Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

New Jersey has an unusual death tax scheme, and it will involve your cousin to obtain the waiver. In brief, the requirement is due to the relationship between you and your aunt. It depends on how much of what you will be receiving is actually a loan repayment, and the balance, if any, will be considered an inheritance. The inheritance portion (possibly represented by the trust account) will be subject to the NJ Inheritance Tax which can be quite a high due to your relationship. The loan repayment should not be subject to the tax. Plus, the accounts with both names raise a question. Is any part of the accounts your money, or was it all your aunt's? A possible presumption is that 1/2 of each account is your funds (not death taxable) but it can be also argued all of the funds were your aunt's money and you were named on the account merely as an accommodation so you could pay bills. I suggest you retain an attorney to assist you and your cousin in this situation, as you have an exposure of tens of thousands of dollars in death taxes. Legitimate expenses like the funeral and cemetery are deductions on the inheritance tax return and can be reimbursed to you free of tax.