New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Planning your estate and having a last will and testament is important to ensuring your final wishes are carried out and your heirs receive everything you intend to pass on to them. Whether you are the testator or executor, there are many duties you will need to perform to make sure an estate passes as quickly as possible through probate court, including calculating the costs associated.
First and foremost, New York probate courts handling estates have a variable schedule of filing fees which depend on the size of the estate. Section 2402(7) of New York’s Surrogate’s Courts Procedure Act (SCPA) are as follows:
| Value of Estate or Subject Matter Fee | Fee Rate |
| Less than $ 10,000 | $45.00 |
| $10,000 but under $20,000 | $75.00 |
| $20,000 but under $50,000 | $215.00 |
| $50,000 but under $100,000 | $280.00 |
| $100,000 but under $250,000 | $420.00 |
| $250,000 but under $500,000 | $625.00 |
| $500,000 and over | $1,250.00 |
Section 2402(8)(a) of the SCPA also proscribes a fixed fee for filing a petition to commence certain proceedings. These types of fees can range anywhere from $10 to $75, depending on the type of motion filed. Such petitions can include common probate proceedings such as filing wills and suspending a fiduciary.
What are the fees for executors in New York?
Under section 2307 of the SCPA, executor fees are based on the value of the estate. These fees can be between 2 and 5% of the total amount of estate money the executor receives and pays out. Executor’s fees in New York are as follows:
- All sums of money not exceeding $100,000 at the rate of 5 percent
- Any additional sums not exceeding $200,000 at the rate of 4 percent
- Any additional sums not exceeding $700,000 at the rate of 3 percent
- Any additional sums not exceeding $4,000,000 at the rate of 2.5 percent
- All sums above $5,000,000 at the rate of 2 percent
These amounts come out of the value of the estate and in cases where multiple executors handle an estate, the split is commiserate on the amount of work performed by each individual.
Attorney costs for probate of a will
When going through probate, it is strongly suggested the executor seek help from an experienced and dedicated New York probate and estate lawyer. The fees associated with a probate attorney depend on size of the estate, work put in by the executor, and the complexity of the case.