State Unemployment Benefits in New Jersey

State Unemployment Benefits in New Jersey: key facts

Administering agency

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Insurance.

After a death

File Form B-40, Affidavit for Claiming Benefits Due a Deceased Person, if you are the spouse, next of kin, or executor/administrator of a claimant who died before receiving benefits owed.

How to submit

Email the completed Form B-40 with supporting documents to CollateralClaims@dol.nj.gov.

Claimant portal

myunemployment.nj.gov

Reporting a death

There is no separate death-notification step for the family. By statute, NJDOL receives death record notifications electronically from the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System and runs its own verification so benefits are not paid to deceased individuals. The estate representative or family member initiates the payout by completing Form B-40 and emailing it with supporting documents to CollateralClaims@dol.nj.gov. For general unemployment questions, call 609-292-6800 (the Trenton number — one of 21 local numbers that all reach the same NJDOL phone system).

Who may claim

The spouse, next of kin, or executor/administrator of a claimant who died before receiving benefits he or she was due may file Form B-40.

Which part of Form B-40 to complete

Intestate, surviving spouse claiming, estate (including the benefits claimed) not over $10,000: Parts A, B, and F, with a true copy of the affidavit filed with the county Surrogate. Intestate, no surviving spouse, next of kin claiming, estate not over $5,000: Parts A, C, and F, with the Surrogate affidavit. Any will, or an estate over $5,000: Parts A, D, and F, with certified Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary from the New Jersey county Surrogate. If the decedent lived outside New Jersey at death: Parts A, E, and F, with certified Letters issued by the proper authority in the state where the decedent resided.

Overpayments after death

If NJDOL had determined the claimant was overpaid, the estate does not have to repay it. The Director must grant a full waiver of recovery where the claimant is deceased, provided the claimant did not misrepresent or withhold a material fact to obtain the benefits. The request may be made by the claimant's representative.

Dependency allowance

If the claimant's benefits included a dependency allowance, the death ends the assignment of dependents to that claim as of the date of death. An unemployed spouse or civil union partner of the deceased claimant may then claim a dependency allowance for the same eligible dependents on their own claim.

Documentation for final payment

Form B-40 is sworn before a notary public, with a death certificate attached plus the Surrogate's affidavit copy or certified Letters. The completed form and supporting documents can be emailed to CollateralClaims@dol.nj.gov; the form itself also gives a mailing address (Division of Unemployment Insurance, Labor Building, PO Box 395, Trenton, NJ 08625-0395).

Governing law: R.S. 43:21-16(d)(4)(A), (i); N.J.A.C. 12:17-14.2, 12:17-7.3

Steps to take when someone dies

1. Confirm whether the deceased had unemployment benefits owed for weeks before the date of death.
2. If there is no will and the estate is small, go to the Surrogate of the county where the deceased lived, execute and file the required affidavit, submit an inventory of the value, nature, and location of the assets, and secure a true copy of the affidavit from the Surrogate. Otherwise obtain certified Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary — from the New Jersey county Surrogate, or from the proper authority in the decedent's home state if they lived outside New Jersey.
3. Complete and notarize the applicable parts of Form B-40, Affidavit for Claiming Benefits Due a Deceased Person, and attach the death certificate and the Surrogate document.
4. Email the form with supporting documents to CollateralClaims@dol.nj.gov for review, or mail it to the address printed on the form.

Frequently asked questions