Probate in Essex County

Probate Court Record

Essex County Surrogate's Court

Essex County

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM

Office

495 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Newark, NJ 07102

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

How to file probate in Essex County →

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Essex County? →Settling an estate in Essex County →

Trust Litigation Firms Serving Essex County

Shapiro Croland sits minutes from the Bergen County Surrogate and Superior Court in Hackensack and runs a dedicated probate litigation practice across northern and central New Jersey. It represents fiduciaries and estate beneficiaries in contested wills, fiduciary and guardianship disputes, and estate administration, and takes local-counsel roles for out-of-state lawyers.

ProbateProbate LitigationTrust LitigationGuardianship

Archer & Greiner's Private Wealth, Estates & Trusts group serves clients from its Voorhees office in Camden County and other Mid-Atlantic locations. The practice handles estate and trust administration, estate and trust litigation, will and trust disputes, business succession, and elder law. Several attorneys hold CPA credentials or master's degrees in taxation.

Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+3

All 3 New Jersey trust litigation firms serving Essex 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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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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