If an action by a creditor or other interested party is pending against the executor or administrator on the date of the filing of the complaint to adjudge the estate insolvent, the action may proceed to final judgment, but no execution shall issue until final judgment is entered in the insolvency proceeding. If the estate is adjudicated insolvent, the judgment creditor shall be entitled to receive the ratable portion determined by such final judgment.
Rule 4:91-5.Actions Pending May Proceed to Judgment
Last amended September 1, 2006 · Current through June 18, 2026 · Last verified July 7, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4:91-5 lets a pending action against the executor or administrator proceed to final judgment even after an insolvency complaint is filed, but blocks execution until the insolvency proceeding's final judgment, after which the judgment creditor collects only the ratable portion the insolvency judgment allows.
Full Text of Rule 4:91-5
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. 4:110-6; amended June 29, 1990 to be effective September 4, 1990; amended July 27, 2006 to be effective September 1, 2006.
Plain-English Summary
Filing a complaint to declare the estate insolvent doesn't freeze a lawsuit already pending against the executor or administrator — that case can still proceed all the way to final judgment. What it does hold back is collection: no execution can issue until the insolvency proceeding itself reaches final judgment. Once the estate is adjudicated insolvent, the judgment creditor is limited to the ratable portion that final judgment sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does filing an insolvency complaint stop a pending lawsuit against the estate's fiduciary?
No, that action may still proceed to final judgment, though execution is held back until the insolvency proceeding concludes.
How much can a judgment creditor collect once the estate is declared insolvent?
Only the ratable portion set by the final judgment in the insolvency proceeding.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
official New Jersey Rules of Court (N.J. Ct. R. 4:91-5). 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: pending action insolvent estate