Probate in NYC: Which of the Five Surrogate’s Courts Handles Your Estate

Probate in New York City is not handled by one court — it is split across five separate Surrogate’s Courts, one for each borough. The borough where the decedent was domiciled at death controls where the estate is filed under SCPA 205. A Manhattan resident’s estate is probated in New York County Surrogate’s Court; a Brooklyn resident’s in Kings County. Two governing statutes apply citywide: the EPTL (substantive law) and the SCPA (procedure).

The angle: five courts, one city, and a co-op problem

Most “New York probate” resources treat the city as a single jurisdiction. It is not. New York City spans five counties — New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Bronx, and Richmond (Staten Island) — and each has its own Surrogate’s Court with its own clerk’s office, calendar, and caseload. You cannot file a Brooklyn decedent’s will at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan; venue follows the decedent’s last domicile.

This site exists to solve two NYC-specific problems at once. First, the routing problem: figuring out which of the five courts has jurisdiction over a given estate. Second, the title problem: the dominant NYC estate asset is not a house with a deed — it is a co-op apartment, where the decedent owned shares in a cooperative corporation plus a proprietary lease, not real property. That single fact reshapes how an executor takes control of the home, deals with the co-op board, and transfers value to heirs. Condos, brownstones, and high-value Manhattan estates layer on NY estate-tax cliff exposure. Everything here is written for the person settling a five-borough estate, not a generic “New York” one.

Where to start: the informational pillars

• The NYC probate process step by step — from locating the will to closing the estate, mapped to whichever borough court applies.
• The five Surrogate’s Courts and how venue works — which court hears your estate, and why domicile (not death location) decides.
• Executor and administrator duties in NYC — marshaling co-op shares, paying creditors, SCPA 2307 commissions.
• Will contests and contested estates — standing, grounds, and SCPA 1404 examinations in the city’s high-value estates.
• Wills under New York law — EPTL 3-2.1 execution rules and what a will does (and doesn’t) control.
• The deep NYC five-borough estate guide — court addresses, co-op realities, neighborhood-grounded scenarios.
• Frequently asked NYC probate questions — quotable, statute-grounded answers.

How probate works across the boroughs (at a glance)

1. Identify the borough of domicile. This sets the court under SCPA 205-206.
2. File the original will and a probate petition (SCPA 1402) in that borough’s Surrogate’s Court.
3. Serve citation on distributees — the people who would inherit if there were no will.
4. The Surrogate issues Letters Testamentary, the document proving the executor’s authority.
5. Marshal assets — including the often-tricky step of transferring co-op shares with board approval.
6. Pay debts, taxes, and expenses, then distribute and account.

For the full sequence, see the NYC probate process guide.

Local court & statute snapshot

Common questions

Can I file a Queens estate in Manhattan because the court is bigger? No. Venue is mandatory under SCPA 205 and follows the decedent’s domicile. A Queens decedent’s estate is filed in Queens County Surrogate’s Court. See the FAQ.

Who inherits a NYC apartment if there’s no will? New York’s intestacy statute, EPTL 4-1.1, controls — typically the spouse and children share. A co-op still passes through the estate. See wills and intestacy.

How long does NYC probate take? Uncontested estates in the busier borough courts commonly run several months to over a year. See the probate process page.

About the firm

This resource is published by Morgan Legal Group, led by attorney Russel Morgan, a New York estate and probate firm serving clients across all five boroughs. Our focus is the procedural reality of NYC’s Surrogate’s Courts and the asset types — co-ops, condos, brownstones — that define city estates. Learn more on the about page.

Talk it through

Estate settlement questions are easier to answer with your specific facts. You can book a 30-minute consultation with Russel Morgan to map out which court applies and what your role requires. Schedule a consult or visit the contact page.