Form L-8 and Death in New Jersey

Question

Consider the following hypothetical case. A parent dies, in 2023, leaving all his money to his daughter in the state of New Jersey. His sole assets are two brokerage account worth 2 million dollars each.

Here are my claims:

1. There is no estate tax or inheritance tax due to New Jersey on the estate.
2. Two copies of form L-8 needed to be filled out. One for each brokerage account.

Who is required by law to file out form L-8? Is it the broker?

If the assets are inside a living revocable trust would that get rid of the requirement to file form L-8?

Answer 1

Per https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/inheritance/itl8.pdf

The forms may be filed by the executor of the estate, the Administrator of the estate/brokerage accounts, or a Class A beneficiary (spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, etc.)

Unless the broker is also managing the estate (unlikely), they are not responsible for filing L-8. Either the executor of the estate or the daughter's attorney needs to complete the form and file it with the state.

If the daughter is 18 or older, "Assets that are owned by or in the name of a trust do not require a waiver or L-8, but must still be reported on any return filed." In that case, the daughter's attorney should file a return with the Inheritance Tax Branch. However, if the daughter is under 18 and the trust is structured such that she will not receive some or all of the money until she is an adult, the daughter's attorney does need to file L-8 in addition to the return.