Probate in New York: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in New York

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

New York law does not set a deadline for handing the original will to the court. If someone holding the will refuses to produce it, the Surrogate's Court can order them to file it, and can make them pay the other side's lawyer fees if they had no good reason to hold it back.

N.Y. SCPA § 1401; SCPA § 2507Read the statute · nysenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In New York, probate is handled by the Surrogate's Court in the county where the person lived (their domicile) when they died.

N.Y. SCPA § 205Read the statute · nysenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In New York, creditors have 7 months from the date the court first issues letters to present their claims to the executor or administrator. The executor does not have to publish a notice to creditors. If a claim comes in late, the executor is protected for money already paid out in good faith, but the creditor may still be able to reach assets that are left.

N.Y. SCPA §§ 1802, 1803Read the statute · nysenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In New York, the executor or administrator (or their lawyer) must file an Inventory of Assets form with the Surrogate's Court within nine months after letters are issued, unless the court sets a different time.

22 NYCRR § 207.20 (Uniform Rules for the Surrogate's Court)Read the statute text · law.cornell.educhecked Oct 5, 2026effective Mar 1, 2016

The order estate debts are paid

In New York, if the estate cannot pay everything, the executor pays costs of running the estate first, then reasonable funeral expenses, then debts with priority under federal or state law, then property taxes from before the death, then court judgments against the person, and then all other debts. Debts in the same group share equally, except judgments, which go in the order they were recorded.

N.Y. SCPA § 1811Read the statute · nysenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

New York has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. For deaths in 2026, an estate owes no New York estate tax if the taxable estate is $7,350,000 or less. Be aware of the cliff: if the estate is more than 105 percent of that amount, the exemption is lost entirely and the whole estate is taxed.

N.Y. Tax Law § 952Read the statute · tax.ny.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2026

Closing an estate

In New York, an estate is usually closed either informally, by having the beneficiaries sign receipts and releases that settle the executor's account and filing them with the Surrogate's Court, or formally, by asking the court to judicially settle the account. With signed releases from everyone, the executor can also ask the court for a decree that releases and discharges them. For a small estate, the voluntary administrator files a statement of what was collected and paid out with the court clerk.

N.Y. SCPA §§ 2202, 2203, 2208; SCPA § 1307 (small estates)Read the statute · nysenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026