Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in New Jersey?
New Jersey automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceN.J.S.A. 3B:3-14Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in New Jersey as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
Yes. New Jersey automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorce for these asset types: life insurance, retirement accounts, pod accounts, tod accounts, annuitiesN.J.S.A. 3B:3-14Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. An ERISA-governed employer plan (a 401(k), a pension) follows federal law instead and must be updated by hand whatever the state rule says.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). New Jersey sets no spousal-consent requirement of its ownN.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1; cf. N.J.S.A. 3B:8-1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source for an individual account.
Yes. New Jersey gives inherited IRAs full statutory protection from creditorsN.J.S.A. 25:2-1(b)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, the state statute is the shield.
Yes. New Jersey applies a per stirpes default to beneficiary designationsN.J.S.A. 3B:3-35; 3B:3-33.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, that beneficiary's share passes to their descendants rather than to the other named beneficiaries.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
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Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in New Jersey
Free forms for planning your estate in New Jersey: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In New Jersey, a will is signed before 2N.J.S.A. 3B:3-2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyN.J.S.A. 3B:3-2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
New Jersey allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 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.
Financial Power of Attorney
New Jersey requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityN.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 Sep 18, 2026View source, and it 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 Sep 18, 2026View source.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In New Jersey, the living will 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, a written instruction that is valid with no agent named.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in New Jersey
Free tools for planning your estate in New Jersey: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in New Jersey runs $4,440Estimate: 10 hours at $444, Clio's New Jersey Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,660Estimate: 15 hours at $444, Clio's New Jersey Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,305Estimate: 3 hours at $435, Clio's New Jersey Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,610Estimate: 6 hours at $435, Clio's New Jersey Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In New Jersey, four years at a public university cost about $117,568NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 9% above the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; an inheritance tax falls on beneficiariesN.J.S.A. 54:34-1, 54:34-2, 54:34-4Verified Sep 15, 2026View source by relationship.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in New Jersey costs an estimated $35,885R. 4:42-9(a)(3) (court may allow a counsel fee out of the estate in a probate action) and R. 4:42-9(b) (fee must be supported by an affidavit of services addressing the RPC 1.5(a) reasonableness factors; no statutory percentage); N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 (attorney also serving as fiduciary)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.4%R. 4:42-9(a)(3) (court may allow a counsel fee out of the estate in a probate action) and R. 4:42-9(b) (fee must be supported by an affidavit of services addressing the RPC 1.5(a) reasonableness factors; no statutory percentage); N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 (attorney also serving as fiduciary)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.9%R. 4:42-9(a)(3) (court may allow a counsel fee out of the estate in a probate action) and R. 4:42-9(b) (fee must be supported by an affidavit of services addressing the RPC 1.5(a) reasonableness factors; no statutory percentage); N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 (attorney also serving as fiduciary)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in New Jersey, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateN.J.S.A. § 3B:5-3Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita at each generationN.J.S.A. § 3B:5-4, § 3B:5-6Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in New Jersey runs $4,440Estimate: 10 hours at $444, Clio's New Jersey Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,660Estimate: 15 hours at $444, Clio's New Jersey Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in New Jersey runs $1,305Estimate: 3 hours at $435, Clio's New Jersey Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,610Estimate: 6 hours at $435, Clio's New Jersey Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $35,885R. 4:42-9(a)(3) (court may allow a counsel fee out of the estate in a probate action) and R. 4:42-9(b) (fee must be supported by an affidavit of services addressing the RPC 1.5(a) reasonableness factors; no statutory percentage); N.J.S.A. 3B:18-6 (attorney also serving as fiduciary)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In New Jersey, a parent names 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, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18N.J.S.A. 9:17B-3; N.J.S.A. 3B:12-13Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
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New Jersey Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering New Jersey probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.