Probate and the Family Home in New York City: A Homeowner’s Checklist

For most New York City families, the home is the estate. A Park Slope brownstone, a Queens two-family, a Forest Hills co-op, or a Staten Island ranch is usually worth far more than any bank account. New York does not have a ‘homestead exemption’ the way some states do, so the family home flows through whatever ownership structure was in place at death. Here is a practical checklist for understanding what happens to the home in NYC probate.

Step 1: Find Out How Title Is Held

Everything starts with the deed or, for a co-op, the stock certificate and proprietary lease. Three common arrangements lead to very different outcomes:

• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship or tenancy by the entirety (spouses): the home passes automatically to the survivor and skips probate entirely.
• Tenancy in common: only the decedent’s share passes through the estate.
• Sole ownership: the home goes through probate under the will, or by intestacy if there is no will.

Step 2: If There Is No Will, Know the Intestacy Rules

Under EPTL Article 4, if the decedent died without a will, the home passes by statute. A surviving spouse with children takes the first $50,000 plus half the balance, with the children sharing the rest. A spouse with no children takes everything. These shares can force a sale or a buyout when the home is the main asset, so identify the heirs early.

Step 3: Handle Co-ops and Condos Differently

NYC is co-op country, and a co-op is personal property (shares), not real estate. The co-op board still gets a say: an estate transferring shares to an heir typically needs board approval, and some boards resist non-purchasing occupants. Condos and houses are real property and transfer by deed. Read the governing documents before promising the home to anyone.

Step 4: Keep the Carrying Costs Current

Mortgage, maintenance or common charges, property taxes, and insurance do not pause for probate. The executor should keep these current from estate funds to protect the asset. A lapsed homeowner’s policy or unpaid common charges can create liens or a forced sale that erodes the inheritance.

Step 5: Watch the New York Estate Tax Cliff

NYC real estate values mean estates cross tax thresholds faster than families expect. The 2026 New York estate tax exclusion is $7,350,000. New York has a ‘cliff’: if the estate exceeds 105% of the exclusion (about $7,717,500), the exclusion phases out entirely and the whole estate is taxed, not just the excess. A single valuable home can push an estate over the edge.

Step 6: Consider Whether a Trust Would Have Helped

A revocable living trust (EPTL Article 7) holding the home avoids probate but offers no estate-tax savings. An irrevocable trust can serve tax planning or Medicaid purposes, but Medicaid’s five-year look-back applies to transfers. These are decisions to make while the owner is alive, not after death.

A Note on Getting Help

The family home is too valuable to handle on guesswork. Title structure, co-op board rules, and the estate-tax cliff each carry real consequences in New York City. Before transferring or selling an inherited home, consult a New York attorney who can review the deed or shares and the estate’s overall tax exposure.