How much does probate cost in New Jersey?
5 Aug 2026
New Jersey publishes the executor schedule: 5% on the first $200,000 of corpus, 3.5% above that up to $1,000,000, 2% beyond — plus 6% of all income the estate receives. It publishes no schedule for the attorney.
The executor takes both commissions without asking the court, and only a beneficiary who is adversely affected can apply to cut the corpus commission. The attorney is the other way round: a court rule starts from the position that no fee for legal services is allowed at all and then lists the exceptions, and every application needs an affidavit of services. The surrogate’s own prices are fixed statewide — $100.00 to probate a short will, $125.00 for a general administration. There is no creditors’ notice to advertise in New Jersey at all.
N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 — New Jersey Statutes, published by the New Jersey Legislature · Verified 5 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
New Jersey is one of the states that prints the executor schedule, so the corpus commission works to the dollar from one number. The attorney fee does not, because no schedule exists for it.
| Corpus — first $200,000 | 5% |
| Corpus — above $200,000 up to $1,000,000 | 3.5% |
| Corpus — above $1,000,000 | 2% |
| Each additional fiduciary, on all corpus | 1% |
| All income received by the fiduciary | 6% |
| Attorney | no schedule |
Worked through: corpus of $500,000.00 produces a commission of $20,500.00 — $10,000.00 on the first $200,000 and $10,500.00 on the $300,000 above it. Corpus of $1,000,000.00 produces $38,000.00; corpus of $2,000,000.00 produces $58,000.00. On top of any of those, income of $30,000.00 received during the administration adds $1,800.00.
Where more than one fiduciary serves, each additional one may take 1% of all corpus — but no single fiduciary may end up with more than would have been allowed if there were only one.
The schedule is what the law presumes reasonable, not what every estate pays — many settle below it, and the court can allow less.
The bands run on corpus received by the fiduciary, which is not the same as the gross value of the estate. Feeding the calculator a gross figure that includes assets never received will overstate the New Jersey commission.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where New Jersey fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeCounsel paid out of the estate | No schedule and no percentageNew Jersey is stricter than most states about the estate paying a lawyer. The court rule starts from the position that no fee for legal services is allowed at all, then lists the exceptions. Two matter here. A fiduciary may pay a lawyer out of the fund entrusted to them for administration, but that payment is subject to the court approving or disallowing it when the account is settled. And in a probate action the court may allow a fee out of the estate where probate is refused, or, where probate is granted, to both sides if the contestant had reasonable cause to contest the will. Every application for a fee must be supported by an affidavit of services addressing the reasonableness factors in RPC 1.5(a), itemising disbursements, and stating what the lawyer has already been paid. Ordinary uncontested estate work is a private fee agreement, reviewable only when the account is settled. Where the attorney is also the fiduciary, the statute allows a just counsel fee for the professional work on top of the commissions. | Private agreement, reviewed on settlement of the account | N.J. Ct. R. 4:42-9, with N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 Rules of Court: Attorneys, Rules of Court, Part IV, Rule 4:42-9 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeExecutor or administrator | 5% / 3.5% / 2% of corpus, plus 6% of incomeCommissions on all corpus received may be taken at 5% on the first $200,000, 3.5% on the amount above $200,000 up to $1,000,000, and 2% on anything above $1,000,000. Where more than one fiduciary serves, each additional one may take 1% of all corpus, but no single fiduciary may end up with more than would have been allowed if there were only one. Separately, the fiduciary may take 6% of all income the estate receives — rent, interest, dividends and the like — and income withheld at source for tax still counts as income received. Both commissions are taken without asking the court. The corpus commission can only be cut where a beneficiary who is adversely affected applies to the court and shows that the services were materially deficient, or that the actual pains, trouble and risk of settling the estate were substantially less than an estate of that size normally takes. | Statute — taken without court allowance, reducible on objection | N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 and 3B:18-13 3B:18-14 amended 1983 c.394 and 2000 c.29; 3B:18-13 effective 1 May 1982 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feeThe surrogate’s schedule | $100.00 to probate a short will; $125.00 for administrationNew Jersey publishes the surrogate’s prices and they are fixed statewide, collected for the use of the county. Probating a will of not more than two pages costs $100.00, with $5.00 for each page after that; the same probate without letters is $50.00, and a codicil of not more than one page is $25.00. A general administration — the complaint, the bond, the surety affidavits, the filing, the report to the Division of Taxation and the original letters — is $125.00, with $5.00 a page for other documents. Administration ad prosequendum is $50.00 and letters of trusteeship $50.00. A short certificate is $5.00 and an estate search is $10.00. Filing the first paper in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part is $175.00. Accounting is charged separately: $175.00 to file the complaint and one page of account, then an auditing fee that rises with the estate — nothing up to $2,000.00, $100.00 to $10,000.00, $125.00 to $30,000.00, $150.00 to $65,000.00, then 3/10 of 1% but not less than $300.00 up to $200,000.00, and 4/10 of 1% but not less than $400.00 above that. | Statute, statewide, collected for the county | N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 L.1953 c.22 s.11, amended through 2005 c.370 s.14 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors | Published only if neededPublished only if needed. Notice runs in a newspaper only where a beneficiary’s name or address cannot be found by reasonable inquiry; otherwise there is nothing to buy. New Jersey does not make the estate advertise for creditors at all — no notice-to-creditors provision appears anywhere in Title 3B, the estates title. What limits creditors here is a deadline rather than a notice: claims must be presented to the personal representative in writing and under oath within nine months of the death, and after that the representative is not liable to a creditor for assets already properly paid out. The one publication that does arise is a fallback. Within 60 days of probate the representative must mail notice of the probate to the beneficiaries, and where a name or address cannot be found by reasonable inquiry, notice must then be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county identifying those people. The newspaper sets its own rate. | The newspaper, in the fallback case only | N.J. Ct. R. 4:80-6, read with N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4 Rules of Court: Attorneys, Rules of Court, Part IV, Rule 4:80-6 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| BondFiduciary’s bond | No figure — the court fixes the sum
|
The court or surrogate’s discretion | N.J.S.A. 3B:15-1 Amended 1985 c.34; 2009 c.140; 2010 c.34; 2013 c.103 | 5 Aug 2026 |
Corpus received is not gross estate value. The bands run on what the fiduciary actually receives into the estate. Assets that pass outside probate never enter the base, and using a gross figure will overstate the commission.
The $25,000 in the bond section is not a bond amount. It is the threshold below which the developmental-disability bond override does not bite. It has nothing to do with how large a New Jersey bond is.
The $20,000 and $10,000 figures in the fee schedule are not the small-estate limits. They sit in the surrogate’s fee section and were not updated when the thresholds were. The live limits are in the small-estate box below.
How the New Jersey sources are linked. The Legislature serves its statutes database through a single portal address with no stable link to an individual section, so the link above opens the database and the path to follow is: Bills menu, then Statutes, then search the citation in double quotes. The Rules of Court open in a pop-out on the Judiciary site with no stable address of their own; the path there is Attorneys, then Rules of Court, then Part IV. Both are the publishers’ own behaviour, not broken links. The statutes database is current through P.L.2025 c.346, so no 2026 law is in this text.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Probate of a will without letters — $50.00. Codicil of not more than one page — $25.00. Each will page after the second — $5.00.
- Administration ad prosequendum — $50.00. Letters of trusteeship — $50.00. Short certificate — $5.00. Estate search — $10.00.
- First paper in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part — $175.00.
- Filing an accounting — $175.00 for the complaint and one page of account, then an auditing fee scaled to the estate: nothing up to $2,000.00, $100.00 to $10,000, $125.00 to $30,000, $150.00 to $65,000, then 3/10 of 1% with a $300.00 floor to $200,000, and 4/10 of 1% with a $400.00 floor above that. An account of $150,000 therefore carries a $450.00 auditing fee.
- Handling a notice of settlement of accounts and dealing with the newspaper — $50.00 to the surrogate.
- You may not have to pay at all. On the intestate spouse route the first $10,000.00 of the estate passes free from all debts.
- Where the attorney is also the fiduciary, a just counsel fee for the professional work may be allowed on top of the commissions.
N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30; N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3; N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 — New Jersey Statutes · Verified 5 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in New Jersey
- Two commissions, and the executor takes both without asking
- The corpus commission and the 6% income commission are separate entitlements and both are taken without a court allowance. Income withheld at source for tax still counts as income received, so tax deducted from an estate’s interest or dividends carries the commission anyway.
- Only an adversely affected beneficiary can cut the corpus commission
- The route to a reduction is narrow: a beneficiary who is adversely affected applies to the court and must show either that the services were materially deficient, or that the actual pains, trouble and risk of settling the estate were substantially less than an estate of that size normally takes. Absent that application, the schedule stands.
- The schedule is a presumption, not a bill
- The schedule is what the law presumes reasonable, not what every estate pays — many settle below it, and the court can allow less.
- The lawyer starts from no
- The court rule begins by disallowing any fee for legal services and then lists the exceptions. A fiduciary may pay counsel out of the fund, subject to the court approving or disallowing it when the account is settled. In a probate action a fee may come out of the estate where probate is refused, or to both sides where probate is granted and the contestant had reasonable cause. Every application needs an affidavit of services under RPC 1.5(a), itemised disbursements, and a statement of what has already been paid.
- There is no creditors’ advertisement to buy
- No notice-to-creditors provision exists anywhere in Title 3B. Creditors are limited by a nine-month deadline from the death instead: claims must be presented in writing and under oath, and after that the representative is not liable for assets already properly paid out. The only publication that arises is the fallback where a beneficiary cannot be found by reasonable inquiry.
- Extra fiduciaries cost 1% each, but not without limit
- Each additional fiduciary may take 1% of all corpus. The section then caps the result: no single fiduciary may end up with more than would have been allowed if there had been only one.
- Filing an account is its own bill
- Accounting is charged separately from opening the estate — $175.00 for the complaint and one page, then a percentage auditing fee with a floor. On an account of $500,000 that auditing fee is $2,000.00. Not every estate files an account, so this cost is avoidable in a straightforward administration.
New Jersey has two affidavit routes, both intestate only, and neither needs a court
New Jersey has two simplified routes; the dollar test above covers the surviving-spouse affidavit at $50,000.00; the second turns on there being no surviving spouse and needs the written consent of the other heirs. Neither route exists where there is a will, and both count real and personal assets toward the ceiling, unlike most states.
- Route one — $50,000, surviving spouse or partner. Where a person dies without a will and the total value of the real and personal assets does not exceed $50,000.00, the surviving spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner takes the whole estate absolutely by executing an affidavit before the surrogate of the county where the deceased lived, or before the Superior Court.
- On that route the first $10,000.00 of the estate passes free from all debts.
- Route two — $20,000, no surviving spouse or partner. One of the heirs obtains the written consent of the other heirs, executes an affidavit before the surrogate, and receives the estate for the benefit of all the heirs and creditors, without administration and without entering into a bond. A single objecting heir closes this route.
- Both affidavits state the residence at death, the nature, location and value of the assets, and — on route two — the names, residences and relationships of all the heirs. The consent and the affidavit are filed and recorded with the surrogate.
- Once the affidavit is executed and filed, that person has all the rights, powers and duties of an appointed administrator, can be sued, and can be required to account.
- An affiant living outside New Jersey may be authorised in writing to swear the affidavit where they live.
Do not use the $20,000 and $10,000 figures printed in the surrogate’s fee schedule as the thresholds. Those sit in the fee section and were not updated when these limits were. The figures above are the ones in the estates title.
N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4 — New Jersey Statutes · both last amended 2015 c.232 · Verified 5 Aug 2026
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New Jersey probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in New Jersey?
Five percent of the first two hundred thousand dollars of corpus received, three and a half percent on the amount above that up to a million, and two percent on anything beyond — plus six percent of all income the estate receives. Both commissions are taken without asking the court. Where more than one fiduciary serves, each additional one may take one percent of all corpus, subject to a cap that no single fiduciary does better than a sole fiduciary would have. A beneficiary who is adversely affected can apply to reduce the corpus commission.
Does New Jersey set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. A court rule governs instead, and it starts from the position that no fee for legal services is allowed at all before listing the exceptions. A fiduciary may pay counsel out of the fund, subject to approval when the account is settled, and in a probate action a fee may be allowed out of the estate where probate is refused or where the contestant had reasonable cause. Every application requires an affidavit of services. There is no percentage anywhere in it.
What does it cost to file for probate in New Jersey?
One hundred dollars to probate a will of not more than two pages, with five dollars for each page after that, or one hundred and twenty-five dollars for a general administration including the bond, the filing, the tax report and the original letters. The first paper in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part is one hundred and seventy-five dollars. Short certificates are five dollars each. The prices are fixed statewide and collected for the use of the county.
Does an executor need a bond in New Jersey?
On most forms of administration, yes, and the court or surrogate fixes the sum having regard to the value of the estate and the extent of the authority. There is no multiple and no percentage in the statute. Administration granted to a surviving spouse who takes the whole estate does not need one, nor does administration ad litem necessarily. A bond is required even where the will excuses it if a beneficiary is a person with a developmental disability, unless the estate does not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars or another listed condition applies.
Does New Jersey have a small estate affidavit?
Two of them, both for estates with no will. Where there is a surviving spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner and the total real and personal assets do not exceed fifty thousand dollars, that person takes the whole estate by affidavit before the surrogate, and the first ten thousand dollars passes free from all debts. Where there is no surviving spouse or partner and the estate does not exceed twenty thousand dollars, one heir takes it with the written consent of the others. Neither route needs administration or a bond.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The New Jersey Legislature serves its statutes database through one portal address with no stable link to an individual section, so each citation below prints the section number and the path to reach it: Bills menu, then Statutes, then search the citation in double quotes. The Rules of Court are published by the Judiciary and open in a pop-out; the path is Attorneys, then Rules of Court, then Part IV.
- Attorney fee — N.J. Ct. R. 4:42-9, with N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 njcourts.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · portal exception: Attorneys, Rules of Court, Part IV, Rule 4:42-9 · caption and subparagraphs amended 23 Jul 2010, effective 1 Sep 2010
- Corpus commissions — N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14 lis.njleg.state.nj.usVerified 5 Aug 2026 · portal exception: Bills menu, then Statutes, then search the citation in double quotes · amended 1983 c.394 s.1 and 2000 c.29 s.1
- Income commissions — N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13 lis.njleg.state.nj.usVerified 5 Aug 2026 · portal exception, same path · L.1981 c.405, effective 1 May 1982
- Surrogate’s fee schedule — N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 lis.njleg.state.nj.usVerified 5 Aug 2026 · portal exception, same path · L.1953 c.22 s.11, amended through 2005 c.370 s.14
- Publication, and the nine-month claim deadline — N.J. Ct. R. 4:80-6, read with N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4 njcourts.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · a whole-database search for a notice-to-creditors provision returned no result in Title 3B, recorded as a checked negative
- Bond — N.J.S.A. 3B:15-1 lis.njleg.state.nj.usVerified 5 Aug 2026 · portal exception, same path · amended 1985 c.34, 2009 c.140, 2010 c.34 and 2013 c.103
- The two small-estate routes — N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4 lis.njleg.state.nj.usVerified 5 Aug 2026 · portal exception, same path · both last amended 2015 c.232 · statutes database current through P.L.2025 c.346
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in New Jersey. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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