Probate Question

I am executor of an estate worth about $1,000,000 in New Jersey. I am trying to figure out a couple of things. I know there is an NJ inheritance tax with different rates for different classes, but does that tax come out of each beneficiaries alloted percentage. In other words, if an estate is left 50% to a brother and 50% to a friend, does the brother get more money because he is in a different class or is the tax paid and then the remaining estate divided 50-50.

In addition, I don't understand the steps involved with the NJ inheritance tax. If i figure out the amount each benficiary owes based on their class and then pay that tax, by the time I then have to go pay the federal estate tax, the figure that the beneficiaries are going to get is gonna be a lot less than what was pout in the Nj Inheritance tax form. Is the NJ Inheritance tax reduced because of the federal estate tax? Do I just recalculate the amount owed each beneficiary from the new balance of the estate after payingthe federal tax?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

If there is a Will, it likely has a provision as to how to allocate federal estate and state esttae or inheritance taxes. If there is no Will, state laws prescribe the basis.

There is, as you may know, a federal tax credit against state inheritance taxes. In other words, while all states have a state tax, in most of the states that state tax comes out of the federal!

You really need an accountant to help you as otherwise, it is NUTS, and often the accountant and lawyer can save you enough money to pay for themselves many times over.