New York probate code · checked October 2026

New York Small Estate: The Limit, the Tracks, and the Form

For money and belongings, New York's affidavit limit is $50,000 — applied to the estate after the assets that pass automatically are taken out. Voluntary administration gives the administrator no power over real property — a solely-owned house needs a fuller Surrogate's Court proceeding, though jointly held real property passing by survivorship does not block using Article 13 for the personal property. New York sets no waiting period for its affidavit.

Run the free New York check

The New York line, in facts

The affidavit limit today: $50,000, judged by the law in force on the date of death.

The paper: Affidavit in Relation to Settlement of Estate Under Article 13, SCPA (Affidavit of Voluntary Administration / small estate affidavit, SCPA Official Form; NY Courts DIY Small Estate Affidavit Program).

How it moves: filed with the court — a court paper, not an envelope.

The wait: no statutory waiting period.

For a surviving spouse: No higher spousal cap; a surviving spouse is first in the SCPA 1303 order of who may serve as voluntary administrator, and EPTL 5-3.1(a) exempt property set off to spouse/minor children is excluded from the $50,000 calculation.

The tracks in New York

Track	Limit	How it works
Small-estate affidavit	$50,000	Filed with the court. Form: Affidavit in Relation to Settlement of Estate Under Article 13, SCPA (Affidavit of Voluntary Administration / small estate affidavit, SCPA Official Form; NY Courts DIY Small Estate Affidavit Program).

The New York path, walked in order

Confirm the estate is personal property only and $50,000 or less — a solely-owned house cannot be administered in voluntary administration at all.
Gather the Article 13 affidavit (the Surrogate's Court publishes the form family) and the certified death certificate.
File in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the person lived; the court issues the certificates holders ask for.
Present the certificate and affidavit to each bank or holder — New York holders are entitled to rely on them.
If any heir is a minor, unknown, or disputes the distribution, stop: voluntary administration is not the track, and the court will say so.

What catches families in New York

The cap has been $50,000 since November 25, 2019 (L. 2019, c. 557) — charts showing $30,000 are stale, and the date is 2019, not 2020.
SCPA 1304 states expressly that NO waiting period is required, and the filing fee is $1 — New York's is among the cheapest court filings in the country.
New York authorized transfer-on-death deeds only in 2024 (Real Property Law § 424); older 'no TOD deed' lists are stale. One vehicle set off as exempt property (EPTL 5-3.1(a)) is excluded from the $50,000 calculation.

Vehicles in New York

A vehicle is personal property counted toward the $50,000 gross cap (except a vehicle set off as exempt property under EPTL 5-3.1(a), which is excluded from the cap calculation) and may be collected and sold by the voluntary administrator.

Debts, and the signer's duty

No solvency precondition; the voluntary administrator must pay administration and funeral expenses and the decedent's debts in the statutory order before distributing the balance and must file a report of disposition with the court.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: SCPA 1301; SCPA 1302; SCPA 1303; SCPA 1304; EPTL 5-3.1(a); Real Property Law 424. This page reads the published law; it is not legal advice, and the court is the final word.

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