New York estate administration
Small-estate limit: $50,000
This guide explains probate in New York: In New York, decedents' estates are administered by the Surrogate's Court in the decedent's county. Estates of $50,000 or less in personal property may use the simplified voluntary-administration (small estate) procedure. New York publishes real statutory schedules for both court filing fees (SCPA § 2402) and executor commissions (SCPA § 2307).
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
A 'small estate' is one leaving personal property with a gross value of $50,000 or less, exclusive of property required to be set off to a surviving spouse/children under EPTL 5-3.1(a). Real property is not covered. The summary voluntary-administration procedure has no waiting period after death, and the clerk charges $1 to file the affidavit.
Voluntary administration / small estate (SCPA art. 13)Simplified route
A 'small estate' is one leaving personal property with a gross value of $50,000 or less, exclusive of property required to be set off to a surviving spouse/children under EPTL 5-3.1(a). Real property is not covered. The summary voluntary-administration procedure has no waiting period after death, and the clerk charges $1 to file the affidavit.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
SCPA § 2402(7) sets a statewide banded probate/administration filing fee based on the gross estate: under $10,000 = $45; $10,000–under $20,000 = $75; $20,000–under $50,000 = $215; $50,000–under $100,000 = $280; $100,000–under $250,000 = $420; $250,000–under $500,000 = $625; $500,000 and over = $1,250. (The small-estate voluntary-administration affidavit costs $1 under SCPA § 1304.)
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
SCPA § 2307 sets commissions on the sums of money the fiduciary receives and pays out: 5% on the first $100,000, 4% on the next $200,000, 3% on the next $700,000, 2.5% on the next $4,000,000, and 2% on all sums above $5,000,000. Commissions are computed on receipts and expenditures, not on gross estate value. A will may fix different rates for a corporate executor (subd. f).
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
SCPA § 1802 bars claims not presented within 7 months from the date letters are first issued, but this is a calendar-month period running from appointment (not a fixed day count), and it interacts with the fiduciary's separate publication/notice practice; a single day number would mislead.
N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 1802 (New York State Senate (Open Legislation); reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsNew York decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the New York amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded New York answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Voluntary administration / small estate (SCPA art. 13) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No universal waiting period stated; SCPA § 1802 bars claims not presented within 7 months from the date letters are first issued, but this is a calendar-month period running from appointment (not a fixed day count), and it interacts with the fiduciary's separate publication/notice practice; a single day number would mislead. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Surrogate's Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | SCPA § 2307 sets commissions on the sums of money the fiduciary receives and pays out: 5% on the first $100,000, 4% on the next $200,000, 3% on the next $700,000, 2.5% on the next $4,000,000, and 2% on all sums above $5,000,000. Commissions are computed on receipts and expenditures, not on gross estate value. A will may fix different rates for a corporate executor (subd. f). The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
The recorded New York ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the New York figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what New York counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the New York ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $37,500 | Below $50,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $62,500 | Above $50,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Official material
New York publishes no court artifact in this registry. New York probate is handled by the Surrogate's Court in each county.
New York probate is handled by the Surrogate's Court in each county.
The New York Courts self-help pages (nycourts.gov) return HTTP 403 to automated fetches (Cloudflare interstitial), so no court-resource URL could be verified to return HTTP 200 in this session. Primary statutory text is taken from the New York State Senate's official Open Legislation service (www.nysenate.gov) over HTTPS.
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
No New York court document is linked here. The notes below state why, rather than leaving the absence unexplained.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: A small estate is the estate of a domiciliary or a non-domiciliary who dies leaving personal property having a gross value of $50,000 or less exclusive of property required to be set off under EPTL 5-3.1 (a).
What this means: Primary text is taken from the New York State Senate's official Open Legislation service over HTTPS. The page carries the publisher's own currentness marker ('Viewing most recent revision (from 2019-11-29)'), which is pinned and re-checked each release. Confirm anything decision-critical with the Surrogate's Court.
Reviewed source note: No waiting period after the death of the decedent is required.
What this means: Primary text is taken from the New York State Senate's official Open Legislation service over HTTPS. The page carries the publisher's own currentness marker ('Viewing most recent revision (from 2014-09-22)'), which is pinned and re-checked each release. Confirm anything decision-critical with the Surrogate's Court.
Reviewed source note: Less than $10,000 ....................................... $ 45.00 10,000 but under 20,000 ................................. 75.00 20,000 but under 50,000 ................................. 215.00 50,000 but under 100,000 ................................ 280.00 100,000 but under 250,000 ............................... 420.00 250,000 but under 500,000 ............................... 625.00 500,000 and over ........................................ 1,250.00
What this means: Subdivision 7 sets a statewide banded fee applied to the gross estate (for probate, the gross estate passing by will; for administration, the value of the estate). An additional fee is due if the estate's value is later shown to be higher. Primary text is taken from the New York State Senate's official Open Legislation service over HTTPS. The page carries the publisher's own currentness marker ('Viewing most recent revision (from 2014-09-22)'), which is pinned and re-checked each release. Confirm anything decision-critical with the Surrogate's Court.
Reviewed source note: (a) For receiving and paying out all sums of money not exceeding $100,000 at the rate of 5 percent. (b) For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $200,000 at the rate of 4 percent. (c) For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $700,000 at the rate of 3 percent. (d) For receiving and paying out any additional sums not exceeding $4,000,000 at the rate of 2 1/2 percent. (e) For receiving and paying out all sums above $5,000,000 at the rate of 2 percent.
What this means: Commissions are on 'sums of money' received and paid out (receipts and expenditures), not gross estate. Subdivision (f) lets a will fix different rates/amounts for a corporate executor. Primary text is taken from the New York State Senate's official Open Legislation service over HTTPS. The page carries the publisher's own currentness marker ('Viewing most recent revision (from 2020-01-10)'), which is pinned and re-checked each release. Confirm anything decision-critical with the Surrogate's Court.
Reviewed source note: If any claim is not presented within 7 months from the date of issue of letters,
What this means: The 7-month period runs from the date letters were first issued; it is a calendar-month period, so no fixed day count is published. creditorClaims is reported as unknown with the trigger named. Primary text is taken from the New York State Senate's official Open Legislation service over HTTPS. The page carries the publisher's own currentness marker ('Viewing most recent revision (from 2019-11-22)'), which is pinned and re-checked each release. Confirm anything decision-critical with the Surrogate's Court.