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.
Wayne is in Passaic County.
More Trust Administration Firms in Passaic County
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.
Probate in Passaic County
Probate Court Record
Passaic County Surrogate's Court
Passaic County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-12:30 PM and 1:30 PM-4:30 PM
Office
71 Hamilton Street, Room 101, Paterson, NJ 07505
Website
Filing in person
Appointment required
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Passaic County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Passaic County? →Settling an estate in Passaic County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in New Jersey
Free New Jersey forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for New Jersey.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Free
Pour-Over Will
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.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in New Jersey
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in New Jersey: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for New Jersey.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
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.
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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
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.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
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.
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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
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.
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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
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.
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