Queens County Surrogate’s Court

Subway:  F, E and J trains to Sutphin Boulevard

LIRR:  Jamaica Station stop

The Surrogate’s Court is located on the 6th and 7th floors of the Supreme Court building. The courtroom is located on the 6th floor, and the clerks of the various departments are located on the 7th floor.

Hours of Work

Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

All departments are closed from 1 to 2 for lunch break.

Some clerks may leave early at the end of the day. Filings towards the end of the day is not a good idea, especially on a Friday.

The court is closed on all state holidays.

Judge of Queens County Surrogate’s Court

Hon. Peter J. Kelly. Judge Kelly has been the Queens County Surrogate’s Court judge since the year 2011. He is a tough but fair judge, and will not tolerate nonsense.

Judge Peter J. Kelly has a staff of clerks who help him analyze cases and conduct pre-trial, scheduling and settlement conferences.

Chief Clerk
James Lim Becker

Departments

Queens County Surrogate’s Court deals through its various departments with the following matters:

Probate – Queens County Surrogate’s Court handles estate proceedings involving a will. That’s why some people call it “Queens Probate Court.” Most probate proceedings are uncontested. The person who brings in the will (the proponent) submits the will, has their New York estate lawyer fill out the appropriate paperwork and files the original will in the Queens Surrogate’s Court, together with a petition, original death certificate, funeral bill and accompanying affidavits and notices. The court will set a date for the hearing on the probate of the will, and if no one appears, then the court will grant the probate. If someone does appear, then the estate is contested, and the examinations of the attesting witnesses and the attorney-draftsman of the will are scheduled, and the cases go on a contested track.

Estate Administration – Queens County Surrogate’s Court handles estates where the person who died did not have a will. The person who is the closest relative of the deceased is appointed as the administrator of their estate. If the decedent is survived by a spouse, the spouse is usually appointed as the administrator. If no spouse, then children. And so on.

Cashier Department deals with Certificates, Certifications, and Record Searches.

Guardianship – Queens County Surrogate Court handles Guardianships. There are two kinds of guardianships – those involving a mentally disabled (special needs) minor (those guardianships are known as 17-a), and guardianships of older adults who have become mentally incompetent due to illness (this is known as Mental Health Law Article 81 guardianships)

Adoptions – Queens County Surrogate’s Court also handles adoptions, whether of regular adoptions, step-parent and family adoptions and adoptions from foreign countries, involving both infants and older children.

Accountings – this department handles accountings filed by executors and administrators of estates and trustees of trusts. Accountings are usually compelled by beneficiaries interested in the trust or an estate, through a Miscellaneous proceeding.

Inventory of Assets Department – this department deals with an inventory of assets, which is to be filed no later than 9 months of the date letters issued to fiduciary.

Record Room – Records are available on the computers located in the record room and on the computer. It is not possible to access those records online through the internet without an attorney account.

You can request information about an estate by writing them a letter with the correct legal name of the person who died, and include a check for $30 made out to Queens County Surrogate’s Court, and either a return stamped envelope or your email address to receive the information.

Queens County Miscellaneous Proceedings – Queens County Surrogate’s Court Miscellaneous department handles Affidavits of Service and Applications to Open Safe Deposit Boxes and Sealed Apartments. It also handles other proceedings, such determining kinship in an estate that has distant relatives, advice and direction, compel fiduciary to account, compel the production of a will or a trust, proceedings by a Queens fiduciary to discover property, proceeding to remove executor, proceeding to remove administrator, proceeding to remove trustee, proceeding by fiduciary of estate to discover property, etc. Fees for those proceedings can be found here.

If you need an attorney for Queens County Surrogate’s Court, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. We have offices in Queens, NY. You can call us at 718-509-9774 or send us an email at attorneyalbertgoodwin@gmail.com.