Ask a Law Librarian: FAQ's about Legal Research

Most people interact with Surrogate's Court when a loved one dies. Surrogate's Court is the only court in New York with jurisdiction over estate matters. There are three kinds of estate filings:

• Probate: A probate proceeding is filed when someone dies with a will. Technically, probate is defined as the process by which a will is proved to the satisfaction of the Surrogate (Judge) to be the valid Last Will and Testament of the person who died (decedent).
• Administration: An administration proceeding is filed when a person dies without a will. Administration is the procedure for collecting and distributing the decedent's assets of a person to their descendants, as outlined by law.
• Voluntary Administration or Small Estate Proceeding: Voluntary administration proceedings can be filed when the decedent's assets add up to $50,000 or less. They can be filed with or without a will from the decedent. If the person owned real property (a home, other building, or land), however, a probate or administration proceeding must be filed. 

Another common proceeding handled in Surrogate's Court is guardianship. Some types of guardianships are filed in Surrogate's Court, whereas others are filed in Supreme Court, and occasionally Family Court.

• Guardianship over an infant's (child under 18 years old) "person" and/or "property": A guardian is usually a family member who is granted authority to care for and make certain decisions for a child (guardianship for the “person”) when the child's parents can't care for them. Whenever a child receives money, usually $10,000 or more, such as from an inheritance, life insurance, or a personal injury settlement, someone must be formally appointed by the Court to safeguard these funds until the child becomes 18 (guardianship of the "property"). Usually, a parent (the child’s “natural guardian”) is the person appointed “legal guardian” over these funds.
• Guardianship of a developmentally or intellectually disabled adult (Article 17-A Guardianship): Someone who is certified by at least two doctors (one of which must be a medical doctor; and one of which may be a licensed psychologist) as being unable to care for him/herself because of an intellectual or a developmental disability can have a guardian appointed by the Court to make decisions on his/her behalf. This is the most restrictive kind of guardianship in New York and is intended for people who will never be able to take care of themselves or make decisions for themselves.

Surrogate’s Court handles the following types of trusts:

• Inter vivos trusts: Also called a living trust, inter vivos trusts are created during the settlor’s lifetime. A revocable living trust can be changed or canceled by the creator at any point. An irrevocable trust can't be changed once the creator has signed the trust, and assets moved into the trust can't be removed.
• Testamentary trusts: Testamentary trusts are usually created by a decedent's will and will not take effect until the person's death.

Finally, adoptions can also be filed in Surrogate's Court or Family Court:

• Infant adoptions: These are adoptions arranged directly between the parties (private placement adoption) or with the assistance of an authorized adoption agency (agency adoption).
• Stepparent or remarriage adoptions: Where the new partner or spouse is adopting with the birth parent or prior adoptive parent (who adopted as a single parent).
• Family adoptions: These usually refer to grandparent(s) adoptions.
• Adult adoptions: These are adoptions where the person to be adopted is over the age of 18.
• Foreign adoptions: All foreign countries are now finalizing adoptions prior to the new parents and child(ren) returning to the U.S. Although it is not mandatory to do a readoption here, adopting parents may wish to consider the benefit of having a U.S. birth certificate issued for their child.