Probate in New York City takes place in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the person who died was domiciled. Each of the five boroughs is its own county with its own Surrogate's Court, clerk's office and review staff. This page is our hub for probate in New York City. It covers which court has jurisdiction, what the court charges, how the court gets jurisdiction over the family, and what an attorney does on a probate file. Where we have a dedicated page on a step, we link to it rather than repeat it.
Probate here means the court proceeding that admits a will and appoints the executor named in it. The court's order results in letters testamentary, a court-issued document that gives the executor legal authority to collect assets, deal with banks and sell property. When there is no will, the parallel proceeding is administration, which results in letters of administration.
Which Surrogate's Court Has Jurisdiction
Under SCPA 205, the estate of a New York domiciliary is handled in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. Domicile is the person's permanent home, which is not always the address on a driver's license. If someone lived in Queens but spent the last year in a Nassau County nursing home, the estate usually belongs in Queens. If the decedent lived outside New York but owned property here, SCPA 206 allows a proceeding in a county where property is located, often as an ancillary proceeding.
| Borough | Court | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | New York County Surrogate's Court | 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007 |
| Brooklyn | Kings County Surrogate's Court | 2 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 |
| Queens | Queens County Surrogate's Court | 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435 |
| The Bronx | Bronx County Surrogate's Court | 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451 |
| Staten Island | Richmond County Surrogate's Court | 18 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301 |
For Kings County procedure and the real estate issues that come up in Brooklyn estates, see our Brooklyn probate attorney page.
Electronic filing
The Surrogate's Courts in New York City accept filings through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF). For many proceedings, e-filing is now mandatory for parties represented by counsel. The rules on which proceedings must be e-filed, and in which counties, have changed several times. We check each court's current e-filing protocol before filing. Even on an e-filed probate, the original will must still be delivered to the court.
Surrogate's Court Filing Fees (SCPA 2402)
The fee to file a probate or administration petition is set by SCPA 2402(8). It depends on the estimated value of the estate reported in the petition.
| Estate value | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Under $10,000 | $45 |
| $10,000 to under $20,000 | $75 |
| $20,000 to under $50,000 | $215 |
| $50,000 to under $100,000 | $280 |
| $100,000 to under $250,000 | $420 |
| $250,000 to under $500,000 | $625 |
| $500,000 and over | $1,250 |
The court charges separately for certified copies of letters, which banks and brokerages ask for, and for other filings later in the case. Assets that pass outside the will, such as jointly held accounts, accounts with a named beneficiary and most retirement accounts, are generally not part of the probate estate. Our avoiding probate in New York page explains how those assets work.
How the Court Gets Jurisdiction Over the Family
The probate petition is filed under SCPA 1402. Before the court admits a will, every distributee must either consent or be served. Distributees are the people who would inherit under EPTL 4-1.1 if there were no will. This is true even when the will leaves them nothing.
- Waivers: A distributee can sign a waiver of citation and consent to probate. The signature must be acknowledged before a notary. When every distributee signs, the court can move to a decision without a return date.
- Citations: Anyone who does not sign a waiver must be served with a citation under SCPA 1403. The citation tells them when the matter will be heard and gives them a chance to appear.
- Minors and incapacitated persons: A distributee who cannot protect their own interests may need a guardian ad litem appointed under SCPA 403.
- Notice to beneficiaries: People who receive a gift under the will but are not distributees get a notice of probate under SCPA 1409.
If someone needs to act before the will is admitted, for example to protect a vacant property or deal with a pending sale, the court can issue preliminary letters under SCPA 1412.
Proving the Will: SCPA 1406 and SCPA 1404
A New York will must meet the execution rules of EPTL 3-2.1. It must be signed at the end, the testator must declare it to be a will, and two attesting witnesses must sign within 30 days. How the court confirms that those steps happened often decides how smoothly a probate runs.
- Self-proving affidavit (SCPA 1406): If the witnesses signed an affidavit at the time of execution describing the ceremony, the court may accept the affidavit in an uncontested case without further testimony. Most attorney-supervised wills include one.
- No affidavit: Without a self-proving affidavit, the court usually needs an affidavit or testimony from at least one witness. If the witnesses have died or cannot be found, other proof is required. Homemade wills often fall into this category.
- Examination before objections (SCPA 1404): A distributee or beneficiary considering a challenge may examine the attesting witnesses and the drafting attorney before filing objections. See our SCPA 1404 page.
When a will was supervised by an attorney, New York courts generally presume it was properly executed. That presumption does not end a contest, but it shifts the work to the person objecting.
When There Is No Will, or the Executor Cannot Serve
Without a will, the court appoints an administrator under SCPA 1001, which sets a priority list starting with the surviving spouse and then children. Administrators are usually required to post a bond under SCPA 801 unless every distributee consents to dispense with it. Our pages on administering an estate without a will and affidavits of heirship cover proving who the family members are.
If there is a will but the named executor has died, declines or is disqualified, the court can appoint an administrator c.t.a. (with the will annexed). For small estates with $50,000 or less in personal property, voluntary administration under SCPA Article 13 may replace full probate.
After Letters Issue
Once letters issue, the executor collects assets, pays debts and taxes, and distributes what remains. The main legal markers are:
- Inventory: Under 22 NYCRR 207.20, the fiduciary files an inventory of assets with the court within six months after letters issue. See how detailed an estate inventory needs to be.
- Creditors: Under SCPA 1802, a fiduciary who pays claims or distributes in good faith more than seven months after letters issue is generally protected against creditors who did not present their claims in time.
- Commissions: Executors are entitled to statutory commissions under SCPA 2307, calculated as a sliding percentage of the property they receive and pay out.
- Accounting: The executor must account to the beneficiaries. This can be done informally, with an account of what came in and went out, plus signed receipts and releases from each beneficiary. If beneficiaries will not sign, or the executor wants a court discharge, the account is settled judicially under SCPA Article 22. See our accountings page.
For month-by-month detail on how a typical New York City estate moves, see our sample NYC probate timeline.
Estate Tax Thresholds
Most estates owe no estate tax, but larger estates must plan for it from the start.
- Federal: The basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person for 2026, under Internal Revenue Code Section 2010(c) as amended by Public Law 119-21. The amount is indexed for inflation in later years.
- New York: The New York basic exclusion amount for 2026 is $7,350,000, under New York Tax Law Section 952 as published by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. New York has a "cliff." If the taxable estate exceeds 105 percent of the exclusion amount, the exclusion is lost entirely and the whole taxable estate is subject to New York tax.
These figures change every year. Confirm the current numbers with the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance before relying on them. Tax figures on this page were last reviewed for the 2026 calendar year.
Situations We See in New York City Probates
The examples below are composites of common fact patterns. They do not describe any particular client, and they do not predict how any case will turn out.
- A missing distributee: A Bronx decedent left a will to a niece. A half-brother from the father's first marriage has not been in contact for decades. He is still a distributee and must be served. The court will expect a documented diligent search before it allows service by publication under SCPA 307, and it may appoint a guardian ad litem to protect his interest.
- Heirs living abroad: A Queens decedent's children live in two other countries. Each can sign a waiver, but it must be acknowledged in a form New York will accept. That usually means a U.S. consulate or a foreign notary with an apostille. If anyone refuses to sign, service must be made abroad, and the Hague Service Convention may apply.
- Two wills: A Manhattan decedent signed an attorney-drafted will years ago and a handwritten document shortly before death. The court must decide which one is valid. That can involve SCPA 1404 examinations of the witnesses and, if objections follow, a will contest.
When a Will Is Contested
If a distributee files objections, probate becomes litigation in the Surrogate's Court. The common grounds are lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, improper execution, revocation and fraud. Contested matters move through discovery, motions and, if they do not settle, trial. We represent both executors defending a will and family members challenging one. Related disputes include removal of a fiduciary and breach of fiduciary duty.
How We Handle a Probate File
Most delay in an uncontested probate comes from missing information. Common examples are an incomplete family tree, a distributee whose address is unknown, a will without a self-proving affidavit, or an estimated value that does not match the assets. Before filing, we check the petition against the court's requirements. We identify every distributee and collect notarized waivers where the family is cooperating. We also flag witness-proof problems early. If the court issues a deficiency notice, we respond to the specific items it raises. We cannot control a court's calendar, and processing times vary by county and over time. We can control how complete the filing is.
The First Consultation
At the first meeting we review the will, the family tree and a rough list of assets. We explain:
- which Surrogate's Court has jurisdiction
- who must sign waivers or be served
- whether the will can be proved on its affidavit
- what the filing fee will be
- the executor's duties and statutory commissions
- our fees and how we bill
If the matter is likely to be contested or involves a taxable estate, we say so at the outset.
About the Attorney
Albert Goodwin is a New York attorney who handles probate, estate administration and estate litigation in the Surrogate's Courts of New York City. His bar admissions, background and practice history are on his attorney profile.
This page is also available in Spanish, French, Italian and Arabic.
This page provides general information about New York law and is not legal advice for any specific situation.
Contact Us
If someone has died in New York City and you need to start probate, we can help. Call 212-233-1233 or email [email protected].
