Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. New Jersey’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 3B:30-1 to 3B:30-12, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and a 2022 law added a beneficiary on a vehicle title. The source says: “Uniform TOD Security Registration Act”. The Motor Vehicle Commission publishes a form to add a beneficiary.
How New Jersey handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | New Jersey’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act is N.J.S.A. 3B:30-1 to 3B:30-12. Only individuals with sole ownership, or multiple ownership with right of survivorship, may register a security in beneficiary form, and a securities account with a broker counts as a security. A registering entity is not required to offer the option. Registration may be shown by the words transfer on death or TOD, or pay on death or POD, after the owner’s name and before the beneficiary’s name. |
| Effect on the will and probate | On the death of a sole owner or the last owner to die, ownership passes to the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries. The Act describes the transfer as resting on the contract between the owner and the registering entity and states it is not testamentary. The source says: “ownership of securities registered in beneficiary form passes to the beneficiary”. If no beneficiary survives all owners, the security belongs to the estate of the deceased owner. The Act does not limit the rights of creditors under other New Jersey law. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The beneficiary designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death. The sole owner, or all surviving owners, may cancel or change the registration at any time. The source says: “without the consent of the beneficiary”. A registering entity may set terms for changing a beneficiary and for naming primary and contingent beneficiaries. |
| Vehicle titles | New Jersey allows a motor vehicle to be titled in transfer-on-death form under N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b, enacted as P.L. 2022, chapter 13. The certificate of ownership names a beneficiary or beneficiaries, and the transfer is subject to the rights of lien holders. The source says: “A motor vehicle may be titled in transfer on death”. A trust may be the beneficiary. The owner may change the designation without the beneficiary’s consent by applying for a subsequent certificate of ownership. If no beneficiary survives, the vehicle belongs to the owner’s estate. |
| Motor Vehicle Commission form | The Motor Vehicle Commission publishes a Transfer on Death Beneficiary Designation form citing N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b. It collects the beneficiary’s details, the vehicle identification number and title number, and a notarized owner signature. The source says: “This form is used to add a transfer on death beneficiary.” The statute directs the Commission to publish forms to add, change or remove a beneficiary. |
A $250,000 brokerage account split
An owner holds a brokerage account worth $250,000 and registers it in beneficiary form to two named beneficiaries, with each to receive half. Each share is computed as $250,000 x 50% = $125,000. The 50/50 split is the owner’s illustration, not a rule of the state: the owner names the beneficiaries and, where the form allows it, the shares.
Real estate, probate and estate tax
A transfer on death deed is a different instrument for real property: see transfer on death deeds by state. For what probate costs in New Jersey, see New Jersey probate cost, and for New Jersey’s own estate or inheritance tax, see New Jersey estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: New Jersey probate cost, how New Jersey taxes retirement income, New Jersey estate and inheritance tax, transfer on death deeds by state, car titles after a death, by state, and transfer-on-death registration by state.
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Answer againSources
- Uniform TOD Security Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 3B:30-1 to 3B:30-12 (New Jersey Legislature): https://pub.njleg.gov/statutes/STATUTES-TEXT.zip
- N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b and 39:3-30.1c, Transfer of motor vehicle on death (New Jersey Legislature): https://pub.njleg.gov/statutes/STATUTES-TEXT.zip
- Transfer on Death Beneficiary Designation form (New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission): https://nj.gov/mvc/pdf/vehicles/beneficiary_transfer_form.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.