New York Probate
Cost Calculator

New York's probate system — formally called "estate settlement" — is administered by the Surrogate's Court in each of the state's 62 counties. The Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA) provides the procedural framework, and New York distinguishes between probate proceedings (for testate estates) and administration proceedings (for intestate estates).

The Surrogate's Court also has jurisdiction over accountings, construction proceedings, and will contests.

New York imposes statutory executor commissions under SCPA section 2307, using a declining percentage schedule: 5% on the first $100,000, 4% on the next $200,000, 3% on the next $700,000, 2.5% on the next $4 million, and 2% on amounts exceeding $5 million. Attorney fees, by contrast, are governed by a "reasonable" standard under SCPA section 2110, often benchmarked to the executor commission schedule but subject to court scrutiny.

New York is also one of the states that imposes its own estate tax with an exemption of $6.94 million as of 2024. The state's estate tax features a "cliff" — if the taxable estate exceeds 105% of the exemption amount, the entire exemption is lost.

This makes precise estate valuation and probate cost planning essential, especially in the five boroughs where real property values frequently push estates near the threshold.

New York Surrogate's Court Procedure Act section 2307 defines executor commissions using a five-tier declining schedule: 5% on the first $100,000, 4% on the next $200,000, 3% on the next $700,000, 2.5% on the next $4 million, and 2% on amounts over $5 million. When there are multiple executors, SCPA section 2313 adjusts the commission allocation based on the number of fiduciaries.

Attorney fees in New York are not governed by a statutory schedule. Instead, SCPA section 2110 requires fees to be "reasonable," and courts often look to the executor commission schedule as a guideline while considering the complexity and results of the attorney's work.

This dual system — statutory for executors, reasonable for attorneys — means that accurate probate cost estimates in New York require modeling both tracks independently.

When you run our New York probate calculator, the result breaks down into several components. The largest portion is typically the statutory fee — New York law sets personal representative and attorney compensation as a percentage of the gross probate estate.

"Gross" means the full fair market value of probate assets before subtracting debts, mortgages, or liens. This is a common source of surprise: a home worth $500,000 with a $300,000 mortgage contributes $500,000 to the fee calculation, not $200,000.

The second component covers court costs and filing fees, which vary by county. These include the initial petition filing, publication of notice to creditors, and supplemental filings during administration.

The third component accounts for additional expenses like surety bond premiums, real property appraisals, and certified copies. Our calculator itemizes each component so you can see exactly where the costs come from.

If your estimate seems higher than expected, check whether real property is driving the total. In many New York estates, the family home represents the largest single asset and can push fees into a higher bracket.

Transferring the home into a revocable trust before death can remove it from probate entirely — often producing the single largest cost reduction. Use our executor fee calculator to see how the personal representative compensation alone breaks down by tier.

Step 1: Determine whether formal probate is required. New York allows estates valued below $50,000 to use a small estate affidavit, bypassing formal probate entirely. Verify the total value of probate assets (excluding jointly held property, beneficiary-designated accounts, and trust assets).

If the estate qualifies, you may save thousands in fees and months of processing time.

Step 2: Gather essential documents. Before contacting an attorney or the New York probate court, collect: the original will (if one exists), death certificates (order at least 10 certified copies), recent bank and investment statements, real property deeds, vehicle titles, life insurance policies, and any trust documents. Having these ready saves billable time and speeds up the petition filing.

Step 3: Consult a New York probate attorney. Most New York probate attorneys offer an initial consultation to evaluate the estate and outline the expected process, timeline, and costs. Bring your document inventory and this cost estimate.

Ask about their fee structure, expected timeline, and whether any aspects may require extraordinary services.

Step 4: Open the probate case. The personal representative (or their attorney) files a petition with the New York probate court in the county where the decedent lived. This establishes jurisdiction and triggers the statutory creditor notice period.

From this point, the court supervises the estate through inventory, creditor claims, tax filings, and final distribution.

Step 5: Find a qualified probate attorney in New York. Your state or county bar association maintains a referral directory of attorneys who specialize in probate and estate administration. Look for attorneys with experience in your specific county court, ask about their fee structure, and confirm whether they handle both testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will) matters.

New York's 62 Surrogate's Courts handle probate across a state with enormous variation in estate composition — from multimillion-dollar Manhattan real estate to rural agricultural properties upstate. The typical probate timeline runs 12 to 24 months, one of the longest in the nation, due in part to the mandatory citation process and the courts' administrative backlog.

New York's $50,000 small estate threshold for voluntary administration is relatively low compared to other states, meaning most estates of any significance require full probate or administration proceedings. Combined with the state's own estate tax (exemption of $6.94 million with a cliff that eliminates the exemption entirely for estates exceeding 105% of that amount), New York probate demands precise cost and tax modeling.

An automated calculator that accounts for both the commission schedule and the estate tax exposure simultaneously can save hours of research.

One of the most consequential — and most misunderstood — aspects of New York's probate cost structure is the distinction between gross and net estate value. New York's statutory fee schedule calculates executor and attorney compensation based on the gross value of probate assets, meaning the full fair market value without deducting mortgages, liens, credit card balances, or other liabilities.

A home appraised at $500,000 with a $400,000 mortgage contributes $500,000 to the fee base, not $100,000.

This gross-value calculation is counterintuitive and can produce fees that seem disproportionate to the estate's actual distributable value. Understanding this distinction early — before the process begins — helps set accurate expectations.

This calculator applies New York's gross-estate methodology automatically, preventing the common error of estimating fees on net value.

Common probate assets in New York include solely-owned real property, individually-titled bank and brokerage accounts, vehicles titled only in the decedent's name, personal property of significant value, and business interests without transfer-on-death provisions. Common non-probate assets include life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary, retirement accounts with designated beneficiaries, property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and assets in a revocable living trust.

Accurately categorizing each asset is the foundation of any reliable probate cost estimate.

A New York probate cost calculator should separate the New York probate court filing fee, the executor or personal representative compensation, the probate attorney fee, publication and notice costs, creditor claim handling, real estate transfer expenses, and any tax filings required before the probate court approves final distribution to each beneficiary. The total probate cost in New York is rarely a single filing fee — it is the combined probate cost of opening the estate in probate court, administering estate assets, paying debts, and closing the probate proceeding with a final accounting.

Every line item the calculator pulls in is something the probate attorney and executor will pay out of estate funds before the beneficiary distributions are released.

Start the New York probate worksheet with the gross probate estate, then remove every asset that passes outside probate court through a living trust, joint tenancy with survivorship, transfer-on-death deed, payable-on-death account, retirement beneficiary designation, or New York small estate affidavit. The remaining New York probate estate is the base the probate court actually uses for estimating court filing fees, probate attorney fees, executor or personal representative compensation, bond premiums, appraisal fees, and other estate administration costs.

Probate avoidance through a living trust is the most common way New York families keep the probate fee schedule from applying to the full estate — assets titled in the living trust never enter probate, so the probate attorney fee and executor fee never attach to them.

For a practical New York probate cost estimate, the calculator needs the estate value, the New York county where the probate court will hear the case, whether there is a valid will, whether each beneficiary agrees on distribution, whether real property must be sold under probate court supervision, whether a will contest is likely, whether creditor claims are expected, and whether the estate qualifies for New York's summary administration path or full formal administration. A will contest, missing heirs, federal estate tax issue, business interest, or multi-county real estate can push the total probate cost far above a routine New York probate administration — and a contested will routinely doubles probate attorney fees because the probate court schedules additional hearings before any beneficiary distribution.

In New York, a probate lawyer often charges under the statutory percentage schedule (SCPA §§ 2307, 2110) — the same tiered formula that governs executor compensation. Some New York probate attorneys also offer flat fees for uncontested matters or hourly billing ($250–$450/hr is typical) when work falls outside the statutory schedule.

Filing the petition in New York probate court still requires court costs on top of the probate lawyer's fee, plus publication, certified copies, and bond premiums when the court requires one.

New York's summary administration path covers estates below the $50,000 threshold and usually closes in 30–90 days with no formal accounting. Formal administration is the default for larger estates and runs 6–24 months in New York probate court when real estate, beneficiary disputes, will contests, or out-of-state assets are involved.

Every estate settlement passes through the same probate process stages: appointing the executor, inventory, creditor notice, claim resolution, beneficiary distribution, and final accounting — a will contest can pause any one of these stages for months in New York.

Probate avoidance saves real money in New York. A living trust setup ($1,500–$3,500 with a probate attorney) keeps the estate out of probate court entirely; joint ownership, transfer-on-death deeds, and beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance move assets directly to each named beneficiary without touching the New York probate process.

Estate planning before death is consistently cheaper than estate settlement after death.

Total probate costs in New York break down into three primary categories: court filing fees, probate attorney fees, and executor or personal representative compensation. Filing fees in New York vary across 62 counties — urban counties often charge $400-$1,200 while rural counties may charge $200-$500.

Personal representative compensation in New York follows a statutory percentage schedule under SCPA §§ 2307, 2110, applied to the gross probate estate. Probate attorney fees are charged either as a percentage of the estate (in statutory states) or hourly ($200-$500/hr in most New York jurisdictions) — use this probate fee calculator above to estimate the combined amount.

Asset-based cost calculation matters because probate fees scale with the value of estate assets that pass through the court. Assets that avoid probate — joint accounts with rights of survivorship, retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, life insurance with designated beneficiaries, transfer-on-death deeds, and property held in a living trust — are not included in the probate fee base.

Estates valued below $50,000 may qualify for New York's simplified probate or small estate procedures, which reduce or eliminate court filing fees and probate attorney fees.

Typical probate administration in New York runs 6 to 18 months. Estates with contested wills, real estate that must be sold, business valuations, or out-of-state assets routinely extend past 24 months and accumulate additional probate attorney fees, executor compensation, and court costs.

Each beneficiary should review the executor's accounting before final distribution to verify that probate fees, attorney fees, and the executor fee match the work performed and the value of estate assets administered.

With 62 counties, New York presents meaningful variation in probate costs from one jurisdiction to the next. While the statutory fee schedule sets a statewide floor for executor and attorney compensation, county-level court costs, filing fees, and administrative surcharges are set locally and can differ by hundreds of dollars.

High-volume urban courts may charge different rates than rural courts with lighter caseloads.

Beyond direct costs, county-level differences in New York affect the practical experience of probate. Urban courts with dedicated probate divisions tend to process routine matters more efficiently but may impose stricter procedural requirements.

Rural courts with generalist judges may be more flexible on procedure but slower to schedule hearings. For estates spanning multiple New York counties, these variations compound — an estate with real property in three different counties may require ancillary filings in each jurisdiction, each with its own fee schedule and timeline.

This probate cost calculator incorporates New York-specific fee data at both the state and county level where available. For counties without published fee schedules, the calculator applies statewide defaults and notes where manual verification may be needed — so you always know how confident to be in the estimate.

The busiest probate courts in New York handle cases in Kings County, Queens County, and New York County — click any county for local filing fee and timeline details.

New York's statutory fee schedule covers ordinary administration: inventorying assets, paying creditors, filing tax returns, and distributing the estate.

When administration requires services beyond this scope, New York courts may authorize additional compensation for both the executor and attorney.

Common triggers for extraordinary compensation:

• will contests or other estate litigation
• sale of real property during administration
• operation of the decedent's business
• complex tax planning or audit defense
• contested creditor claims requiring negotiation or adjudication

Extraordinary fee petitions must demonstrate that services were outside ordinary administration, necessary to protect the estate, and competently performed — document from the moment the need arises, not at the end.

Beyond professional fees, New York estates routinely incur:

• surety bond premiums (required unless the will waives the bond)
• real property appraisals and business valuations
• publication of notice to creditors in local newspapers
• certified copies of court orders for financial institutions and title companies
• accounting and tax preparation fees for estate income and estate tax returns

The most effective way to reduce probate costs in New York is to shrink the probate estate itself. Assets held in a revocable living trust, accounts with beneficiary designations, and property in joint tenancy all transfer outside of probate — removing them from the fee base entirely.

For statutory-percentage states like New York, every dollar removed from the gross estate directly reduces the personal representative's and attorney's fees.

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) registrations on bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and vehicle titles are the simplest probate-avoidance tools. They cost nothing to set up, take effect automatically at death, and bypass court entirely.

Every financial institution that holds estate assets should be checked for beneficiary designation options.

Small estate procedures offer another path. If the total probate estate falls below $50,000 in New York, the small estate affidavit process eliminates court filing fees, personal representative fees, and attorney fees entirely.

Even estates slightly above the threshold can sometimes qualify by moving one or two assets out of probate through beneficiary designations or TOD registrations.

Negotiating attorney fees is possible in New York for services beyond the statutory schedule — while base statutory fees are fixed, attorney engagement for ancillary work is negotiable. The personal representative can also waive personal compensation, which reduces total estate administration costs by eliminating one of the two major fee categories.

Independent administration, where New York law allows it, minimizes court involvement after the initial appointment order. Fewer court hearings mean lower filing fees, less attorney time, and a faster timeline — all of which reduce total probate costs.

Check whether the will grants independent authority or whether all beneficiaries can consent to this streamlined approach.

This free probate cost calculator covers New York statutory fee tiers, county-level filing fees across all 62 counties, and current small estate thresholds — updated as the legislature changes them. No account required, no limits on basic calculations, and results are available instantly.

Whether you're an executor trying to understand what probate will cost, a family member planning next steps, or simply researching New York probate law, this calculator gives you a clear, verified estimate in minutes. Select your county above for local filing fees and court details, or use the calculator to compare costs across multiple states if the estate includes out-of-state assets.

After running your estimate, check the probate timeline and estate tax calculator for a complete picture of what to expect.