Free New Jersey forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
In New Jersey, a pour-over will is signed before 2N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in New Jersey: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
Settling a trust in New Jersey happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeN.J.S.A. 3B:31-1 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
In New Jersey, trustee compensation follows a statutory fee scheduleN.J.S.A. 3B:18-2 (nontestamentary governing-instrument override), 3B:18-24 (income commissions), 3B:18-25 (annual corpus commissions; court reasonableness review), 3B:18-25.1 (multiple fiduciaries — annual corpus), 3B:18-28 (termination corpus commissions), 3B:18-31 (testamentary-trustee-only excess authorization)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount. The schedule is an annual commission on principal.
Settling an estate in New Jersey: creditors have 9 monthsN.J.S.A. 3B:22-2, 3B:22-4, 3B:22-8, 3B:22-10, 3B:22-33Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
New Jersey requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040N.J.S.A. 54A:2-1Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Inherited assets in New Jersey take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular ratesN.J.S.A. 54A:2-1 (rate schedule, as amended by P.L. 2020, c.94 — Millionaires Tax)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
43 trust administration firms in New Jersey, by county and firm type.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
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43 firms
FirmRoseland, NJ
Lasser Hochman is a Roseland firm founded in 1954 serving Essex County and northern New Jersey. Its estate planning and administration attorneys handle wills and trusts, probate and estate administration, and related tax planning, drawing on the firm's depth in real property and taxation.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planning
FirmHackettstown, NJ
Lavery, Selvaggi & Cohen covers Warren County and surrounding areas with estate plans ranging from simple to highly sophisticated. Their trusts and estates practice covers estate and gift tax planning, special needs trusts, and Medicaid planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planningand 2 more
FirmNew Providence, NJ
Founded in 1954, Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper is based in New Providence in Union County, serving central and northern New Jersey. Its attorneys handle estate planning and estate and trust administration, including probate, estate inventory, creditor notification, and fiduciary support for executors and trustees.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning
FirmRoseland, NJ
Mandelbaum Barrett, founded in 1930 and based in Roseland in Essex County, expanded through its January 2026 merger with Ivey, Barnum & O'Mara. Its trusts and estates attorneys handle estate planning, estate and trust administration, elder law, and asset-protection matters for New Jersey families.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawAsset Protection
FirmNewark, NJ
McCarter & English, headquartered in Newark, runs a Trusts, Estates & Private Clients practice serving individuals, business owners, and financial institutions. Its attorneys handle estate and personal tax planning, charitable giving, estate administration, and fiduciary litigation.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 3 more
FirmMontvale, NJ
Meyerson, Fox, & Conte serves Bergen County from Montvale, filing through the Bergen County Surrogate in Hackensack. Its wills, trusts and estate group handles estate administration and contested estate matters alongside guardianship and disability work, and partner Mark Conte has spoken on contested guardianships with the Chancery Division bench.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 3 more
FirmLittle Falls, NJ
The Montanari Law Group covers Passaic County from Little Falls, serving Woodland Park, Wayne, West Milford and Clifton and filing through the Passaic County Surrogate in Paterson. Its estate attorneys take executors through probate and estate administration and draft wills and living trusts. The firm offers free initial consultations and flexible appointment times.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbate
Solo PracticeEast Brunswick, NJ
Robert C. Nisenson practices from East Brunswick and files through the Middlesex County Surrogate in New Brunswick. He advises heirs, beneficiaries, personal representatives and estate administrators on probate and estate administration, and prepares wills and trusts. The initial consultation is free.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbate
FirmBridgewater, NJ
Norris McLaughlin specializes in Estate Planning and Administration & Wealth Preservation with a 15-attorney practice group, serving clients throughout North and Central Jersey.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning
FirmBrick, NJ
O'Malley, Surman & Michelini has served Ocean and Monmouth counties for over 40 years. Co-founder Gregory A. Surman has practiced law in Ocean County since 1976 and concentrates on estate planning, trust and estate administration, taxation, probate, and elder law.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning
FirmHackensack, NJ
Pashman Stein Walder Hayden is a Hackensack firm in Bergen County, with a second office in Holmdel. Its Trusts & Estates group advises individuals, families, and financial advisors on trust and estate planning, gifting, and wealth preservation, and handles probate litigation and elder law and special needs matters.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
FirmMadison, NJ
Founded in 1882, Riker Danzig is one of New Jersey's oldest firms, headquartered at Giralda Farms in Madison, Morris County. Its Tax and Trusts & Estates group pairs estate planning with a dedicated probate litigation team representing beneficiaries and fiduciaries in will contests, will and trust interpretation disputes, and guardianship proceedings.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTax Planning
FirmLittle Falls, NJ
Scarinci Hollenbeck is a Little Falls business law firm in Passaic County, with additional offices in Red Bank and New York. Its Tax, Trusts & Estates group drafts wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, advance directives, and powers of attorney, and advises fiduciaries administering trusts and estates, with the firm's tax attorneys handling related estate tax matters.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationTax PlanningWealth Transfer
FirmMoorestown, NJ
Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose & Podolsky is a Moorestown firm in Burlington County whose estate group handles probate and estate administration, will and trust contests, guardianships, and Medicaid and asset-protection planning for clients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The firm offers free same-day consultations, with emergency consultations available for urgent matters.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateBusiness Succession
FirmNewark, NJ
Sills Cummis & Gross is a Newark firm at One Riverfront Plaza whose Tax, Trusts and Estates attorneys handle estate planning and administration, tax litigation, and disputes before the IRS, U.S. Tax Court, and the New Jersey Tax and Superior Courts. Several attorneys are former IRS trial lawyers, giving the group depth in contested tax and fiduciary matters.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax PlanningCharitable Planning
FirmCherry Hill, NJ
Simeone & Raynor is a Cherry Hill firm in Camden County, with a second office in Medford, serving South Jersey. The firm handles estate planning, estate administration, and estate litigation, and its attorneys routinely appear in probate courts and serve as court-appointed administrators across the region.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more
FirmHamilton, NJ
Founded in 1933, Stark & Stark runs a Trusts & Estates group from its Hamilton office in Mercer County, near Trenton. The group handles probate, trust and estate administration, and litigation of contested estates and trusts, advising both fiduciaries and beneficiaries through every stage of administration.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigation
FirmMorristown, NJ
Two blocks from the Morris County Surrogate in Morristown, Thomas N. Torzewski, LLC represents executors, administrators and trustees settling estates and trusts, with more than 40 years of administration experience behind the practice. The firm carries the matter into probate and trust litigation when a dispute arises, and pairs it with estate tax and business planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more
FirmBernardsville, NJ
Varian Law serves Somerset County from Bernardsville, filing through the Somerset County Surrogate's Court in Somerville. The firm handles estate and trust administration and probate court litigation, including trust and estate disputes, and adds elder law, Medicaid, and special needs planning for families administering an estate or trust.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more
FirmSummit, NJ
Ventura, Miesowitz & Keough is a Summit firm serving Union, Morris, Somerset, Essex, and Middlesex counties, handling estate planning, trust and estate administration, and elder law since 1981. John J. Miesowitz, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, leads the estate practice. The first consultation is free and the firm makes home and hospital visits.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationElder LawTax Planningand 2 more