beneficiaries are Class A, Form L-8 goes to each financial institution. New Jersey real estate needs a Form 0-1 waiver from the Division of Taxation, except real estate held by spouses or civil union partners as tenants by the entirety.

Executor checklist New Jersey: steps in order

1. Find the original will, order death certificates and contact the Surrogate.
2. Report the death to Social Security, often through the funeral home, and return payments for the month of death or later.
3. Apply to the Surrogate and order Short Certificates.
4. Get an EIN, file IRS Form 56 and open an estate account.
5. Mail the Notice of Probate and file proof of mailing.
6. Sort beneficiaries into tax classes and release assets with the right waivers.
7. File the IT-R if a return is required.
8. Federal returns: the final Form 1040, generally due April 15 of the year after death, and Form 1041 in any year estate gross income reaches $600.
9. Wait out the nine-month claims period, then distribute and keep full records so you can account to beneficiaries.

When to get legal advice

The Surrogate's office publishes forms and checklists for applicants. Disputes and formal accountings go before the Superior Court, Probate Part, where legal advice is strongly advisable. Advice is also often worth getting if Class C or D beneficiaries inherit, the estate may be insolvent, or real estate must be sold.

The Steady Executor New Jersey kit contains five files: a user guide to the Surrogate process, inheritance tax and federal steps, an executor workbook that calculates deadlines and tracks assets, debts, the estate account and distributions, financial letters, services and agencies letters, and beneficiary letters with a receipt form.

Sources

• N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22
• N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4
• NJ Division of Taxation: Inheritance Tax
• NJ Division of Taxation: Filing information
• NJ Division of Taxation: Beneficiary classes
• Monmouth County Surrogate: Without a Will / Administration
• Morris County Surrogate: Notice of Probate instructions
• IRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators