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How Long Does Probate Take in New York
At the onset of a probate case, everyone wants to know how long probate takes, and rightly so. In our experience, an average probate case in New York takes about a year to complete, though court delays now routinely stretch that, and a contested or complicated estate can take years.
It helps to look at the probate process as having three stages: appointment of the executor, settlement of the property, and closing. The approximate time for each stage is set out below, for a total of about 12 months in a routine case.
| Stage | Approximate time |
|---|---|
| Getting appointed as executor | About 3 months (longer now due to court delays; could be more than a year) |
| Settling the estate | About 6 months |
| Closing the estate | About 3 months |
| Total | About 12 months (longer now due to court delays; could take years) |
First stage: getting appointed as executor, 3 months to two years
Once a decedent who has a will dies, the executor nominated in the will has the duty to petition to have the will probated. If the estate does not exceed $50,000, the will does not need to be probated; it is filed with the court along with a small estate affidavit, and the estate is administered under small estate (voluntary administration) proceedings. You need to consult a lawyer to determine whether the estate exceeds $50,000, because certain property is not part of the probate estate at all — 401(k) and IRA accounts with designated beneficiaries, joint bank accounts with rights of survivorship, and property held under tenancy by the entirety, to name a few.
We recommend that the nominated executor hire an estates lawyer to file the petition for probate. Doing it on your own may delay the proceedings unnecessarily.
Documentary requirements
To file the petition for probate, you need to submit a certified copy of the death certificate and the probate petition with its supporting documents. To make the proceedings faster, the distributees (the heirs who would have inherited had there been no will) need to sign waiver and consent forms and have them notarized. If a distributee refuses to sign, the court will have to issue a citation to that distributee to appear and show cause why the will should not be admitted to probate and letters testamentary not issued to the nominated executor, and that adds time.
SCPA 1404 examinations
If the distributee refuses to sign the waiver and consent form, questions the validity of the will, and requests SCPA 1404 examinations of the attorney-drafter and the witnesses, together with the decedent’s medical and financial records, this will further delay the proceedings by an additional 3 to 4 months. If, after the SCPA 1404 examinations, the distributee decides to file objections to the will, it becomes a will contest and the delay can take even longer.
Petition for preliminary letters
When distributees refuse to sign waivers and consents, request SCPA 1404 examinations, or file objections in a will contest, and you already need to administer the decedent’s property while those proceedings are ongoing, you can ask your lawyer to file a petition for the issuance of preliminary letters testamentary.
When the court finds that the petition for probate is sufficient in form and substance, it admits the will as genuine and issues letters testamentary to the nominated executor.
The steps, in order
In a nutshell, getting appointed as the executor means going through the following sequence.
- Find a New York estate lawyer and set up the appointment.
- Get the death certificate and gather information for the estate lawyer.
- Wait for the lawyer to prepare the documents, then sign them.
- Your lawyer sends notices to the parties entitled to notice and waivers for people to sign.
- Your lawyer reviews the packet and files it with the court.
- Wait for the court to process the documents and set a hearing date; your lawyer appears at the hearing.
- Wait for the court to process the file and appoint you as the executor.
Routine delays in getting appointed
Many of the typical delays in getting appointed can be avoided with the help of an experienced New York estate lawyer. When one of them is experienced, probate takes approximately the same amount of time as described above, just with the stage stretched out.
| Source of delay | What happens |
|---|---|
| Difficulty getting a death certificate | Especially when the death occurred outside the U.S. or in a different state, but also because of delays from the funeral home or the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. |
| Missing information | You may be missing the address of a person who needs to be notified and have to search for it. |
| The lawyer preparing documents | Estate lawyers are busy, and it sometimes takes longer than they claim. An inexperienced lawyer can get hung up on something he does not know how to handle and drag the case on for months for no reason. |
| The executor signing documents | A significant amount of delay comes from executors themselves, who are known to hold documents for weeks, send them back unsigned or not notarized, or misplace them. |
| Notices going out and waivers coming back | People who are notified about the estate may drag their feet or be unsure whether they should sign. |
| The court processing the documents | New York City courts are understaffed and still work with a paper-based system, which makes it easy to misplace files or have them slip between the cracks, sometimes literally. |
| Lag in the hearing date | The judge’s next available hearing date may be a month or more away. |
| More than one hearing | Some hearings finish the entire process; some reveal that information is missing, sending the case back to the clerk and scheduling another court date a month or more out. |
Major delays in getting appointed
A will contest can take years. It places the probate proceeding on a litigation track, which involves an examination under oath of the attorney who drafted the will, the witnesses to the will, the person presenting the will for probate, and anyone else with knowledge of the facts. It may involve obtaining and reviewing the decedent’s medical records to assess capacity. A will contest can quickly turn into a long and involved lawsuit.
A search for parties with an unknown address can take 6 months to complete all the required research and publication. A search for unknown parties can take a year or more to resolve. New York courts are very particular about notifying every party who is in any possible way affected by the will, even if they are not mentioned in it, and often require the executor to show that an effort was made to search for parties who are not likely to be found, such as far-removed relatives overseas who may not have even existed.
How long does probate take when major delays are present? It could be a very long time indeed. In some rare instances the probate might not happen at all, with the will being rejected and the public administrator appointed instead of the executor nominated by the will.
Second stage: settling the estate, 6 months
Once the court appoints an executor through the issuance of letters testamentary, the executor can begin to perform his duties: marshal the assets of the decedent, and pay the administration expenses, taxes, funeral bills, debts and other claims against the estate.
The executor makes a list of assets and notifies the known creditors of the decedent’s death. The creditors have 7 months from the time an executor is appointed to file a claim with the estate. After those 7 months, the executor can distribute to the beneficiaries without being personally liable for creditors’ claims filed late. The flip side is that the executor has a duty to pay valid claims filed within the 7 months, and failing to do so can make the executor personally liable to those creditors.
The executor also makes an inventory of the decedent’s assets. Most decedents do not leave a list of their assets with the will, so the executor has to locate assets by going through the decedent’s residence, which may or may not turn up everything. Sometimes it takes months before an asset is discovered, for example when a statement arrives in the mail. There is no centralized system for finding a decedent’s assets, and with paperless billing and no access to the decedent’s email, it is getting more difficult and time-consuming.
Personal and real property need to be appraised to determine the value of the estate, and the assets need to be transferred to the estate. Cash in the decedent’s bank accounts is transferred to the estate account, while personal and real property are transferred to the name of the executor as executor of the estate. Once assets are located, transferring them to the estate’s name takes about a month, and these transfers can delay the proceedings.
Order of liability in selling estate property
The executor identifies and determines the validity of creditors’ claims and pays the valid ones. The executor has the authority to sell property if the cash in the decedent’s accounts is insufficient to pay the debts and claims against the estate. If real estate is involved, selling it can take months; a company or business can take even longer.
EPTL § 12-1.2 provides the order of liability that the executor needs to observe when selling estate property: distributees, residuary beneficiaries, general beneficiaries, specific beneficiaries, and surviving spouse, in that order.
For example, suppose the decedent left a car without designating a particular beneficiary for it, a general legacy of $10,000 to A to be taken from his $20,000 bank account, and a house to B. The executor must first preserve the general legacy to A of $10,000 and the specific devise of the house to B. The $10,000 remaining balance in the bank account and the car are considered given to the residuary beneficiaries. Under the order of liability, the executor may sell the car and use its proceeds to pay debts, and may also use the $10,000 remaining balance in the bank account. Only when those two are insufficient can the executor use the general legacy of $10,000 to A, and if still insufficient, the house, to pay the decedent’s debts.
Discovery and turnover proceedings
When making an inventory of the estate, the executor may discover that some property of the decedent has been taken by third persons, either before or after the decedent’s death. In that case the executor may file discovery and turnover proceedings under SCPA 2103 against those third parties to direct them to return the property to the estate. Sometimes a temporary restraining order is sought restraining the third parties from further transferring the decedent’s property. This can significantly delay the proceedings.
Executor misconduct
Sometimes, once an executor is appointed, the executor disappears and does not perform any of his obligations. Worse, the executor commits misconduct by neglecting and wasting estate assets. The beneficiaries’ remedy is to petition to have the executor removed, compelled to account, and replaced. The proceedings are delayed until a new executor is appointed.
Filing of tax returns
Once the value of the estate is determined, the accountant will prepare Form 706, the federal estate tax return, if applicable, and Forms 1040 and 1041 for the federal income tax returns. The final accounting can then proceed so the executor can wind up estate affairs.
Delays in settling the estate
Some delays at this stage are routine and some can add a year or more. The most common are set out below.
| Source of delay | Severity | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Finding new assets after the estate is almost settled | Routine | The newly found asset has to be collected and added to the accounting. |
| Transferring assets to the estate | Routine | Waiting for the lawyer to process the paperwork and the city clerks to register it; sometimes the clerks return it for corrections. |
| Valuing and selling a company or business | Routine | Selling a business is a long process. There may not be an interested buyer at that time, so the business may sit on the market for a long time. |
| Tenants refusing to move out | Major | It is difficult to sell a property with unwilling tenants for a fair price. Evictions take a long time in New York, at least six months; some take years. |
| Property needs repair before sale | Major | If a property must be repaired to get a fair price, the estate cannot close until it is repaired and sold. |
| Business has non-estate co-owners | Major | Everyone wants a bargain, so non-estate co-owners will try to take over full ownership without adequately compensating the estate. Litigation may be the only way to get a fair share. |
Third stage: closing the estate, about another 3 months
After the 7-month creditor period has run, and in the absence of other litigation, the executor can begin to close the estate and distribute the beneficiaries’ inheritances. That creditor window is why a New York probate cannot realistically close in under seven months: under SCPA 1802, creditors have seven months from the date letters testamentary are issued to present claims, and a prudent executor waits out the period before making final distributions, because an executor who distributes prematurely can be held personally liable for valid claims presented later. Even in the smoothest uncontested probate, this sets a practical floor on how quickly the estate can be settled and closed.
In this stage the executor prepares an informal or formal accounting. Usually, when all the beneficiaries agree, the executor prepares an informal accounting summarizing the estate’s assets and liabilities, has the beneficiaries sign standard release forms, and distributes their shares. When a beneficiary disagrees with the accounting, the executor has to file a formal accounting in order to be discharged from liability, and objections to the accounting can take time and significantly delay the proceedings.
Delays in closing the estate
The routine delays here are modest: heirs can take a while returning the paperwork signed, and it can take your lawyer and accountant some time to complete the accounting, especially for a more diversified estate.
The major delays are the formal and contested accountings. If the heirs are not satisfied with the informal accounting and request a formal one, that accounting needs to list every asset and expense of the estate line by line, even very small items. Preparing it can take a few months; it then needs to be reviewed by the court, which can take another few months, after which a hearing is scheduled. If the heirs take the process further and contest the formal accounting filed with the court, the accounting contest can take more than a year.
Depending on which NYC estate attorney you ask, the answer to “how long does probate take” may differ, because everyone tends to quote the shortest time they can think of. It used to take about a year to probate an estate in New York City, and longer if the attorney was not organized and experienced. Now it can take more than two years.
How Long Probate Takes in Each NYC Surrogate’s Court
New York City has a separate Surrogate’s Court for each of the five counties. While the governing law (the SCPA and EPTL) is identical statewide, processing speed, clerk availability, calendar congestion and local filing practices vary noticeably from one borough to the next. These observations reflect general practice patterns, not guaranteed timeframes.
New York County (Manhattan) Surrogate’s Court
Located at 31 Chambers Street, the New York County Surrogate’s Court handles a high volume of large and complex estates. Filings here tend to receive careful review, which is helpful for complicated estates but can mean longer waits for examination of petitions and for hearing dates. Manhattan estates also more frequently involve closely held businesses, significant securities, and out-of-state or foreign beneficiaries, all of which extend the settlement phase.
Kings County (Brooklyn) Surrogate’s Court
The Kings County Surrogate’s Court at 2 Johnson Street is one of the busiest in the state. High filing volume can mean longer waits between submission of a petition and issuance of letters. Brooklyn estates frequently involve multi-family and rental real estate, which adds time when tenants are in place or when property must be sold to fund distributions.
Queens County Surrogate’s Court
The Queens County Surrogate’s Court at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica also processes a heavy caseload. Queens estates often feature multiple heirs and diverse family structures, which can increase the number of parties entitled to citation under SCPA 1403 and slow the appointment stage when waivers and consents are difficult to gather.
Bronx County Surrogate’s Court
The Bronx County Surrogate’s Court at 851 Grand Concourse handles a steady volume of estates. As in the other boroughs, the appointment phase depends largely on how quickly all distributees sign waivers and consents; when they do not, the court must issue and serve citations, adding weeks or months to obtaining letters testamentary.
Richmond County (Staten Island) Surrogate’s Court
The Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace generally handles a lower filing volume than the other four boroughs. As a result, uncontested petitions here can sometimes move through the appointment phase comparatively quickly, though repair, sale and family-resolution issues still govern the overall length.
The bottom line on boroughs: filing volume and calendar congestion matter, but they rarely double a timeline by themselves. The biggest swings come not from which courthouse you use but from whether all distributees consent, whether real estate must be sold, and whether anyone litigates. Always confirm current procedures with the specific Surrogate’s Court where the petition will be filed. For a month-by-month illustration, see our sample NYC probate timeline.
Which Procedure Applies Affects Timing More Than Which Borough
New York offers three distinct paths, and the procedure that applies to your estate has a larger effect on timing than where you file.
| Procedure | When it applies | Effect on timing |
|---|---|---|
| Full probate (SCPA Article 14) | A will is present and the named executor petitions for letters testamentary. | The standard process described on this page. All distributees must be cited or sign waivers, and the will’s witnesses may be required to provide affidavits of attesting witnesses. |
| Small estate / voluntary administration (SCPA Article 13) | The decedent’s personal property (excluding real estate) is worth $50,000 or less. | Far faster, often resolved in roughly 1 to 4 months, because it avoids the full citation and accounting process. A voluntary administrator collects and distributes the assets without formal letters. |
| Administration (SCPA Article 10) | There is no will; the estate passes by intestacy under EPTL 4-1.1 and a relative petitions for letters of administration. | Overall timelines are similar to full probate, but the appointment phase can take longer when closer distributees must renounce in priority order under SCPA 1001, or when heirship must be proven to the court. |
We have the experience and the organization to finish your probate in the shortest time the court and the facts allow. Should you need assistance, call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].
About the Author
Albert Goodwin Esq. is a licensed New York attorney with over 18 years of courtroom experience. His extensive knowledge and experience make him well-qualified to write authoritative articles on a wide range of legal topics. He can be reached at 212-233-1233 or [email protected].
