When someone dies without a will in Brooklyn, New York’s intestacy laws—not the family—decide who inherits the estate, and the Kings County Surrogate’s Court appoints an administrator to settle it. This is called dying “intestate.” Instead of an executor named in a will, a close relative petitions the court for Letters of Administration, which grant legal authority to collect assets,
If you are settling a loved one’s estate in Brooklyn, the difference between a small estate affidavit and full probate comes down to one thing: the size and complexity of what was left behind. A small estate affidavit — formally called voluntary administration under SCPA Article 13 — is a streamlined, low-cost process for modest estates, while full probate is
Preliminary Letters Testamentary are a court-issued grant of limited authority that allow the executor named in a will to begin administering an estate before the full probate process is complete. Authorized by Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) §1412, they are the legal tool New York uses when an estate cannot afford to wait the three to six months it often
If you are about to probate a will in Brooklyn, here is the short answer: the Kings County Surrogate’s Court filing fee is not a flat charge — it is a graduated fee set by the gross value of the estate under Section 2402 of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA §2402). Smaller estates pay a modest filing fee, while
In Kings County (Brooklyn), an uncontested probate typically takes about 3 to 6 months from filing the petition to the issuance of Letters Testamentary by the Surrogate’s Court. That estimate assumes the original will is valid, all distributees sign waivers and consents, the petition is complete, and no one contests the will. When disputes, missing heirs, will challenges, or a
Short answer: legally, no — New York does not require you to hire an attorney to probate a will in Brooklyn. But in practice, almost every executor in Kings County does, and for good reason. The Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) governs probate with strict procedural rules, and the Kings County Surrogate’s Court holds self-represented petitioners to the same standards