New York has 62 counties and runs probate through the Surrogate's Court in each. The state's Surrogate's Courts have national reputations for being slow — particularly New York County (Manhattan) Surrogate's, which can take 18 to 30 months on complex estates.
New York Surrogate's Court is one of the slowest probate systems in the country. New York County (Manhattan) Surrogate's commonly takes 18 to 24 months for routine estates; complex estates can run 30+ months. The 7-month creditor period (EPTL section 11-1.5) is the floor. Outer-borough surrogates (Kings, Queens, Bronx, Richmond) are slightly faster but still slow by national standards.
New York has a state estate tax (Tax Law section 952) with a $7.16M exemption (2026). The 'cliff' provision is the trap: if the taxable estate exceeds 105% of the exemption, the tax is calculated on the ENTIRE estate, not just the excess. This creates a sudden jump in tax owed for marginally-exceeding estates.
New York offers Voluntary Administration (SCPA Article 13) for small estates with personal property under $50,000 — real property is excluded. Real property always requires full probate or letters of administration. New York does NOT have Transfer-on-Death Deeds for real property — one of the largest TOD-deed holdouts in the country.
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Not every estate goes through it — it depends on how the home was titled, whether there's a will or trust, and New York rules. We'll help you find out.
Start with probate →Selling isn't the only option. Talk through whether it makes sense for you and what you'd actually walk away with after costs and the stepped-up basis.
Explore selling →Renting, holding, or renovating could be worth it. See what the numbers look like in your specific market before deciding.
Look at keeping it →Before you sell, rent, or move in, understand the home's real condition — and what fixing it up would actually take locally.
Check repairs →NYC Surrogate's Courts (Manhattan especially) commonly run 18 to 24 months. Outer-borough and suburban county surrogates run 12 to 18 months. Upstate counties run 9 to 14 months. The 7-month creditor period under EPTL 11-1.5 is the floor.
No. New York has NOT adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act for real estate. Real property transfers by will, intestate succession, joint tenancy with survivorship, or trust.
Yes. Tax Law section 952 with a $7.16M exemption and a 'cliff' provision: estates exceeding 105% of the exemption are taxed on the full estate value, not just the excess. NYC and Long Island inherited homes commonly trigger NY estate tax.
Erie (Buffalo), Monroe (Rochester), Onondaga (Syracuse), and Albany see strong upstate inherited-home volume with modest equity. Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk (downstate suburbs) have the highest equity outside NYC itself.
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