Estate Planning in Passaic County, New Jersey

Wills, Guardians and Funeral Wishes in Passaic County

A will made in New Jersey is signed before 2N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses. The person making it must be at least 18 years old. A witness who also takes a gift under the will keeps the giftN.J.S.A. 3B:3-8Verified Oct 19, 2026View source. The will can be made self-proved, so it can be admitted to probate without the witnesses' testimony. A handwritten will is recognized too. New Jersey law defines a will to include any codicil, so a codicil is signed with the same two witnesses a will needs. A codicil can be made self-proved with the same affidavit a will uses, at signing or laterN.J.S.A. 3B:1-2Verified Oct 25, 2026View source.

After a death, opening an estate in Passaic County costs $100.

Parents name a guardian for a minor child in a willN.J.S.A. 3B:3-1; 3B:12-13, 3B:12-14, 3B:12-15, 3B:12-17, 3B:12-18Verified Sep 16, 2026View source. When a parent has named one, the nomination is one factor the court weighs in deciding the child's best interest. The choice covers a child until age 18N.J.S.A. 9:17B-3; N.J.S.A. 3B:12-13Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.

Who controls a person's funeral and burial or cremation follows an order set by law: surviving spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner, then majority of the surviving adult children, then surviving parent or parentsN.J.S.A. 45:27-22Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. A person can name their own agent for those decisions in advanceN.J.S.A. 45:27-22(a) (appointment in a will or on the board-approved form)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and the agent named comes before that order.

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Near youPre-Need Funeral Arrangements in Passaic County

Living Trusts in Passaic County

A living trust needs no notaryN.J.S.A. 3B:31-1 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. Banks and others dealing with a trustee can rely on a certificate of trust in place of the whole trust documentN.J.S.A. 3B:31-81Verified Sep 20, 2026.

Putting a home in Passaic County into the trust takes a deed, recorded with the County Clerk. Recording a 2-page document there costs $40 in recording fees, before any form fee the office adds. The office accepts electronic recording through the New Jersey County Recording portal. A deed into the owner's own trust pays no transfer taxN.J.S.A. 3B:31-1 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and the property is not reassessed for tax when it goes in. A home in the owner's trust keeps its homestead exemption.

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Accounts, Vehicles and Beneficiaries

Divorce revokes a former spouse as beneficiaryN.J.S.A. 3B:3-14Verified Sep 15, 2026View source in New Jersey. An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1)(D)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it29 U.S.C. § 1144(a)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary29 U.S.C. § 1055(b)(1)(C)(i)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source unless the spouse consented in writing to another29 U.S.C. § 1055(c)(2)(A)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. An inherited IRA is protected from the beneficiary's creditorsN.J.S.A. 25:2-1(b)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

At a death, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwiseN.J.S.A. 17:16I-5(a)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A pay-on-death account passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's deathN.J.S.A. 17:16I-5(b)(2)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A brokerage account or a security registered in beneficiary form passes at the owner's death to the beneficiary who survivesN.J.S.A. 3B:30-8Verified Nov 1, 2026View source, and to the estate if none survives.

Vehicle owners can name a transfer on death beneficiary on the titleN.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1bVerified Oct 21, 2026View source.

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Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Documents

A financial power of attorney made in New Jersey is signed before a notaryN.J.S.A. §§ 46:2B-8.1 to 46:2B-8.14 (Revised Durable Power of Attorney Act); R.S. 46:14-2.1; R.S. 46:14-6.1; N.J.S.A. §§ 3B:14-61.9, 3B:14-61.10 (RUFADAA)Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, with no witness required. It ends if the signer becomes incapacitated unless it says it is durableN.J.S.A. § 46:2B-8.2(b)Verified Oct 21, 2026View source. It can be written to take effect only if the signer becomes incapacitated.

For medical decisions, a healthcare power of attorney is signed before 2New Jersey Commission on Legal and Ethical Problems in the Delivery of Health Care sample Proxy Directive (published by the NJ Department of Health; not codified in statute)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary. The living will in New Jersey is the Instruction DirectiveN.J.S.A. 26:2H-53 to 26:2H-78 (New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act, L.1991, c.201)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, which is signed the same wayN.J.S.A. 26:2H-56; 26:2H-58(b)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source. A medical-records release follows the state's own rulesN.J.S.A. 26:5C-7, 26:5C-8 (P.L.1989, c.303, §§ 3, 4); surrogate: § 26:5C-12; N.J.S.A. 30:4-24.3; N.J.A.C. 10:37-6.79(i); N.J.S.A. 10:5-45, 10:5-47, 10:5-48 (NJ Genetic Privacy Act, P.L.1996, c.126)Verified Jun 19, 2026View source for HIV/AIDS-related information, mental health records and genetic information, beyond the federal authorization.

Taxes, Signing and Moving

Inheritances are taxed in New JerseyN.J.S.A. 54:34-1, 54:34-2, 54:34-4Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, at rates set by the heir's relationship to the person who died. The federal estate tax exempts the first $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source per person. The federal annual gift tax exclusion is $19,00026 USC § 2503(b); Rev. Proc. 2025-32 § 4.42Verified Sep 15, 2026View source per recipient.

Remote online notarization is authorized in New Jersey with restrictionsN.J.S.A. 52:7-10.9Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. A will signed in another state is recognized if it followed the law of the place where it was signedN.J.S.A. 3B:3-9Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.

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