New York City does not have a single probate court — it has five Surrogate’s Courts, one for each borough, and the decedent’s county of domicile determines which one has jurisdiction. Under SCPA 205, an estate belongs to the Surrogate’s Court of the county where the deceased person legally lived. A Brooklyn resident’s estate is handled in Kings County; a Manhattan resident’s in New York County. You cannot move a case from one borough to another for convenience.
The five courts at a glance
| Borough | County | Court | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | New York | New York County Surrogate’s Court | 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007 |
| Brooklyn | Kings | Kings County Surrogate’s Court | 2 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 |
| Queens | Queens | Queens County Surrogate’s Court | Jamaica, Queens |
| The Bronx | Bronx | Bronx County Surrogate’s Court | The Bronx |
| Staten Island | Richmond | Richmond County Surrogate’s Court | Staten Island |
(Manhattan and Brooklyn addresses verified; confirm exact addresses for Queens, Bronx, and Richmond before filing.)
What the Surrogate’s Court handles
Each borough’s Surrogate’s Court is the court of original jurisdiction over the affairs of deceased people. Its docket includes:
- Probate of wills and issuance of letters testamentary
- Administration of intestate estates and issuance of letters of administration
- Accountings — both informal and formal judicial accountings by fiduciaries
- Will contests and objections to probate (SCPA 1404 examinations)
- Kinship and heirship proceedings to identify unknown heirs (SCPA 2225)
- Guardianship of the property of minors and certain SCPA 17-A matters
- Adoptions in some boroughs
The domicile rule: why your borough is fixed
Domicile is the place a person treats as their permanent home — not necessarily where they died or owned property. SCPA 205 and 206 fix venue to the county of domicile. So a Manhattan co-op owner who died in a Long Island hospital is still a New York County estate. This rule matters in NYC because people own property in multiple boroughs; the court is chosen by where they lived, not where the most valuable asset sits.
Definition — Domicile: A person’s true, fixed, permanent home, to which they intend to return whenever absent. It controls Surrogate’s Court venue under SCPA 205.
E-filing and procedure across the five courts
All five NYC Surrogate’s Courts participate in NYSCEF, the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system. That means petitions, citations, and accountings can generally be filed electronically rather than in person. Each court also runs a Help Center for self-represented petitioners — useful for small or simple estates, though the help center cannot give legal advice. The Manhattan court’s help resources are in the historic Surrogate’s Courthouse on Chambers Street; the Brooklyn court operates from the Civic Center on Johnson Street near Borough Hall.
Key personnel
Each court is presided over by an elected Surrogate (a judge), supported by a Chief Clerk who runs the clerk’s office and intake. You will not deal with the Surrogate directly in a routine uncontested probate — most of the work flows through the clerk’s office and the law department. In contested matters, the Surrogate decides.
Self-represented vs. represented
Simple estates — a small bank account, a clear will, agreeable heirs — are sometimes handled pro se through a court Help Center. But NYC estates are rarely that simple: co-op transfers, condo boards, and high values complicate the picture, and most executors retain counsel. The Help Center can explain forms; it cannot strategize or appear for you.
Borough-specific filing realities
- Volume varies sharply. Kings and Queens are among the busiest Surrogate’s Courts in the state, so realistic timelines there run longer than in Richmond (Staten Island), the smallest.
- Co-op estates dominate Manhattan filings, which means more transfer-agent letters and board approvals than a typical estate elsewhere.
- Kinship proceedings are common in Brooklyn and Queens because of large immigrant communities — foreign documents and heir-tracing appear far more often.
How this connects to your case
Identifying the right court is step one. From there, the path runs through the step-by-step probate process, the duties of the executor, and — if anyone objects — contested estates and will contests. For a borough-by-borough deep dive, see the complete NYC estate guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file my mother’s estate in Manhattan if she lived in Queens? No. Venue follows her domicile under SCPA 205, so it must be filed in Queens County Surrogate’s Court.
What if the decedent split time between two boroughs? The court determines domicile based on intent and the totality of facts — voter registration, tax filings, and primary residence all weigh in.
Are all five courts on e-filing? Yes. All NYC Surrogate’s Courts use NYSCEF.
Get oriented to your court
Book a 30-minute consultation with Russel Morgan to confirm which borough’s court applies and what to expect there.