Simplified route
$20,000
Affidavit for assets without administration (intestate estate); waiting period not verified.
Eligibility and caveatsNew Jersey estate administration
New Jersey probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $20,000
In New Jersey, estates up to $20,000 can use the small-estate route; executor fees run 5% down to 2% on a sliding scale (P.L.2000, c.29; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14); and a sworn written claim is due within nine months of the death. New Jersey's county Surrogates handle uncontested probate and intestate affidavits; contested probate matters proceed in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
New Jersey simplified probate route
Up to $20,000; waiting period not verified. Source: P.L.2015, c.232; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4.
Affidavit for assets without administration (intestate estate)No combined New Jersey probate total
The Surrogate's Court / Superior Court Chancery Division, Probate Part filing charge runs by the page of the will (N.J.S. 22A:2-30). The commission schedule (P.L.2000, c.29; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14) is statewide; the filing side has no one figure. Each side in full: New Jersey probate filing cost and New Jersey executor fees.
Screen a specific New Jersey estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
Set locally; ask the receiving court.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Statutory schedule
A statutory percentage schedule applies. Source: P.L.2000, c.29; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
P.L.2004, c.132, §84; N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4 (New Jersey Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for New Jersey
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| N.J.S. 3B:18-14 | New Jersey is one of the few states that prints the commission rates — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
| N.J.S. 3B:22-4 | New Jersey runs nine months from death, not from a published notice — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| N.J.S. 22A:2-30 | The New Jersey surrogate charges by the page, and the schedule is statutory — court and filing cost note | 2026-09-17 |
New Jersey decision map
The four facts that change the New Jersey route
Each New Jersey answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded New Jersey answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Affidavit for assets without administration (intestate estate) |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. |
| What is the amount screen? | $20,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory percentage schedule, measured on gross probate property. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- New Jersey's separate commission on estate income (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13) is not included here; only the commission on principal is shown.
- The Surrogate's probate charge under N.J.S. 22A:2-30 varies with the will's length and the filings made; no single total is stated.
- No statewide Surrogate directory or form is linked: none had been confirmed on the NJ Courts site as of August 9, 2026.
- The New Jersey section cited here sets no separate deadline tied to actual notice, publication or appointment.
Continue
What New Jersey courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Self-help centreNew Jersey Courts self-help centreNew Jersey Courts
Limits on court material
- No statewide Surrogate directory or statewide small-estate form is linked, because this site had not confirmed one on the NJ Courts site as of August 9, 2026; this guide links an official county Surrogate entry point instead, so select the county of venue there.
- Probate is filed with the Surrogate of the county where the decedent lived, and each Surrogate sets its own filing charges, so the statewide directory is the starting point rather than a single county page.
- This site links the New Jersey Courts self-help centre and leaves the reader to navigate from there to the deeper probate and Surrogate pages, which it had not confirmed as of August 9, 2026.
- The New Jersey Legislature's Chapter Laws page (https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/chapter-laws) is the official enacted-law entry point, not a court self-help or forms directory, so it is described here rather than listed as a court resource; the court-owned material is the NJ Courts self-help centre linked above.
New Jersey primary sources
Each rule on the New Jersey pages comes from one of these 3 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
P.L.2015, c.232; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4, P.L.2015, c.232.
Executor compensation rule
P.L.2000, c.29; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14, P.L.2000, c.29.
Creditor deadline rule
P.L.2004, c.132, §84; N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4, P.L.2004, c.132.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: New Jersey source list · how sources are checked · report a correction