Bill Text: NJ S4528 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Bars parent delinquent in child support payments under certain circumstances from inheriting any part of deceased child's estate or from administering estate.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-26 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee [S4528 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4528-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Bars parent delinquent in child support payments under certain circumstances from inheriting any part of deceased child's estate or from administering estate.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning nonpayment of child support and amending P.L.2009, c.43.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 4 of P.L.2009, c.43 (C.3B:5-14.1) is amended to read as follows:
4. a. As used in this section, "minor" means a person under the age of 18 years.
b. A parent of a decedent shall lose all right to intestate succession in any part of the decedent's estate and all right to administer the estate of the decedent if:
(1) The parent refused to acknowledge the decedent or abandoned the decedent when the decedent was a minor by willfully forsaking the decedent, failing to care for and keep the control and custody of the decedent so that the decedent was exposed to physical or moral risk without proper and sufficient protection, or failing to care for and keep the control and custody of the decedent so that the decedent was in the care, custody and control of the State at the time of death;
(2) The parent was convicted of committing any of the following crimes against the decedent:
(a) N.J.S.2C:14-2, Sexual Assault;
(b) N.J.S.2C:14-3, Criminal Sexual Contact;
(c) N.J.S.2C:24-4, Endangering Welfare of Children;
(3) The parent was convicted of an attempt or conspiracy to murder the decedent; [or]
(4) The parent abused or neglected the decedent, as defined in subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.21), and the abuse or neglect contributed to the decedent's death; or
(5) The parent owes past due child support that equals or exceeds the amount of support payable for six months and no regular payments are being made or previously were made. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply if the parent demonstrates, by a preponderance of the evidence, that: (a) the parent was unemployed during the period in which the arrears accrued, and such unemployment was not willful, voluntary, or undertaken to avoid child support obligations; (b) the amount of unpaid child support, not including arrears, does not equal or exceed the amount of support payable for more than one‑half of the child's life; (c) the parent did not willfully or knowingly default on the child support obligations; (d) the parent otherwise assumed the obligations of parenthood by taking responsibility for the child's care and development while the child was a minor; and (e) the parent maintained a relationship with the child that satisfies the best‑interests‑of‑the‑child standard under Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.
c. If a parent is disqualified from taking a distributive share in the estate of a decedent under this section, the estate shall be distributed as though the parent predeceased the decedent.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.43, s.4)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that if a parent owes certain past due child support and the child dies, the parent would be barred from inheriting any part of the child's estate. The bill applies to situations where the parent owes past due child support that equals or exceeds the amount of support payable for six months and no regular payments are being made or previously were made.
The bill provides that the parent would also lose the right to administer the estate. This means that the parent would also be barred from bringing an action for wrongful death on behalf of the deceased child or a survival action on behalf of the child's estate. A wrongful death or survival action could still be brought by the other parent, other relatives, or a person appointed by the court.
The provisions of this bill would not apply if the parent can demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, that:
-- the parent was unemployed during the period in which the arrears accrued, and such unemployment was not willful, voluntary, or undertaken to avoid child support obligations;
-- the amount of unpaid child support, not including arrears, does not equal or exceed the amount of support payable for more than one half of the child's life;
-- the parent did not willfully or knowingly default on the child support obligations;
-- the parent otherwise assumed the obligations of parenthood by taking responsibility for the child's care and development while the child was a minor; and
-- the parent maintained a relationship with the child that satisfies the best-interests-of-the-child standard under Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.
