New Jersey Statutes 3B:5-3. Intestate share of decedent’s surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, domestic partner
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 3B:5-3
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Domestic partner: means a domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- 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
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- 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
The intestate share of the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner is:
a. The entire intestate estate if:
(1) No descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or
(2) All of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse or domestic partner, partner in a civil union, who survives the decedent;
b. The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus three-fourths of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent;
c. The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate:
(1) If all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner and the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent; or
(2) If one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants is not a descendant of the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner.
d. For purposes of this section:
“Surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner” shall not include:
(1) an individual who has filed a complaint not dismissed pursuant to R.4:6-2 of the Rules of Court, or against whom a complaint not dismissed pursuant to R.4:6-2 of the Rules of Court, has been filed for: divorce, dissolution of civil union, termination of domestic partnership, or divorce from bed and board; or
(2) an individual who has entered into a validly executed equitable distribution cut-off agreement or termination agreement where the underlying subject matter of the complaint or equitable distribution cut-off agreement or termination agreement is divorce, dissolution of civil union, termination of domestic partnership, or divorce from bed and board; or
(3) an individual who at the time of death of the decedent had:
(a) ceased to cohabit with the decedent under circumstances which would have given rise to a cause of action for divorce or nullity of marriage to a decedent prior to his or her death under the laws of this State; and
(b) where, through written agreement, affirmative acts, or both written agreement and affirmative acts of the individual and decedent there had been a division of assets equivalent to equitable distribution; or
(4) an individual who, at the time of death of the deceased, had entered into a validly executed marital settlement agreement with the decedent where the underlying subject matter of the marital settlement agreement is divorce, dissolution of civil union, termination of domestic partnership, or divorce from bed and board.
L.1981, c.405, s.3B:5-3, eff. May 1, 1982; amended 2004, c.132, s.46; 2005, c.331, s.2; 2023, c.238, s.1.