How Long Do You Have to Transfer a House After Death in New Jersey?

None of the official New Jersey sources I checked sets a deadline for selling or transferring a house after someone dies. What they do set are other dates that shape the timeline, from the 10-day wait before a will can be probated to the eight-month inheritance tax deadline, and the bills on the house keep coming the whole time.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. When a family in Monmouth or Ocean County asks me how long they have, the answer they need is less about a legal cutoff and more about what waiting costs. Here's the calendar, and where the house fits on it.

Is there a legal deadline to sell an inherited house in New Jersey?

Not one that I found in the Surrogate, statute or Division of Taxation sources behind this article. The estate's attorney is the right person to confirm whether anything in your situation, like the will's terms or a court order, sets a date.

The practical limit is different: until someone has legal authority to act for the estate, nobody can sign a listing agreement, a contract or a deed. The Monmouth County Surrogate's guide says a power of attorney, even a durable one, ends at the death of the person who signed it. Authority comes from the Surrogate instead.

What dates does New Jersey set after a death?

• 10 days: a will can't be admitted to probate until 10 days after the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-22). The Monmouth County Surrogate says it can't issue Letters Testamentary until the eleventh day, and the Ocean County Surrogate issues probate certificates on the 11th day and administration certificates, when there's no will, on the 6th day.
• 60 days after probate: the Ocean County Surrogate's planning guide says the personal representative has 60 days to notify the heirs, next of kin and beneficiaries that probate was applied for.
• 8 months: the NJ Division of Taxation says any inheritance tax return must be filed and the tax paid within eight months after the death, with interest at 10 percent a year after that (Form O-10-C).
• 9 months: creditors have nine months from the date of death to present claims to the personal representative (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4).
• 15 years: unpaid inheritance tax is a lien on New Jersey property for 15 years from the date of death unless it's paid or a bond is filed (Form O-10-C). That's why a buyer's title company looks for the Division's waiver.

What happens if nobody probates the will?

The house sits. The Monmouth County Surrogate says a will is probated when the person who died had assets in their name only, and its probate page explains that the Letters Testamentary and short certificates it issues are what give the executor authority to administer the estate. Without them, there's no one who can sell the house, and the deed stays in the name of a person who has died.

Not every house needs probate. A house held by spouses as tenants by the entirety becomes the survivor's, according to the Ocean County guide. Read whether a house has to go through probate in New Jersey to see which situation you're in.

What does it cost to wait?

More than most families expect. Someone keeps paying the property taxes, the insurance, the utilities and the upkeep. New Jersey's fiduciary powers statute lists paying taxes and other charges, keeping the property insured and making repairs to preserve it or make it saleable among an executor's powers (N.J.S.A. 3B:14-23), which tells you those bills are the estate's to handle.

An empty house also needs watching. Ask the insurer what coverage applies while it's vacant, keep the heat on through a Jersey winter, and have someone walk through it every week. My article on protecting a vacant inherited house covers the checklist.

Then there's the house itself. A home that's been closed up for a year shows like it.

How do you keep the timeline moving?

1. Apply to the Surrogate. In Monmouth County that's the Hall of Records, One East Main Street, Freehold. In Ocean County it's 118 Washington Street, Toms River, with a Southern Service Center in Manahawkin on Fridays by appointment. The estate's attorney can guide the application.
2. Plan the house while the paperwork moves. Value it, plan the estate sale and clean-out, and line up any repairs. None of that needs a signature from the estate. Start with my home value tool.
3. Put the tax waiver on the calendar. The Division of Taxation's executor guide says to plan for processing to take at least several months after a return is filed.
4. Sign when the attorney says go. Once the executor or administrator has authority, the house can list.

The full sequence is in my Estate & Probate Guide, and you can see how I handle an estate home from the first walk-through to the closing table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to sell an inherited house within a certain time in New Jersey?

The official sources I checked don't set one. The estate's attorney can tell you whether the will or anything else in your situation does.

How soon after a death can the house be sold?

Once someone has authority to sign. With a will, that can't happen before the Surrogate issues Letters, no earlier than the eleventh day after the death in Monmouth and Ocean County.

Does inheritance tax have to be paid before the house sells?

It's due within eight months of the death either way. The house can't transfer without the Division's waiver, and the waiver isn't granted until any tax is paid or provided for.

Who pays the bills on the house until it sells?

Ask the estate's attorney how the estate should handle them. New Jersey's fiduciary powers statute includes paying taxes and insurance on estate property.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. The estate's attorney can tell you what applies to your situation.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.

Keep reading

• How long probate takes in New Jersey
• What happens at an estate closing, and when heirs get paid
• The Estate & Probate Guide
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark.