NYC Surrogate’s Courts: Five Boroughs, Five Courts

New York City is served not by one Surrogate’s Court but by five — one for each borough/county: New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Bronx, and Richmond (Staten Island). Each is a separate court with its own clerk and calendar, and jurisdiction over a particular estate is fixed by the decedent’s county of domicile under SCPA 205. The Surrogate’s Court handles probate, administration, accountings, guardianships, and will contests for estates of people who lived in that borough.

Which Surrogate’s Court has jurisdiction over my estate?

The court of the borough where the decedent was domiciled — their true, fixed, permanent home — at the time of death. A Queens resident who owned a condo in Manhattan still has their estate administered in the Queens County Surrogate’s Court, because property location does not control venue; domicile does (SCPA 205).

Court identity: the five NYC Surrogate’s Courts

Borough	County	Surrogate’s Court location (verify before filing)
Manhattan	New York County	31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007
Brooklyn	Kings County	2 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Queens	Queens County	Queens County Surrogate’s Court (verify address)
The Bronx	Bronx County	Bronx County Surrogate’s Court (verify address)
Staten Island	Richmond County	Richmond County Surrogate’s Court (verify address)

All five operate under the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) for procedure and the Estate Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) for substantive law.

What does the Surrogate’s Court handle?

• Probate of wills (SCPA 1402)
• Administration of estates with no will (intestacy under EPTL 4-1.1)
• Accountings by executors, administrators, and trustees
• Will contests and other estate litigation
• Guardianships of the property of minors (note: Article 81 adult guardianships go to Supreme Court)
• Adoptions and certain related proceedings
• Small-estate / voluntary administration under SCPA Article 13

The domicile rule and venue

Venue in NYC estates follows the decedent’s domicile, codified at SCPA 205 (with related provisions in SCPA 206). This is why a single family with property spread across boroughs must still file in just one court — the borough where the decedent actually lived. Establishing domicile can occasionally be contested for people who split time between, say, a Manhattan apartment and a second home, which is one reason precise records matter.

E-filing and procedure at NYC courts

All five NYC Surrogate’s Courts participate in NYSCEF, New York’s electronic filing system, allowing petitions and documents to be filed online. Each court also operates a Help Center for self-represented filers — Manhattan’s is well known and located within the 31 Chambers Street courthouse (Room 302, verify). Because NYC dockets are heavy, especially in Brooklyn and Queens, realistic timelines run longer than in smaller upstate counties.

Key court roles

The Surrogate: The elected judge who presides over the Surrogate’s Court and decides estate matters. Chief Clerk: The senior administrator who manages filings, calendars, and court records. (These are generic roles — confirm current personnel directly with the court.)

Self-represented vs. represented filers

Simple, uncontested small estates are sometimes handled by families using the Help Center. But contested matters, large estates, co-op transfers, and tax-exposed estates almost always warrant counsel — the procedural rules under SCPA are unforgiving of missed steps. See the executor duties page for what the job requires.

Local realities across the five courts

• Venue is borough-locked: you cannot shop courts; domicile decides (SCPA 205).
• Caseload varies sharply: the high-volume Brooklyn and Queens courts move slower than Staten Island’s smaller docket.
• Co-op-heavy estates mean many NYC filings involve share transfers rather than deed transfers, affecting how the executor closes the estate.

For a deeper, borough-by-borough walkthrough, see the NYC estate guide, and for the filing sequence, the probate process guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file in a different borough to get a faster court? No. Venue is set by domicile under SCPA 205 — you must file in the decedent’s borough.

Does the Surrogate’s Court handle adult guardianship? No. Adult Article 81 guardianships are heard in Supreme Court; the Surrogate’s Court handles guardianship of a minor’s property.

Are all five courts on NYSCEF? Yes. All NYC Surrogate’s Courts accept electronic filing.

Book a 30-minute consultation with Russel Morgan to confirm which court governs your estate.