Choose fiduciaries before choosing documents.
Executor, trustee, guardian, POA agent, healthcare proxy, and backups are often the hardest planning decisions.
Bergen County Estate Planning Attorneys
Estate planning attorneys serving Bergen County, NJ — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, Medicaid.
Planning for dense, multigenerational, cross-border families
Bergen County estate planning is rarely one-dimensional. A client may live in Fort Lee, work in New York, own a shore property, support a parent in assisted living, and have adult children in different states. Another may own a closely held business in Hackensack or Paramus with a spouse who should receive economic security but not day-to-day management duties.
Simon Law Group serves Bergen County clients from its Morristown, Somerville, and Flemington offices and by secure video when appropriate. We prepare New Jersey wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, probate filings, and trust-administration documents.
The Bergen County probate setting
The Bergen County Surrogate’s Court is located at Two Bergen County Plaza, Suite 5000, Hackensack. The Surrogate explains that probate allows an executor to transfer assets under a last will and testament and that not every asset is a probate asset. Title and beneficiary designations matter.
That distinction drives our planning. A will may control individually titled assets, but retirement accounts, payable-on-death accounts, life insurance, jointly titled real estate, and trust assets may pass outside the will. A Bergen County plan should treat the will, trust, account titling, and beneficiary designations as one system.
Legal and tax issues to review
New Jersey no longer imposes a state estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2018, according to the Division of Taxation. New Jersey inheritance tax remains relevant when assets pass to certain beneficiary classes. Federal estate tax also remains relevant for larger estates; the IRS estate tax FAQs list a $15,000,000 federal basic exclusion amount for 2026 decedents.
Bergen County clients should also review:
- Out-of-state real estate that could require ancillary probate if not planned for.
- New York employment, business, or property ties that may call for tax coordination.
- High-value residential real estate and liquidity for carrying costs after death.
- Blended-family instructions, especially where a surviving spouse and children from a prior relationship have different expectations.
- Fiduciary location and capacity. A trustee in California may be legally acceptable but practically inefficient for local real estate, court filings, or family communication.
Documents we commonly prepare
A will-based plan may be appropriate for a straightforward estate with reliable beneficiary designations and limited probate concerns. A trust-based plan may be more appropriate where privacy, continuity, out-of-state property, disability planning, or family complexity makes successor trustee authority useful.
We also prepare durable financial powers of attorney, advance health care directives, HIPAA authorizations, trust certifications, deeds where appropriate, fiduciary instructions, and beneficiary-designation review letters. For business owners, we coordinate the estate plan with operating agreements, shareholder agreements, or buy-sell terms.
When probate becomes litigation
Most estates are administered without a will contest. Still, Bergen County families should plan with litigation risk in mind when there is a disinherited child, late-life amendment, caregiver involvement, family business, unequal gift, or cognitive-decline history. In a contested matter, probate questions may proceed in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part, rather than remaining a routine Surrogate filing.
Clear drafting cannot prevent every dispute, but it can reduce ambiguity. We document capacity-sensitive decisions carefully, avoid casual handwritten changes, and use fiduciary language that gives executors and trustees workable authority.
Related topics
Responsible Attorney: Britt J. Simon, Esq., Managing Partner, Simon Law Group, LLC.
Frequently asked questions
▸ Where does Bergen County probate take place?
Routine probate is handled by the Bergen County Surrogate's Court at Two Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack. Contested matters may proceed in the Bergen Vicinage of the Superior Court.
▸ Does every Bergen County asset go through probate?
No. Assets held jointly, assets with beneficiary designations, and assets titled in a trust may pass outside probate. The exact answer depends on title, contract terms, and beneficiary forms.
▸ Should I use a revocable trust if I own New York property?
It is worth discussing. A properly funded revocable trust may reduce the need for separate probate proceedings involving out-of-state real estate, but the deed, mortgage, tax, and title consequences must be reviewed before transfer.
▸ Does New Jersey inheritance tax apply to children?
Class A beneficiaries, including children and grandchildren, are generally not taxed under New Jersey inheritance tax rules. Different rules can apply to siblings, nieces, nephews, unrelated beneficiaries, and some in-law relationships.
Sources & authorities
- New Jersey Legislature - Official Statutes Downloads
- New Jersey Uniform Trust Code, P.L. 2015 c.276
- New Jersey Revised Durable Power of Attorney Act, P.L. 2000 c.109
- New Jersey Department of Health - Advance Directive Forms and FAQs
- New Jersey Division of Taxation - Inheritance and Estate Tax
- IRS - Estate Tax
Reviewed by Britt J. Simon, Esq., Managing Partner — May 2026
Related pages
Estate Planning
Our Estate Planning practice overview and related New Jersey legal services.
Learn MoreBernards Township Estate Planning Attorneys
Bernards Township, NJ — estate planning attorneys at Simon Law Group.
Learn MoreBernardsville Estate Planning Attorneys
Bernardsville, NJ — estate planning attorneys at Simon Law Group.
Learn MoreBound Brook Estate Planning Attorneys
Bound Brook, NJ — estate planning attorneys at Simon Law Group.
Learn MoreAlpine Estate Planning Attorneys
Estate planning for Alpine, Bergen County, NJ.
Learn MoreEnglewood Cliffs Estate Planning Attorneys
Englewood Cliffs, NJ — estate planning attorneys at Simon Law Group.
Learn MoreRidgewood Estate Planning Attorneys
Ridgewood estate planning for wills, trusts, incapacity documents, and Bergen County probate.
Learn MoreGeographic scope
Serving 2 New Jersey counties.
- Bergen County
- New Jersey
Consult
Contact the Firm
Confidential and no-obligation.
Consultation request. There is no charge to send this form or to talk through your situation.
Request received.
Your message went straight to our intake team. A real person reads every request that comes in, and you are never left waiting in a queue.
- Personal review. A member of our intake team reads your message and matches it to the right attorney.
- We reach out. Keep an eye out for a call, text, or email from our Somerville office, usually within one business day.
- Free consultation. If we can take your matter, we schedule time with the attorney who would actually handle it.
Please do not send additional confidential details until we confirm the firm can discuss your matter.
What Happens Next
What happens after you reach out.
- We make sure we're the right firm.
We start with the basics: what kind of matter, which county, and how urgent, before any detailed legal discussion.
- You choose how we follow up.
Call, text, or email, whichever you prefer. Text consent is optional.
- Hold the confidential details.
Do not send privileged documents or sensitive narratives until the firm confirms it can discuss the matter.
- We review and follow up.
Our team reviews your request for urgency, practice fit, conflicts, deadlines, and availability before confirming next steps.
Submitting a form, downloading a guide, texting, or calling does not create an attorney-client relationship. That relationship begins only after we review your matter and sign a written agreement.