SCPA 2102: Proceedings to Compel Information or Delivery of Estate Property

When a New York executor or administrator refuses to answer questions about an estate, sits on a legacy long after it should have been paid, or holds property that belongs to someone else, the person harmed does not have to wait for a full accounting to get relief. Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA) § 2102 gives beneficiaries, creditors, and others a fast, targeted proceeding in Surrogate's Court to compel a fiduciary to supply information or turn over money and property. It is one of the most practical tools in the SCPA precisely because it is narrower and faster than a compulsory accounting.

What SCPA 2102 Covers in Plain Language

SCPA 2102 is titled "Proceedings for relief against a fiduciary." It authorizes a petition asking the Surrogate's Court to order the fiduciary to do one of several specific things:

• SCPA 2102(1) — supply information. Require the fiduciary to provide information concerning the assets or affairs of the estate relevant to the petitioner's interest, where the fiduciary has failed to respond to a written request.
• SCPA 2102(2) — pay funeral expenses. Require the fiduciary to pay reasonable funeral expenses that the fiduciary has refused to pay upon request.
• SCPA 2102(3) — deliver specific property. Require the fiduciary to deliver specific property of the estate to a person entitled to it, such as an item specifically bequeathed in the will.
• SCPA 2102(4) — pay a legacy or distributive share. Require the fiduciary to pay a money legacy or a distributive share that remains unpaid without adequate justification.
• SCPA 2102(5) — set off exempt property. Require the fiduciary to set off to the surviving spouse or minor children the exempt property to which they are entitled under EPTL 5-3.1.
• SCPA 2102(6) — turn over assets to a successor. Require an outgoing or removed fiduciary to deliver estate property and papers to a successor or remaining fiduciary.

The Two Most Common Uses

Compelling Information Under SCPA 2102(1)

Beneficiaries frequently complain that an executor refuses to say what the estate owns, what has been sold, or where the money went. The statute answers that problem directly, but with two important conditions. First, the petitioner must have made a written request for the information and the fiduciary must have failed to respond — an oral request at a family gathering is not enough. Second, the information sought must be relevant to the petitioner's interest in the estate. A residuary beneficiary has a broad interest; a person receiving a single specific bequest has a narrower one. For a fuller discussion of what beneficiaries can demand, see is a beneficiary entitled to information about the estate.

A 2102(1) proceeding is not a substitute for a compulsory accounting under SCPA 2205. The court will order the fiduciary to answer specific questions and produce specific information, not to prepare a full formal account. In practice, the information obtained under 2102(1) often becomes the roadmap for a later accounting or removal proceeding — for example, if the answers reveal self-dealing such as an executor selling estate property to her husband at a below-market price.

Compelling Payment of a Legacy Under SCPA 2102(4)

Under EPTL 11-1.5, a fiduciary is generally not required to pay a legacy or distributive share until seven months after letters issue. That waiting period exists so creditors can present claims and the fiduciary can determine whether the estate is solvent. Once the seven months pass, however, a beneficiary whose legacy remains unpaid may petition under SCPA 2102(4).

Worked example. Letters testamentary issue on February 1. The will leaves the decedent's niece a general legacy of $60,000. The seven-month period expires on September 1. By November the executor still has not paid, the estate holds $400,000 in liquid assets, and no significant claims are pending. The niece may file a 2102(4) petition. Unless the executor demonstrates a legitimate reason to withhold payment — pending claims, tax exposure, insufficient assets — the court can direct payment of the $60,000, and under EPTL 11-1.5(e) may award interest running from the seven-month mark. If the executor instead shows that a disputed $350,000 creditor claim is pending, the court may deny or defer payment, or condition it on a bond or refunding agreement.

Exempt Property Under SCPA 2102(5)

EPTL 5-3.1 gives the surviving spouse (or, if none, minor children) certain property off the top of the estate, before creditors and before distributions under the will — including, among other categories, one motor vehicle worth up to $25,000 and money or other personal property worth up to $25,000. If the fiduciary refuses to set these items aside, SCPA 2102(5) is the vehicle to compel it. This can matter enormously in a modest estate; in very small estates, the exempt property analysis also interacts with the voluntary administration procedure discussed in New York small estate affidavit SCPA Article 13.

How SCPA 2102 Differs From SCPA 2103 and 2105

Article 21 contains three related but distinct turnover mechanisms, and choosing the wrong one is a common mistake:

In short: 2102 runs against the fiduciary for estate entitlements; 2103 is the fiduciary's discovery weapon against outsiders; 2105 is the outsider's claim to recover his or her own property from the estate.

Procedure in Surrogate's Court

1. Standing. The petitioner must have an interest that the requested relief protects — a legatee, distributee, surviving spouse, successor fiduciary, or creditor. A creditor whose claim has been presented under SCPA 1802 may use 2102(1) to obtain information about the estate's assets and its ability to pay.
2. Written demand first (for 2102(1)). Send the fiduciary a written request identifying the information sought and keep proof of delivery. The statute makes prior written request a prerequisite.
3. File the petition. Proceedings under Article 21 are commenced by petition in the Surrogate's Court with jurisdiction over the estate (SCPA 2101), stating the petitioner's interest, the relief sought, and the fiduciary's refusal.
4. Citation or order to show cause. The court issues process directing the fiduciary to appear and show cause why the relief should not be granted. Proper service on the fiduciary is jurisdictional.
5. Return date and hearing. Many 2102 proceedings are resolved on the return date: the fiduciary either supplies the information, pays, or articulates a defense. If facts are disputed — for example, whether estate assets are sufficient — the court holds a hearing.
6. Decree. The court may direct the fiduciary to supply the information, pay the legacy (with interest under EPTL 11-1.5(e) where appropriate), deliver the property, or set off the exempt property. Disobedience of the decree can support contempt and is powerful evidence in a later removal proceeding under SCPA 711.

Key Timing Rules

• Do not file a 2102(4) petition before seven months from the issuance of letters; the fiduciary generally cannot be compelled to pay a legacy earlier (EPTL 11-1.5).
• Interest on a compelled legacy generally runs from the expiration of the seven-month period under EPTL 11-1.5(e).
• Exempt property vests immediately at death; a spouse should not wait years to assert EPTL 5-3.1 rights, since delay invites waiver arguments and dissipation of the assets.

Defenses Available to the Fiduciary

SCPA 2102 is not a rubber stamp against fiduciaries. An executor or administrator can defeat or defer the petition by showing, for example, that the assets are insufficient to pay the legacy after claims and expenses; that a genuine dispute over claims or taxes makes distribution premature; that the information demanded is irrelevant to the petitioner's interest or has already been provided; or that the property demanded is not property the petitioner is entitled to receive. A fiduciary who has legitimate reasons to hold assets — including a pending sale of estate real property, discussed in can the administrator of an estate sell property of the estate — should document those reasons in the answer.

Common Pitfalls

• Filing a 2102(1) petition without first making a written demand on the fiduciary.
• Petitioning for a legacy before the seven-month period has run.
• Using 2102 when the property is held by a third party rather than the fiduciary — that is a 2103 discovery proceeding.
• Treating 2102(1) as a shortcut to a full accounting; if you need a complete account, petition to compel an accounting under SCPA 2205.
• For fiduciaries: ignoring the citation. A default invites a decree, interest, costs, and a record of misconduct that can support removal and surcharge later.

Albert Goodwin is a New York estate attorney who represents beneficiaries, creditors, surviving spouses, and fiduciaries in SCPA 2102 proceedings and related Surrogate's Court litigation throughout New York.

You can contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin by phone at 212-233-1233 or by email at [email protected].