Upon filing of the complaint, and if the complaint is made by a creditor upon notice to the executor or administrator, the court may make an order requiring all persons interested in the decedent’s real or personal estate, including the State Treasurer and the Attorney General, to show cause on a specified date not less than two months after the date of the order why so much of the real or personal estate should not be sold as will be sufficient to pay the decedent’s debts or the residue thereof. A copy of the order to show cause together with a copy of the complaint shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the State Treasurer and the Attorney General and no further proceedings shall be taken unless a certificate, signed by the Attorney General and the State Treasurer certifying that the State will interpose no objection to the making of an Order authorizing the sale of such property, has been received by the Court. The order to show cause shall, one month prior to the date fixed in the order for the hearing, be published once in a newspaper of this State, as the court directs.
Rule 4:90-3.Order to show cause
Last amended September 4, 1990 · Current through June 18, 2026 · Last verified July 7, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4:90-3 lets the court order everyone interested in the estate -- including the State Treasurer and Attorney General -- to show cause, at least two months out, why estate property shouldn't be sold to pay debts, requires mailed notice to the state officials and their no-objection certificate before proceeding further, and requires newspaper publication a month before the hearing.
Full Text of Rule 4:90-3
Amendment History
New Jersey publishes each rule’s amendment record in a “History” note beneath the rule. It is reproduced verbatim below; the “R.R.” citations refer to the former Revised Rules numbering the current rules replaced.
Source-R.R. 4:109-4. Amended July 7, 1971 to be effective September 13, 1971; amended June 29, 1990 to be effective September 4, 1990.
Plain-English Summary
Once the complaint is filed — with notice to the executor or administrator if a creditor brought it — the court can order everyone with an interest in the estate's property, including the State Treasurer and Attorney General, to show cause why enough of it shouldn't be sold to cover the decedent's debts. That hearing date has to be at least two months out. The order and complaint go to the State Treasurer and Attorney General by registered or certified mail, and nothing more happens until the court receives a certificate, signed by both officials, confirming the State won't object to the sale. The order to show cause itself also has to run once in a state newspaper, a month before the hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice does the order to show cause require before the hearing?
At least two months from the date of the order.
What must happen before the court proceeds further after notifying the State Treasurer and Attorney General?
The court must receive a certificate, signed by both officials, confirming the State won't object to the sale.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
official New Jersey Rules of Court (N.J. Ct. R. 4:90-3). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey (N.J. Const. art. VI, § 2, ¶ 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 7, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: order to show cause sale of estate property