New Jersey § 3a:6-16

§ 3a:6-16.

In the absence of contrary or limiting provisions in the judgment or order appointing

a fiduciary, in the will, deed or other instrument or in a subsequent court judgment

or order, every fiduciary shall, in the exercise of good faith and reasonable discretion,

have the power: (a) To accept additions to any estate or trust from sources other than the estate

of the decedent or the settlor of a trust; (b) To acquire the remaining undivided interest in an estate or trust asset in which

the fiduciary, in his fiduciary capacity, holds an undivided interest; (c) To invest and reinvest assets of the estate or trust under the provisions of the

will, deed or other instrument or as otherwise provided by law and to exchange assets

for investments and other property upon such terms as may seem to the fiduciary advisable; (d) To effect and keep in force fire, rent, title, liability, casualty or other insurance

to protect the property of the estate or trust and to protect the fiduciary; (e) With respect to any property or any interest therein owned by an estate or trust,

including any real property belonging to the fiduciary's decedent at death, except

where such real property or any interest therein is specifically disposed of: i. To take possession of, collect the rents from and manage the same, and pay taxes,

mortgage interest and other charges against the property; ii. To sell the same at public or private sale, and on such terms as in the opinion

of the fiduciary shall be most advantageous to those interested therein; iii. With respect to fiduciaries other than a trustee, to lease the same for a term

not exceeding 3 years, and in the case of a trustee to lease the same for a term not

exceeding 10 years, though such term extends beyond the duration of the trust, and

in either of such cases including the right to explore for and remove mineral or other

natural resources, and in connection with mineral leases to enter into pooling and

unitization agreements; and iv. To mortgage the same; v. To grant easements to adjoining owners and utilities; vi. A fiduciary acting under a will may exercise any of the powers granted by this

subparagraph (e) notwithstanding the effects upon the will of the birth of a child

after its execution. (f) To make repairs to the property of the estate or trust for the purpose of preserving

the property or rendering it rentable or saleable; (g) To grant options for the sale of any property of the estate or trust for a period

not exceeding 6 months; (h) With respect to any mortgage held by the estate or trust (i) to continue the same

upon and after maturity, with or without renewal or extension, upon such terms as

may seem to the fiduciary advisable, and (ii) to foreclose, as an incident to collection

of any bond or note, any mortgage and purchase the mortgaged property or acquire the

property by deed from the mortgagor in lieu of foreclosure; (i) In the case of the survivor or survivors of two or more fiduciaries to administer

the estate or trust without the appointment of a successor to the fiduciary or fiduciaries

who have ceased to act and to exercise or perform all of the powers given unless contrary

to the express provision of the will, deed or other instrument; (j) As a new, alternate, successor, substitute or additional fiduciary or fiduciaries,

to have or succeed to all of the powers, duties and discretion of the original fiduciary

or fiduciaries, with respect to the estate or trust, as were given to the original

fiduciary or fiduciaries named in or appointed by a will, deed or other instrument,

unless the exercise of such powers, duties or discretion of such original fiduciary

or fiduciaries is expressly prohibited by the will, deed or other instrument to any

successor or substitute fiduciary or fiduciaries; (k) Where there are three or more fiduciaries qualified to act, to take any action

with respect to the estate or trust which a majority of such fiduciaries shall determine. A fiduciary who fails to act through absence or disability, or a dissenting fiduciary

who joins in carrying out the decision of a majority of the fiduciaries if his dissent

is expressed promptly in writing to his cofiduciaries, shall not be liable for the

consequences of any majority decision, provided that liability for failure to join

in administering the trust or to prevent a breach of trust may not thus be avoided; (l) To employ and compensate attorneys; (m) To compromise, contest or otherwise settle any claim in favor of the estate, trust

or fiduciary or in favor of third persons and against the estate, trust or fiduciary,

including transfer inheritance, estate, income and other taxes; (n) To vote in person or by proxy, discretionary or otherwise, shares of stock or

other securities held by the estate or trust; (o) To pay calls, assessments and any other sums chargeable or accruing against or

on account of shares of stock, bonds, debentures or other corporate securities in

the hands of a fiduciary, whenever such payments may be legally enforceable against

the fiduciary or any property of the estate or trust or the fiduciary deems payment

expedient and for the best interests of the estate or trust; (p) To sell or exercise stock subscription or conversion rights, participate in foreclosures,

reorganizations, consolidations, mergers or liquidations, and to consent to corporate

sales or leases and encumbrances. In the exercise of such powers, the fiduciary is authorized to deposit stocks, bonds

or other securities with any custodian, agent, protective or other similar committee,

or trustee under a voting trust agreement, under such terms and conditions respecting

the deposit thereof as the fiduciary may approve; (q) To execute and deliver agreements, assignments, bills of sale, contracts, deeds,

notes, receipts and any other instrument necessary or appropriate for the administration

of the estate or trust; (r) In the case of a trustee, to hold two or more trusts or parts of such trusts created

by the same instrument, as an undivided whole, without separation as between such

trusts or parts of such trusts, provided that such separate trusts or parts of such

trusts shall have undivided interests and provided further that no such holding shall

defer the vesting of any estate in possession or otherwise; (s) To distribute in kind any property of the estate or trust at its fair market value

at the date of distribution; (t) To join with the surviving spouse, the executor of his or her will or the administrator

of his or her estate in the execution and filing of a joint income tax return for

any period prior to the death of a decedent for which he has not filed a return or

a gift tax return on gifts made by the decedent's surviving spouse, and to consent

to treat such gifts as being made one-half by the decedent, for any period prior to

a decedent's death, and to pay such taxes thereon as are chargeable to the decedent; (u) To acquire or dispose of an asset, including real or personal property in this

or another state, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale; and manage, develop,

improve, exchange, partition, change the character of, or abandon an estate asset.