New Jersey account format (R. 4:87-3)

The format: Rule 4:87-3(b)

New Jersey's formal accountings are governed by the court rules on actions for the settlement of accounts, Rule 4:87. Rule 4:87-3 sets the form of account. Subsection (b), quoted in full in the Appellate Division's opinion in [In re Estate of Crane, No. A-3739-22 (App. Div. Nov. 15, 2024)] (unpublished)(https://www.njcourts.gov/system/files/court-opinions/2024/a3739-22.pdf), requires every account to include:

1. a full statement or list of the investments and assets making up the balance in the accountant's hands, with the inventory value or the value when acquired, and the value as of the day the account is drawn, stating with particularity where each is deposited or kept and in what name;
2. a statement of all changes in the investments and assets since they were acquired or since the last account, with dates;
3. a statement of items apportioned between principal and income, showing the apportionments;
4. a statement of apportionments of transfer inheritance or estate taxes;
5. a statement of allocation if counsel fees, commissions and other administration expenses were paid from corpus but the tax benefit of the deductions went in part or in whole to income beneficiaries; and
6. a statement showing how the commissions requested on corpus are computed, with any assets not appearing in the account on which they are partly based.

In Crane, the court found that the informal accounting the beneficiary had received fell short of what a formal accounting under Rule 4:87-3(b) would provide.

What Summafolio produces

A New Jersey account with corpus (principal) and income stated separately, and a statement of assets annexed showing acquisition and current values and where and in what name each asset is held. It also includes the principal-and-income apportionments and a schedule of changes in investments with dates. Items 4 to 6 (tax apportionment, the allocation statement and the commission computation) are prepared from your entries. We don't compute New Jersey commissions or inheritance tax.

Guardianships

Guardians of an incapacitated person's estate may be directed to report on the Judiciary's periodic forms: the Periodic EZ Accounting form or the Periodic Comprehensive Accounting form. The judgment of incapacity should say which one (EZ form instructions). The EZ form's summary starts from the beginning cash balance and adds Schedule A–EZ income less Schedule B–EZ disbursements. Summafolio can produce the supporting schedules, but the Judiciary form itself is what you file.

What we haven't covered here

We cite only sources we could verify on official New Jersey sites. We haven't summarized the New Jersey statutes on trustee reports, commissions or principal and income for this page.

Frequently asked questions

Is an informal accounting enough?

Beneficiaries can accept one, but it isn't a formal accounting. Crane shows what the Rule 4:87-3(b) statements add.

Does the account need both values for each asset?

Yes. Item 1 calls for the inventory or acquisition value and the value on the day the account is drawn.

Samples and next steps

• Free template: Estate accounting template (executor's account)Blank PDF and Excel. A template, not a court form.
• PricingOne price per accounting, every export included.
• How it worksFrom statements to a reconciled accounting.
• All states and formatsCompare the 14 state formats and the uniform format.

Other states

• California
• Florida
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Illinois
• Ohio
• Georgia
• North Carolina
• Arizona
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• Michigan
• Virginia
• Uniform format