SCPA 2402: New York Surrogate's Court Filing Fees — The Complete Fee Table Explained

Every petition filed in a New York Surrogate's Court carries a filing fee set by statute. Section 2402 of the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA 2402) lists those fees. Most of them are not flat amounts. The fee for the core proceedings, probate, administration and accountings, rises with the value of the estate. Smaller charges apply to objections, jury demands, notes of issue and certificates of letters.

This page explains how the SCPA 2402 fee table works, how the court values an estate for fee purposes, what the fixed fees are, and where petitioners commonly go wrong. Fee amounts are set by the Legislature and change from time to time. Confirm the current figure with the clerk of the county Surrogate's Court before you file.

What SCPA 2402 Covers

SCPA 2402 sets the fees payable to the clerk of the Surrogate's Court for filing papers and issuing documents. The statute has three practical parts:

• Value-based fees: a sliding schedule that applies to petitions for probate, letters of administration, ancillary letters, letters of trusteeship and judicial settlement of an account, among others.
• Fixed fees: set amounts for objections, demands for a jury trial, notes of issue, wills deposited for safekeeping, certificates of letters and certified copies.
• Exemptions and reduced fees: no fee for guardianship petitions under SCPA Articles 17 and 17-A, and a nominal fee for small estate affidavits under Article 13.

Fees are payable in advance. The clerk will not accept a petition for filing without the fee, and the court will not issue letters or a decree while a required fee remains unpaid.

The SCPA 2402 Fee Table

The schedule below governs the filing fee for a petition for probate, for letters of administration, for ancillary letters, for letters of trusteeship and for the judicial settlement of a fiduciary's account. The fee is keyed to the gross value of the estate or of the subject matter of the proceeding.

The top bracket is a cap. An estate worth $600,000 and an estate worth $60 million both pay $1,250 to open the probate proceeding. The schedule is not cumulative; you pay the single amount for the bracket the estate falls into.

How the Court Values the Estate for Fee Purposes

Probate and administration

For a probate or administration petition, the fee is based on the gross value of the assets that pass under the will or by intestacy. That is the probate estate, not the taxable estate. The following are excluded because they pass outside the will:

• Real property or accounts held jointly with a right of survivorship.
• Accounts with a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation.
• Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary other than the estate.
• Assets already held in a lifetime trust.

The value is gross, not net. Mortgages, credit card balances and funeral bills do not reduce the figure. A house worth $400,000 with a $350,000 mortgage counts as $400,000.

The petition for probate or administration asks the petitioner to state the estimated gross value of the estate. The clerk computes the fee from that figure. If the estate later proves larger and moves into a higher bracket, the court collects the difference before the proceeding closes. If it proves smaller, refunds are rare in practice, so a careful initial estimate matters.

Accountings

For a petition for judicial settlement of an account, the fee is based on the gross value of the estate or trust as shown in the account. Courts generally look to the total principal charged to the fiduciary. The accounting fee is a separate charge from the fee paid to open the estate. An executor who paid $1,250 to file for probate will pay a second fee, computed on the account, when the estate is judicially settled.

Ancillary and trust proceedings

For ancillary letters, the fee is based on the value of the New York assets, since that is the subject matter of the proceeding. For letters of trusteeship, the fee is based on the value of the trust property.

Fixed Fees Under SCPA 2402

The following fees do not vary with the size of the estate:

Petitions that have no ascertainable dollar value and are not otherwise listed, such as a petition for construction of a will, generally carry a flat fee of $75. Where a petition does have an ascertainable value, for example a petition to determine a specific claim against the estate, the clerk will apply the value-based schedule instead. Ask the clerk which method applies before you file if the answer is not obvious.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Probate with a mix of probate and non-probate assets

A decedent dies owning a house in her sole name worth $450,000, a checking account in her sole name with $80,000, an IRA worth $300,000 payable to her daughter, and a joint savings account with her son holding $200,000.

Only the house and the checking account pass under the will. The probate estate is $530,000. The filing fee for the probate petition is $1,250. The IRA and the joint account are excluded, even though they are part of the decedent's taxable estate.

If instead the house had been held jointly with her husband, the probate estate would be $80,000 and the fee would be $280.

Example 2: Administration of a modest intestate estate

A man dies without a will, leaving a car worth $9,000 and a bank account with $6,000, both in his sole name. The gross estate is $15,000. The petition for letters of administration costs $75. Because the personal property is under $50,000 and there is no real property, the family could instead use the small estate procedure under SCPA Article 13 and pay $1.

Example 3: A contested accounting

An executor files a petition for judicial settlement of his account. The account shows principal received of $180,000. The filing fee is $420. A beneficiary who believes the executor mishandled funds files objections and pays $150. If the objectant demands a jury, another $150 is due. When the matter is ready for trial, the note of issue costs $45. If the beneficiary had to bring a proceeding to force the executor to account in the first place, that petition is a separate filing; see compelling an accounting under SCPA 2205.

Example 4: Letters for a large estate

An executor is appointed for a $4 million estate. The probate fee is $1,250. The executor needs certificates of letters to present to six banks and a brokerage. Seven certificates cost $42. Many institutions insist on a certificate dated within the last 60 days, so ordering a large batch at the outset often wastes money.

Paying the Fee: Procedure in Surrogate's Court

1. Estimate the value. The probate or administration petition contains a paragraph for the estimated gross value of the estate. Use the best figures available at the date of death. Do not include non-probate assets.
2. Tender the fee with the papers. Fees are paid to the clerk at filing. Counties accept certified checks, money orders and attorney checks; several accept credit cards. Where the county participates in electronic filing through NYSCEF, the fee is paid online when the petition is uploaded.
3. Keep the receipt. The clerk's receipt is the fiduciary's proof of payment and supports reimbursement from the estate.
4. Adjust if the value changes. If the inventory of assets (Uniform Rule 207.20) or the account shows a higher gross value than the petition estimated, the court will require the additional fee before issuing a decree. File an amended affidavit of value and pay the difference promptly.
5. Pay the accounting fee separately. When the estate is ready to close, the petition for judicial settlement carries its own fee based on the account.

Who pays

The filing fee is an administration expense. The fiduciary or the attorney typically advances it and is reimbursed from estate assets. Where an attorney advances court fees, the reimbursement appears as a disbursement in the account, distinct from the attorney's compensation. The Surrogate reviews legal fees under SCPA 2110, but properly documented filing fees are ordinarily allowed without dispute.

Poor person relief

A petitioner who cannot afford the fee may apply for poor person status under CPLR 1101, which applies in Surrogate's Court through SCPA 102. The application is made by affidavit showing income, assets and inability to pay. If granted, the filing fee is waived.

Deadlines and Timing

• The filing fee is due when the petition is filed. There is no grace period. A petition tendered without the fee is not considered filed, which can matter when a statute of limitations or a court-ordered return date is approaching.
• Objections must be filed by the return date of the citation or by the deadline the court sets after a SCPA 1404 examination. The $150 fee must accompany the objections. Objections filed late or without the fee may be rejected.
• The additional fee for an increase in estate value must be paid before the court will sign the decree settling the account or otherwise closing the proceeding.
• Certificates of letters are issued on request at any time during the administration, on payment of $6 each.

Common Pitfalls

• Counting non-probate assets. Petitioners regularly include life insurance, retirement accounts and joint accounts in the estimated value and overpay by hundreds of dollars.
• Deducting debts. The schedule uses gross value. Subtracting a mortgage to reach a lower bracket will be caught when the inventory or account is filed, and the difference will be due.
• Forgetting the accounting fee. Fiduciaries budget for the probate fee and are surprised by a second value-based fee at the end of the administration.
• Assuming preliminary letters carry a separate schedule fee. A petition for preliminary letters is filed in the probate proceeding and does not require a second value-based fee, though certificates of the preliminary letters cost $6 each. The powers that come with those letters are discussed under SCPA 805.
• Over-ordering certificates. Because banks want recent certificates, order them as needed rather than in bulk.
• Missing the fee on collateral petitions. A petition to revoke letters and remove a fiduciary, discussed under SCPA 711, is a separate proceeding with its own filing fee. So is a petition to compel an accounting. Parties who have already paid to open an estate sometimes assume later petitions are free.
• Relying on outdated fee lists. The Legislature has amended SCPA 2402 several times. Use the current statute or the clerk's posted schedule, not a form from a prior year.

Statutory Text and Practical Meaning

SCPA 2402 states that the fees it lists are payable in advance to the clerk for the services described. In practice this gives the clerk authority to refuse papers without payment. The value-based subdivision directs that the fee be computed on the gross value of the estate or subject matter, which is why debts are ignored and non-probate assets are excluded. The fixed-fee subdivisions attach a set charge to each listed filing regardless of the estate's size, so a $150 objection fee applies equally in a $30,000 estate and a $30 million estate.

The statute also reflects a policy choice: the most frequently used protective proceedings, guardianships for minors and for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, carry no fee at all, and the small estate procedure costs $1. The Legislature intended those procedures to be accessible without counsel and without cost.

Albert Goodwin represents executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries in probate, administration and accounting proceedings throughout New York, including the calculation and payment of court fees as part of estate administration.

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