When someone dies, their bank will not talk to you, their apartment cannot be sold, and their bills keep arriving. Nothing moves until the Surrogate’s Court issues letters, the document that gives one person legal authority over the estate. Getting those letters is the first job. Everything after, from collecting the assets to paying the debts and taxes to distributing what is left and closing the estate, is the rest of it.
Which proceeding you need depends on whether there is a will, what the estate holds, where the person lived and who survives them. The short self-assessment below sorts that out. If you would rather just talk it through, call 212-233-1233 or email [email protected]. Bring the death certificate and the will, if there is one, and we will tell you what the estate needs and what it will cost.
Which Proceeding Does the Estate Need?
Answer four questions and this page will name the proceeding and point you to our pages on it. Nothing you enter on this page leaves your browser.
The Proceedings
Probate (Letters Testamentary)
When there is a will. The named executor files the original will, a petition, and either waivers signed by the distributees or a citation served on them. Once the court is satisfied the will is valid, it issues letters testamentary. See how New York probate works.
Administration (Letters of Administration)
When there is no will. The closest relative petitions to be appointed administrator, and the estate passes under the intestacy statute: spouse and children first, then parents, siblings, and outward. Others with equal priority must consent or be cited.
Small Estate (Voluntary Administration)
When the assets in the person’s own name are $50,000 or less and there is no real estate. A short affidavit, a $1 filing fee, and no citations. It is faster and cheaper, but the voluntary administrator has the same duties.
Ancillary Probate
When the person lived in another state or country but owned New York real estate or other property that needs a New York fiduciary. The home-state proceeding comes first; New York issues ancillary letters on the strength of it.
Lost or Destroyed Wills
A will last seen in the decedent’s possession and not found is presumed revoked. Overcoming the presumption takes proof that it was not revoked, proof of due execution, and proof of its contents by two witnesses or a copy proved to be true. See probating a copy of a will.
Administration c.t.a. and d.b.n.
When there is a will but no executor who can serve, the court appoints an administrator with the will annexed. When an executor or administrator dies or is removed partway through, a successor takes over de bonis non.
Administering the Estate
After letters: the tax ID and estate account, marshaling the assets, the seven-month period for creditors’ claims, the estate’s income tax returns and, above $7.35 million, the New York estate tax return due nine months after death.
Accounting and Closing the Estate
The estate closes with an accounting: informally, with receipts and releases signed by every beneficiary, or judicially, with a decree that binds everyone cited. Which one fits depends on the beneficiaries and the history.
How Probate Works in New York City
The steps are the same in every county. The time each takes varies with the court’s backlog, the completeness of the papers, and whether everyone who must be notified cooperates. Our sample probate timeline shows a typical case month by month.
- 1
Gather the documents
The original will, certified death certificates, a list of assets with approximate values, and the names and addresses of the spouse, children and other distributees. Finding the will and who to notify come first. See what to do when someone dies in New York City.
- 2
File the petition
The petition, the will, the death certificate, the affidavits of the attesting witnesses, and the filing fee, which is set by the size of the estate. Everyone who would inherit without the will must sign a waiver or be served with a citation. This is where most delays start: a missing waiver, an heir who cannot be found, an affidavit the court will not accept.
- 3
Letters issue
If no one objects by the return date, the court admits the will and issues letters. Where the estate cannot wait, preliminary letters can issue in weeks and let the executor act while the full proceeding continues.
- 4
Marshal the assets
An estate tax ID, an estate bank account, and letters delivered to every bank, brokerage, insurer and transfer agent. Real estate is appraised as of the date of death, which fixes both the estate tax value and the beneficiaries’ income tax basis.
- 5
Pay debts, claims and taxes
Creditors have seven months from letters to present claims; distributions before then are at the fiduciary’s risk. The decedent’s final income tax return, the estate’s income tax returns, and any estate tax return are filed and paid. See claims against the estate.
- 6
Sell or transfer real estate
A house is sold by the fiduciary or deeded to the beneficiaries. A co-op needs the board’s consent either way. See whether the executor has to sell the house and emptying a house before probate.
- 7
Account and distribute
The fiduciary accounts for everything in and out, takes the statutory commission, pays the attorney, and distributes. Beneficiaries sign receipts and releases, or the court settles the account by decree. The estate is closed.
Time, Cost and Compensation
How long it takes
An uncontested probate with cooperative family and ordinary assets takes seven to nine months from filing to distribution in most New York City courts, longer in a backlogged county or when an heir must be cited abroad. An estate with real estate to sell, a tax return to file, or a dispute runs a year or more. See how long probate takes.
Court fees
The filing fee is set by statute according to the gross estate, from $45 for estates under $10,000 to $1,250 for estates of $500,000 and up, plus small charges for certificates. A small estate is $1. See the fee schedule.
Attorney’s fees
Uncontested probate is done on a flat fee quoted in advance. Contested matters and complex administrations are billed hourly at $600. The estate pays the attorney, not the executor personally. See what a probate lawyer costs.
The executor’s commission
New York pays executors and administrators a statutory commission, on a sliding scale from 5% of the first $100,000 down to 2% above $5 million, on the property they receive and pay out. It is taxable income, and a family member often waives it. See the commission calculator.
The Five Surrogate’s Courts
The estate is filed in the county where the decedent lived, whatever the address of the executor or the property. Each court follows the same statute and its own practices.
New York County
31 Chambers Street, Manhattan.
Kings County
2 Johnson Street, Brooklyn.
Queens County
88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica.
Bronx County
851 Grand Concourse.
Richmond County
18 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island.
Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester
Mineola, Riverhead and White Plains. We appear in all three.
Why Families Choose Us for Probate
We know what each court will accept
Every Surrogate’s Court has its own preferences on affidavits, citations and proof. Papers filed right the first time are the difference between letters in two months and letters in six.
We handle the whole estate
Not only the petition. The estate account, the tax returns, the sale of the apartment, the creditors, the accounting, the receipts and releases. The executor makes the decisions; we do the work.
We know what to do when it stops being routine
An objection, a missing heir, a claim, a house nobody can agree about. Because we litigate in these courts, we can handle the problem in the same file rather than sending you elsewhere.
Fixed fees, plain English
You know the cost before we file, and you understand every document you sign.
Questions People Ask Us
Does every estate have to go through probate?
No. Assets with a named beneficiary, joint accounts with a right of survivorship, and anything held in a trust pass without it. Probate is needed for assets in the decedent’s sole name, and if those total $50,000 or less with no real estate, the small estate procedure applies instead. See what probate is.
I am named as executor. Do I have to serve?
No. You may renounce, and the alternate named in the will, or an administrator c.t.a., takes over. If you serve, you take on fiduciary duties and personal liability for mistakes, and you are entitled to a commission and to counsel paid by the estate. See what an executor does.
The executor lives out of state. Is that a problem?
Not usually. A non-resident can serve; the court may require a bond unless the will waives it. A non-citizen who does not live in the United States cannot serve alone. Most of the work is done by mail, email and video, and the executor rarely needs to come to court.
Can I take things from the apartment before letters issue?
Securing the apartment and removing perishables is fine. Removing valuables, distributing personal property, or selling anything before you have authority exposes you to claims from the other beneficiaries. See emptying a house before probate.
What if a relative will not sign the waiver?
They are served with a citation instead and have until the return date to object. Most do not. If they do, the proceeding becomes a will contest or a contested appointment, and letters are delayed until it is resolved or preliminary letters are granted.
What if there is no will and no close family?
The Public Administrator of the county administers the estate, and the people claiming to be the nearest relatives prove it in a kinship proceeding, usually at the accounting. Cousins and more distant relatives inherit only if they can document the family tree.
Read More
How New York Probate Works
The process in detail, from petition to decree.
A Sample Probate Timeline
A typical New York City estate, month by month.
Probate FAQ
More questions about the process, the court and the paperwork.
When Someone Dies in New York City
The first two weeks: the funeral, the apartment, the accounts, the papers.
Property in More Than One State
Ancillary proceedings and how to avoid them.
Representing Executors
The executor’s duties, powers and protections.
Start the Estate
Call 212-233-1233 or email [email protected]. Our office is at 31 West 34th Street in Manhattan, near Penn Station and Herald Square, and we meet by video as well. Bring the death certificate, the will if there is one, and whatever you know about the assets and the family, and we will tell you what the estate needs.
