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A1140
ASSEMBLY, No. 1140
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Quijano, Assemblyman Coughlin, Assemblywoman
Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Sampson and Assemblywoman Brennan
SYNOPSIS
���� Allows termination of motor vehicle lease in event of
death; prohibits imposition of fee for early termination.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning motor
vehicle
leases and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
����� 1.�� a.�� A
dealer or lessor shall allow a motor vehicle lease to be terminated early in
the event of a lessee�s death, if the motor vehicle was leased in this State
and, at the time of the lessee�s death, registered in this State.
����� b.�� A
dealer or lessor shall not impose or assess a fee for the early termination of
a motor vehicle lease in the event of a lessee�s death pursuant to the
provisions of subsection a. of this section.� This subsection shall not
preclude a dealer or lessor from assessing a reasonable fee for a motor vehicle
returned with excess wear, use, or mileage, if specified in the lease
agreement.
����� c.�� A
motor vehicle lease shall not require, in the event of a lessee�s death, that
the decedent�s surviving spouse, family member, guardian, or estate
administrator or executor: (1) purchase the leased motor vehicle; (2) buy out
the remainder of the lease; or (3) continue to lease the motor vehicle under
the original terms of the lease.
����� d.�� A
surviving spouse, family member, guardian, or estate administrator or executor
shall provide a death certificate or other satisfactory proof of the lessee�s
death to the dealer or lessor within 60 days after the death of the decedent in
order to have a lease terminated pursuant to the provisions of this section.�
����� e.�� The
lease shall be terminated upon return of the motor vehicle to the dealer or
lessor.
����� f.��� This
section shall not apply to commercial vehicles.
����� g.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a surviving co-lessee
who executed the motor vehicle lease agreement with the lessee.
���� 2.��� a.�� A dealer or lessor
shall provide w
ritten
disclosure,
in a contract or financing agreement to lease a motor
vehicle,
that the lease may be
terminated early in the event of the lessee�s death, pursuant to section 1 of
P.L.��� , c.�� (C.������ ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� b.��� A violation of
subsection a. of this section shall be subject to a penalty of $500, to be
collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the �Penalty
Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
���� 3.��� Section 1 of this act
shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any motor vehicle lease signed
on or after the date of enactment of this act, and section 2 of this act shall
take effect on the first day of the second month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
����� This bill
allows a motor vehicle lease to be
terminated upon the death of the lessee and the return of the vehicle to the
dealer or lessor.
���� The bill prohibits a dealer or
lessor from imposing or assessing any fee for the early termination of a
vehicle lease in the event of a lessee�s death.� However, the dealer or lessor
would be permitted to assess a reasonable fee for a vehicle returned with
excess wear, use, or mileage, if specified in the lease agreement.
���� The bill also prohibits a
lease from requiring, in the event of a lessee�s death, that the decedent�s
surviving spouse, family member, guardian, or estate administrator or executor:
1) purchase the leased vehicle; 2) buy out the remainder of the lease; or 3)
continue to lease the vehicle under the original terms of the lease.
���� A surviving spouse, family
member, guardian, or estate administrator or executor would need to provide a
death certificate, or other satisfactory proof of the lessee�s death, to the
dealer or lessor within 60 days after the death of the decedent. The bill
provides that it
is not to be
construed as applying to a surviving co-lessee who executed the motor vehicle
lease agreement with the lessee.
���� Further, the bill requires
that dealers and lessors provide information about early termination in the
event of death in the lease contract or financing agreement.� A dealer or
lessor in violation of this requirement would be subject to a $500 penalty.