The 120-Hour Rule is part of the New Jersey intestacy system. It states that an heir must survive you by at least 120 hours to be eligible to inherit. This would matter in an instance where say you pass on and leave a child and grandchild. Your child then passes a week after you do, so they are still eligible to inherit their share as a beneficiary, and it can be transferred to the grandchild. This system is a part of an even broader system called the parentelic system. It basically acts according to the distribution lineup that we summarized in the previous section.
There are three branches of this system.
The first branch recognizes the heirs as the decedent’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
The second branch recognizes parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews, extending down to great-nieces and nephews.
The third and final branch accounts for the decedent’s grandparents and their descendants such as aunts, uncles, and first cousins.