The New Jersey State Bar Association supports S-2991 (Singleton)/A-2351 (Mukherji), which permits a court to effectuate equitable distribution when a complaint for divorce or dissolution of a civil union has been filed and either party has died prior to a final judgement.
This bill codifies the holding in In the Matter of the Estate of Arthur Brown, Deceased, 448 N.J. Super. 252 (App. Div. 2017), cert. den. 230 N.J. 393. The Appellate Division held that despite the presence of a cause of action of divorce, the surviving spouse was not allowed to disclaim an elective share. This holding resolves an important issue regarding these matters where a spouse dies prior to a final judgment of a divorce and the surviving spouse is left without any entitlement to the deceased spouse’s estate. This legislation will simply provide a remedy for the division of the deceased spouse’s property.
For the reasons set forth above, the New Jersey State Bar Association supports S-2991/A-2351 and urges you to vote yes to this proposed legislation.