New Jersey Statutes 3B:15-1. Bonds of fiduciaries; exceptions
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 3B:15-1
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- 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
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Devisee: means any person designated in a will to receive a devise. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- Estate: means all of the property of a decedent, minor or incapacitated individual, trust or other person whose affairs are subject to this title as the property is originally constituted and as it exists from time to time during administration. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fiduciary: includes executors, general administrators of an intestate estate, administrators with the will annexed, substituted administrators, substituted administrators with the will annexed, guardians, substituted guardians, trustees, substituted trustees and, unless restricted by the subject or context, temporary administrators, administrators pendente lite, administrators ad prosequendum, administrators ad litem and other limited fiduciaries. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means a person who has qualified as a guardian of the person or estate of a minor or incapacitated individual pursuant to testamentary or court appointment, but excludes one who is merely a guardian ad litem. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- 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
- 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
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
a. When an appointment is made upon failure of the will, or other instrument creating or continuing a fiduciary relationship, to name a fiduciary;
b. When a person is appointed in the place of the person named as fiduciary in the will, or other instrument creating or continuing the fiduciary relationship;
c. When the office to which the person is appointed is any form of administration, except: (1) administration ad litem which may be granted with or without bond; or (2) administration granted to a surviving spouse where the decedent‘s entire estate is payable to the surviving spouse;
d. When the office to which the person is appointed is any form of guardianship of a minor or a person who is incapacitated, except as otherwise provided in N.J.S. 3B:12-16 or N.J.S. 3B:12-33 with respect to a guardian appointed by will;
e. When letters are granted to a nonresident executor, except in cases where the will provides that no security shall be required of the person named as executor therein;
f. When an additional or substituted fiduciary is appointed;
g. When an appointment is made under chapter 26 of this title, of a fiduciary for the estate or property, or any part thereof, of an absentee;
h. When a fiduciary moves from the State, in which case the court may require the fiduciary to give such security as the court determines; or
i. (1) When an appointment is made, regardless of any direction in a last will and testament relieving a personal representative, testamentary guardian, or testamentary trustee or their successors from giving bond, that person shall, before receiving letters or exercising any authority or control over the property, provide bond to secure performance of the person’s duties with respect to property to which a person with a developmental disability as defined in section 3 of P.L.1985, c.145 (C. 30:6D-25) is, or shall be entitled, if:
(a) the testator has identified that a devisee or beneficiary of property of the decedent’s estate is a person with a developmental disability; or
(b) the person seeking appointment has actual knowledge that a devisee or beneficiary of property of the decedent’s estate is a person with a developmental disability.
(2) No bond shall be required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection if:
(a) the court has appointed another person as guardian of the person or guardian of the estate for the person with a developmental disability;
(b) the person seeking the appointment is a family member within the third degree of consanguinity of the person with a developmental disability; or
(c) the total value of the real and personal assets of the estate or trust does not exceed $25,000.
(3) A personal representative, testamentary guardian, or testamentary trustee who is required to provide bond pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall file with the Superior Court an initial inventory and a final accounting of the estate in that person’s charge containing a true account of all assets of the estate. That person shall file an interim accounting every five years, or a lesser period of time if so ordered by the Superior Court, in the case of an extended estate or trust administration.
(4) A personal representative, testamentary guardian, or testamentary trustee who is required to provide bond pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may make application to the court to waive the bond or reduce the amount of bond for good cause shown, including the need to preserve assets of the estate.
This subsection shall not apply to qualified financial institutions pursuant to section 30 of P.L.1948, c.67 (C. 17:9A-30) or to non-profit community trusts organized pursuant to P.L.1985, c.424 (C. 3B:11-19 et seq.).
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require a bond in any case where it is specifically provided by law that a bond need not be required.
amended 1985, c.34; 2009, c.140, s.1; 2010, c.34, s.3; 2013, c.103, s.46.