New Jersey route screening

New Jersey small-estate limit: $20,000

For an intestate estate, a surviving spouse/civil-union partner/domestic partner may use the affidavit when total real and personal assets do not exceed $50,000.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised October 25, 2026.

1. Where and when

StateNew JerseyFixed to this page. Open the navigator to compare another state.Date of deathRequired. Without it no waiting period can be tested and the route stays undecided.

The surviving spouse receives the entire estate

2. What they left

Asset 1

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real property

Asset 2

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real propertyWill it be sold during administration?Some court charges are assessed on sale proceeds and exclude real property that is kept, so this changes the amount.

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

All corpus received by the fiduciary$The enacted schedule applies to corpus received; compensation on income is separate and is not included in these figures. Leaving it blank keeps the compensation undecided rather than assuming a number.

Private by design: entries stay in this browser.

Your working estimate

New Jersey estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted

Court chargeSet locallySet statewide by N.J.S. 22A:2-30 and paid to the county Surrogate: probate is charged by the page count of the will, with codicils, extra witnesses and copies charged separately, so no single total is asserted.

Scheduled executor compensationCase accounting neededEnter the compensable value above and this schedule is applied to it, band by band.N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 permits 5% of the first $200,000 of corpus received, 3.5% of the excess through $1 million, and 2% above $1 million. Each additional fiduciary receives 1% subject to the statutory cap, and a court may reduce materially excessive commissions. The separate commission on income under 3B:18-13 is not included here; read that section or ask the Surrogate.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

If none survives, one heir may proceed for all heirs at $20,000 or less with the other heirs’ written consent. The enacted text states no waiting period.

Where the limit comes from

Is this the limit that applies?

$20,000 is the limit in P.L.2015, c.232; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4 as it read on October 3, 2026; confirm it with the probate court before you file.

Controlling citation: P.L.2015, c.232; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4, P.L.2015, c.232 (New Jersey Legislature; Approved January 19, 2016.).

The section’s own words

Where the total value of the real and personal assets of the estate of an intestate will not exceed $50,000, the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner upon the execution of an affidavit before the Surrogate of the county where the intestate resided at his death, or, if then nonresident in this State, where any of the assets are located, or before the Superior Court, shall be entitled absolutely to all the real and personal assets without administration, and the assets of the estate up to $10,000 shall be free from all debts of the intestate.

How the New Jersey screen is measured

Procedure	Affidavit for assets without administration (intestate estate)
What counts	The probate estate within the statute’s scope, so solely owned real property can count
Value basis	Gross value; liens are not subtracted
Waiting period	Confirm the filing date with the Surrogate's Court / Superior Court Chancery Division, Probate Part
Surviving-spouse ceiling	$50,000

Neither enacted affidavit section states a waiting period. Before submitting the paperwork, confirm whether a waiting period applies and which event starts it. Check: N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4; selected county Surrogate

The New Jersey caveats that can change this answer are listed once, on the New Jersey overview.

The official New Jersey path

New Jersey Courts self-help centre — New Jersey Courts

What a small-estate screen can and cannot decide, and which assets never enter it, is explained once in small-estate affidavit or probate and what counts as a probate asset.

Controlling source

Session law

P.L.2015, c.232; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4

P.L.2015, c.232

The section’s own words

Where the total value of the real and personal assets of the estate of an intestate will not exceed $50,000, the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner upon the execution of an affidavit before the Surrogate of the county where the intestate resided at his death, or, if then nonresident in this State, where any of the assets are located, or before the Superior Court, shall be entitled absolutely to all the real and personal assets without administration, and the assets of the estate up to $10,000 shall be free from all debts of the intestate.

New Jersey Legislature · Approved January 19, 2016. · Rechecked October 3, 2026

Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: New Jersey source list · how sources are checked · report a correction

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