What does an executor have to do in New York?

The full answer

A petition to probate a will can be filed by the person named as executor, a beneficiary, a creditor, or others with an interest (SCPA § 1402). Once the court admits the will and issues letters testamentary, you have the powers of a fiduciary, such as selling estate property and settling claims for or against the estate (EPTL § 11-1.1(b)). Your main duties:

• Collect and protect the assets: find accounts, property and debts owed to the person; secure the home and valuables.
• Keep estate property separate from your own and hold it in your name as fiduciary, never in your personal name (EPTL § 11-1.6).
• Pay reasonable funeral expenses first, subject to administration expenses, out of the first money received (SCPA § 1811(1)).
• Pay debts in the legal order: debts with a legal preference, taxes assessed before death, judgments, then other debts (SCPA § 1811(2)). Within a class, don't favor one creditor over another (§ 1811(3)).
• Keep enough to cover expenses, debts and taxes before paying beneficiaries. You're not required to distribute before seven months after letters are granted, unless the will or a court directs otherwise (EPTL § 11-1.5(a)).
• Distribute the rest under the will, and account — either informally, with receipts and releases from the beneficiaries, or in a court accounting proceeding.

The seven-month creditor period

If a creditor doesn't present a claim within 7 months from the date letters were first issued, you're not personally responsible for assets you paid out in good faith before the claim arrived (SCPA § 1802). That's why most executors wait at least seven months before making final distributions.

Commissions

On settling the account, the court allows the executor's reasonable expenses and commissions on the sums received and paid out (SCPA § 2307(1)):

• 5% of the first $100,000
• 4% of the next $200,000
• 3% of the next $700,000
• 2.5% of the next $4,000,000
• 2% of everything above $5,000,000

Exceptions and special cases

• Small estates: if the personal property is $50,000 or less, the named executor can use the simpler voluntary administration process instead (SCPA § 1303(b)), but serves without commissions (§ 1307(1)).
• Spouse's right of election: if the will leaves a spouse less than the elective share, the spouse may claim it within six months after letters are issued (EPTL § 5-1.1-A(d)).
• Family exemption: certain household items, a car and some money go to the surviving spouse or minor children before the will's gifts (EPTL § 5-3.1).
• Wrongful death claims: if the death was caused by someone's wrongdoing, the personal representative must bring that claim within two years of the death (EPTL § 5-4.1).
• Declining: a named executor can renounce the role, and someone else will then be appointed.

What to do now

1. 1

   Find the original will

   Locate the signed original and any later wills or codicils.

2. 2

   Get death certificates

   Order several certified copies; banks and agencies will ask for them.

3. 3

   File for probate

   File the petition and will in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the person lived. The court's self-help center or a lawyer can help with forms.

4. 4

   Open an estate account

   Once you have letters, open a bank account in the estate's name and keep every receipt.

5. 5

   Inventory, pay, then distribute

   List assets and debts, pay in the legal order, wait out the seven-month period, then distribute and document everything.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

This page was written from the sources below. “Checked” is the date the source was last opened and read.

• N.Y. Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (opens in a new tab)
  New York State Senate — Open Legislation (official text of the Consolidated Laws) · § 1303, § 1307, § 1402, § 1802, § 1811, § 2307 · Checked: October 30, 2026
  Probate petitions, creditors' claims, order of payment, commissions, small estates
• N.Y. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (opens in a new tab)
  New York State Senate — Open Legislation (official text of the Consolidated Laws) · § 5-1.1-A, § 5-3.1, § 5-4.1, § 11-1.1, § 11-1.5, § 11-1.6 · Checked: October 30, 2026
  Fiduciary powers, time to distribute, keeping property separate, spouse's election, family exemption, wrongful death
• CourtHelp — New York State Courts (opens in a new tab)
  New York State Unified Court System · Checked: October 30, 2026
  Surrogate's Court self-help

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