Wills and estate planning in New Jersey

Researched 2026-10-20 · confidence: medium · 2026 figures

In plain words: in New Jersey a will is valid when it's signed in front of 2 adult witnesses. There is no state estate tax. There is an inheritance tax. The federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 a person in 2026.

Witnesses to a will	2
Handwritten (holographic) will	Recognised
Self-proving affidavit	Available
Electronic wills	Not allowed
Power of attorney	Notary
Health care directive	2 witnesses or a notary
State estate tax	No
State inheritance tax	Yes
Community property	No
Age of majority / UTMA age	18 / 21

Signing a will

Statute: N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2.

Signing by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any gift in it (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-8).

Witnesses must sign within a reasonable time after seeing the signing or the acknowledgment (3B:3-2(a)). A writing intended as a will is valid without witnesses if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting (3B:3-2(b)). Extrinsic evidence of intent is allowed (3B:3-2(c)). New Jersey also has a harmless-error rule (3B:3-3). Electronic-wills bills (S421 in 2024-25; S1336/A3229 in 2026-27) were pending, not enacted, as of this research. The citations for 3B:3-4, 3B:3-5 and 3B:3-8 come from prior knowledge; the official text could not be fetched (403).

Power of attorney

Statute: New Jersey Revised Durable Power of Attorney Act, N.J.S.A. 46:2B-8.1 et seq. (execution 46:2B-8.9).

Must be in writing, signed and acknowledged in the manner of a deed under R.S. 46:14-2.1, before a notary, a NJ attorney or another authorized officer (46:2B-8.9). Not a UPOAA state, and there is no statutory form. Durability is not presumed: the instrument must expressly say it survives disability (46:2B-8.2). Gift, trust and beneficiary-change authority should be granted expressly; the specific hot-power rule could not be confirmed from official text.

Health care directive

Called: Advance Directive for Health Care (proxy directive / instruction directive / combined).

Statute: New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-53 et seq. (execution 26:2H-56).

The designated health care representative may not act as a witness (26:2H-56). The statute has no broader relative or heir disqualification, but disinterested adult witnesses are recommended.

Instead of 2 adult witnesses, the directive may be acknowledged before a notary, an attorney or another person authorized to administer oaths (26:2H-56). The Department of Health instruction-directive (living will) form is at https://www.nj.gov/health/advancedirective/documents/instruction_directive.pdf. An operator, administrator or employee of the patient's facility cannot be the representative unless related, and the attending physician cannot also serve as representative (26:2H-58).

If there's no will: what a spouse gets

The surviving spouse or domestic/civil-union partner takes the entire intestate estate if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3(a)).

A spouse's right to a share

The surviving spouse or partner may elect one-third of the augmented estate, but not if a divorce or dissolution action was pending, or if the couple had separated or signed a termination agreement (N.J.S.A. 3B:8-1; disqualifications cross-referenced to 3B:5-3(d)).

Estate and inheritance tax

No state estate tax: New Jersey's estate tax is repealed for decedents dying on or after 1 Jan 2018 (N.J.S.A. 54:38-1).

Yes, a Transfer Inheritance Tax applies (N.J.S.A. 54:34-1 et seq.). Class A (spouse/partner, parents, grandparents, children, stepchildren, grandchildren) is exempt. Class C (siblings, sons- and daughters-in-law) pays 11-16% after a $25,000 exemption. Class D (everyone else) pays 15% up to $700,000 and 16% above. Charities (Class E) are exempt.

Probate

Relatively light: wills are probated administratively before the County Surrogate. Small-estate affidavit without administration: a surviving spouse or partner can use it when total assets are $50,000 or less (3B:10-3); when there is no spouse, an heir can use it for $20,000 or less (3B:10-4).

Official form: nj.gov.

Money God drafts a New Jersey will, power of attorney and health care directive from a short interview, then you send it to your attorney for review before signing.

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Sources

Researched from state statutes and official forms. Laws change; this page is information, not legal advice. Every Money God draft is reviewed by a licensed attorney in your state before you sign it.