New Jersey Statutes 54:34-1. Transfers taxable
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 54:34-1
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Bequest: Property gifted by will.
- Contemplation of death: The expectation of death that provides the primary motive to make a gift.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Devise: To gift property by will.
- Donor: The person who makes a gift.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
- Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
- Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Personal property: includes goods and chattels, rights and credits, moneys and effects, evidences of debt, choses in action and all written instruments by which any right to, interest in, or lien or encumbrance upon, property or any debt or financial obligation is created, acknowledged, evidenced, transferred, discharged or defeated, in whole or in part, and everything except real property as herein defined which may be the subject of ownership. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
a. Where real or tangible personal property situated in this State or intangible personal property wherever situated is transferred by will or by the intestate laws of this State from a resident of this State dying seized or possessed thereof.
b. Where real or tangible personal property within this State of a decedent not a resident of this State at the time of his death is transferred by will or intestate law.
c. Where real or tangible personal property within this State of a resident of this State or intangible personal property wherever situate of a resident of this State or real or tangible personal property within this State of a nonresident, is transferred by deed, grant, bargain, sale or gift made in contemplation of the death of the grantor, vendor or donor, or intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after such death.
A transfer by deed, grant, bargain, sale or gift made without adequate valuable consideration and within three years prior to the death of the grantor, vendor or donor of a material part of his estate or in the nature of a final disposition or distribution thereof, shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been made in contemplation of death within the meaning of subsection c. of this section; but no such transfer made prior to such three-year period shall be deemed or held to have been made in contemplation of death.
d. Where by transfer of a resident decedent of real or tangible personal property within this State or intangible property wherever situate, or by transfer of a nonresident decedent of real or tangible personal property within this State, a transferee, distributee or beneficiary comes into the possession or enjoyment therein of:
(1) An estate in expectancy of any kind or character which is contingent or defeasible, transferred by an instrument taking effect on or after July 4, 1909; or
(2) Property transferred pursuant to a power of appointment contained in an instrument taking effect on or after July 4, 1909.
e. When a decedent appoints or names one or more executors or trustees and bequeaths or devises property to him or them in lieu of commissions or allowances, the transfer of which property would otherwise be taxable, or appoints him or them his residuary legatee or legatees, and the bequest, devise or residuary legacy exceeds what would be reasonable compensation for his or their services, such excess shall be deemed a transfer liable to tax. The Superior Court having jurisdiction in the case, shall determine what is a reasonable compensation.
f. The right of the surviving joint tenant or joint tenants, person or persons, to the immediate ownership or possession and enjoyment of real or personal property held in the joint names of two or more persons, or deposited in banks or other institutions or depositories in the joint names of two or more persons and payable to either or the survivor, excluding, however, the right of a spouse, as a surviving joint tenant with his or her deceased spouse, or the right of a domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C. 26:8A-3), as a surviving joint tenant with that person’s deceased domestic partner, to the immediate ownership or possession and enjoyment of a membership certificate or stock in a cooperative housing corporation, the ownership of which entitles such member or stockholder to occupy real estate for dwelling purposes as the principal residence of the decedent and spouse or domestic partner, as applicable, shall upon the death of one of such persons, be deemed a transfer taxable in the same manner as though such property had belonged absolutely to the deceased joint tenant or joint depositor and had been devised or bequeathed by his will to the surviving joint tenant or joint tenants, person or persons, excepting therefrom such part of the property as such survivor or survivors may prove to the satisfaction of the Director of the Division of Taxation to have originally belonged to him or them and never to have belonged to the decedent.
In the case of a nonresident decedent, subsection f. of this section shall apply only to real or tangible personal property within this State.
Amended 1951, c.250; 1953, c.51, s.139; 1979, c.413; 1991, c.91, s.510; 2003, c.246, s.36.