Settling an estate or Trust in New York? A free role check shows you where you stand.
Start the free role checkWhat is probate?
Probate is how New York's Surrogate's Court oversees transferring a deceased person's assets — admitting any will, issuing letters to an executor or administrator, paying valid debts and expenses, and distributing what remains to the heirs or beneficiaries. Assets that pass another way (a funded Trust, beneficiary designations, jointly held property, a transfer on death deed) generally skip it.
The main types of New York probate
Probate with letters
The standard process: the court admits the will and issues letters testamentary to the executor — or, without a will, letters of administration to an administrator — who gathers the estate, pays the claims presented, distributes, and accounts at the end.
Small estate (voluntary administration)
Where the decedent left personal property with a gross value of $50,000 or less, not counting the family's set-off, a voluntary administrator may settle the estate without full administration (SCPA 1301).
Property set off to the family
Certain family property is not an asset of the estate at all: household items up to $20,000, one car up to $25,000 and money up to $25,000, among others, vest in the surviving spouse — or, if none, the children under 21 (EPTL 5-3.1).
What happens in a New York probate
- File the petition in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the decedent lived; the court admits the will — or, without one, grants administration — and issues letters to the fiduciary.
- Receive the creditors' claims, presented in writing (SCPA 1803); a claim not presented within seven months of letters leaves the fiduciary protected for good-faith payments made before it (SCPA 1802).
- Gather and value the estate's assets, and set off the family's exempt property to the surviving spouse or children under 21 (EPTL 5-3.1).
- Pay valid claims, taxes and administration expenses — the New York estate tax return, where one is due, within nine months of the death (Tax Law §972).
- Distribute what remains and settle the account — by the beneficiaries' receipts and releases, or by judicial settlement in the Surrogate's Court (SCPA 2208).
Can you avoid probate in New York?
Often, in part — a funded revocable living Trust, beneficiary or pay-on-death designations, and jointly titled property generally pass outside probate. What works depends on how each asset is titled. This page is general information, not legal advice; a free role check can show you where you stand, and a New York attorney can advise on your estate.
General information about New York law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How does probate work in New York?
- The will is offered for probate in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the decedent lived, the court issues letters, and the fiduciary gathers the assets, receives creditors' claims in writing (SCPA 1803), pays and distributes. A claim not presented within seven months of letters leaves the fiduciary protected for good-faith payments made before it (SCPA 1802).
- Is there a small-estate procedure in New York?
- Yes. Where the decedent left personal property with a gross value of $50,000 or less, not counting the family's set-off, a voluntary administrator may settle the estate without full administration (SCPA 1301).
- How much does a New York executor receive?
- Statutory commissions on what is received and paid out: 5% of the first $100,000, 4% of the next $200,000, 3% of the next $700,000, 2.5% of the next $4,000,000 and 2% above $5,000,000 (SCPA 2307).
General information about New York law, not legal advice.