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New York timeline

New York probate timeline and creditor deadlines

The statute states no universal waiting period for this route.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in New York they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

The one date this page can source

The statute for this route states no universal waiting period. That is recorded as “none stated” rather than as zero days, because a statute’s silence is not the same as a stated permission to proceed immediately. Other conditions in the same section still apply.

Creditor deadlines

New York does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From appointment of the representative
7 months from the date of issue of letters (SCPA § 1802)
Outer limit, running from death
SCPA § 1802 protects the fiduciary from liability for distributions made before a late claim is presented

How these combine. 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.

If any claim is not presented within 7 months from the date of issue of letters,N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 1802 — New York State Senate (Open Legislation); Viewing most recent revision (from 2019-11-22).

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Surrogate's Court before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

New York timeline decision map

What must be established before the New York clock matters

The New York waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

QuestionRecorded New York answerCarry 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?$50,000Use 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.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the New York deadlines into one date

The New York record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Appointment of the representative7 months from the date of issue of letters (SCPA § 1802)N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 1802
Outer limit from deathSCPA § 1802 protects the fiduciary from liability for distributions made before a late claim is presentedN.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 1802

How the periods combine: 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.

Case-file context

Keep the New York answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed New York descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

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).

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.

Cost context

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.)

1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.

Compensation context

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).

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.

Court-material note: 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. New York's Surrogate's Court forms, including the small-estate (voluntary administration) affidavit, are published by the Unified Court System, whose servers refuse automated requests. No New York court link is published here rather than one this site cannot prove reachable: obtain the affidavit from the Surrogate's Court of the county where the decedent lived.

Arithmetic illustration

See the New York amount screen without mistaking it for a result

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 amountComparison to the New York ceilingWhat it does not decide
$37,500Below $50,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$62,500Above $50,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

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

Records used by this New York map

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the New York periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

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.

Continue in New York