Estate Planning in New York: Which Court, Which Statute

Estate planning in New York means building the wills, trusts, and incapacity documents that control how your property passes — governed by the Estate Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) and administered, after death, through a Surrogate’s Court chosen by the county where you were domiciled (SCPA 205). The first thing most people get wrong is the word “New York” itself. It can mean New York County (Manhattan), New York City’s five boroughs, or all 62 counties of New York State — and each meaning sends your estate to a different courthouse.

This hub exists to resolve that confusion before you spend a dollar on documents. If you type “New York” into a search bar, you are usually standing somewhere more specific, and that specific place decides everything.

Who this resource is for: the “I just searched New York” reader

Most estate guides assume you already know your county. This one doesn’t. We wrote it for the New Yorker who isn’t sure whether their estate would be handled in Manhattan, in their home borough, or in a suburban county upstate or on Long Island. We treat the New York County Surrogate’s Court at 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007 as the literal “New York County” court and the anchor for the term, while pointing you to the right county when your domicile is elsewhere.

That matters because New York is not a one-court state. A Manhattan co-op owner, a Queens homeowner, and a Westchester retiree share the same EPTL and SCPA — but they file in three different Surrogate’s Courts, deal with different asset types (co-op shares vs. real property), and face different timelines.

The seven pillars of New York estate planning

Start with whichever question is keeping you up at night:

• Wills under New York law — what a will controls, EPTL 3-2.1 execution rules, and what happens if you die intestate (EPTL 4-1.1).
• Trusts in New York — revocable living trusts, irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trusts, and how trusts skip the New York County Surrogate’s Court entirely.
• Power of attorney & health care proxy — the 2021 statutory POA (GOL 5-1501), proxies, and avoiding Article 81 guardianship.
• New York estate taxes — the New York estate tax “cliff,” the 105% rule, and how the federal exemption differs.
• The New York probate process — the step-by-step SCPA path from petition to distribution.
• The New York County Surrogate’s Court — jurisdiction, the 31 Chambers Street courthouse, and what it handles.
• The complete New York estate guide — the deep local resource on domicile, venue, and city-specific asset realities.

How estate planning works in New York (at a glance)

1. Decide which “New York” governs you. Your county of domicile sets the Surrogate’s Court under SCPA 205-206 — not where you own property.
2. Build the core documents. A will (EPTL 3-2.1), a health care proxy, a statutory power of attorney, and often a revocable trust.
3. Decide what avoids probate. Jointly held property, beneficiary-designated accounts, and funded trusts pass outside the will.
4. Address the tax exposure. New York’s separate estate tax and the cliff can hit high-value city and suburban estates that the federal exemption ignores.
5. Plan for incapacity, not just death. Most New York families need the POA and proxy long before the will.
6. Confirm your county’s filing realities in our step-by-step probate guide.

Local court & statute snapshot

Common questions (more in the full FAQ)

Does “New York” probate happen in one central court? No. Each of New York’s 62 counties has its own Surrogate’s Court, and the decedent’s county of domicile controls (SCPA 205).

Do I need a will if I have a trust? Usually yes — a “pour-over” will catches anything you forgot to put in the trust. See our trusts guide.

What is the New York estate tax cliff? If your taxable estate exceeds the exemption by more than 5%, you can owe tax on the entire estate, not just the excess. See estate taxes.

About this resource

This site is published by Morgan Legal Group, led by attorney Russel Morgan, a New York estate and probate practice. Every page is grounded in the EPTL, the SCPA, and the realities of New York’s Surrogate’s Courts — not generic templates.

Talk it through

If you’re unsure which “New York” your estate belongs to, a short conversation usually settles it. Book a 30-minute consultation with Russel Morgan — informational, no obligation.