Estate and probate guide
When there’s a will: who can sell, what the Surrogate’s Court has to do first, and why the earliest call is the most valuable one.
Someone has died, the house was in their name, and there’s a will. Now you’re the executor, or you’re about to be, and everyone wants to know when the house will sell. Here’s the general road on one page.
Your estate attorney (or elder law attorney) handles the court. I handle the house. If you don’t have an appropriate attorney yet, I can help you get oriented. I sell estate property in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and Westchester, and the road is much the same in every county’s Surrogate’s Court.
↓ See the flowchart: how a house is sold in probate in New York
The general probate road for a house in New York when there’s a will. The dashed boxes are the turn-offs. Your estate may not follow this order.
Probate only reaches what the person owned in their own name when they died. A house can pass outside the estate if it was owned jointly with a right of survivorship, held by a married couple as tenants by the entirety, deeded into a living trust, or covered by a recorded transfer on death deed, which New York now allows (Real Property Law section 424). In New York City, deeds are on the City’s ACRIS system. In Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester, they’re recorded with the County Clerk. I check title as part of my review.
When someone who lived in another state (or another country) owned a house here, the will is usually probated where they lived first. Then an ancillary proceeding in the Surrogate’s Court of the New York county where the house is gives the fiduciary authority over it here (SCPA Article 16). It adds a step, and time, so it’s worth planning for from the start.
The executor named in the will, through an attorney, files the original will, a certified death certificate and a probate petition with the Surrogate’s Court. The petition lists the person’s closest relatives, called distributees: the people who would have inherited if there were no will. Each of them either signs a waiver and consent, or is formally served with a citation that sets a court date where they can object. A relative who can’t be found, or won’t sign, is often what slows a case down.
When the court is satisfied, it admits the will and issues Letters Testamentary, the executor’s proof of authority. If the case is delayed, the court can issue preliminary letters so the named executor can act in the meantime. What they allow is written on them.
Getting letters can take months. Depending on the will, the family and the title, there are times I can help you avoid losing all of that time. Two things in the will matter most to the house: whether it leaves the house to someone specific, and whether it limits the executor’s power to sell (EPTL 11-1.1, SCPA 1902). I review the will with you, and I check title, before we decide how to proceed. Which path makes sense depends on your facts, and it’s a conversation worth having in the first week, not the fourth month.
Letters can take months. The house doesn’t wait for them, and whoever is in charge can be answerable for what happens to it in the meantime. Early on, it’s prudent to:
If you’re not local, I can help with all of this.
Heirs usually inherit with a “stepped-up” tax basis: the property’s fair market value on the date of death (Internal Revenue Code section 1014). That number can matter a great deal when the house is sold.
The listing price is a different number: what the house is likely to sell for now, in its current condition, in this market. A Retroactive Valuation as of the date of death is a separate service I offer.
None of these is unusual. Any one of them can stall or derail an estate sale if it isn’t anticipated and handled by someone who has worked through it before.
On the price, the timing, or whether to sell at all. It can stall everything, and the house usually pays for it. Having someone experienced in the middle of it is prudent.
A relative with no lease, or a tenant nobody knew about. Their status needs to be sorted out early, and how depends on the facts.
Many of my estate sellers live out of state. Signing can often be handled remotely, and I go to the property so you don’t have to, with photos and video when it’s appropriate.
If the person lived in another state but owned a house here, the estate is usually opened there first, and then an ancillary proceeding in New York gives authority over the house. It adds time, so it’s worth planning early.
When the family can’t get along, a house can sit for years. Meanwhile a reverse mortgage or other debt keeps growing, taxes and insurance can lapse, and the lender may move to foreclose. Sometimes the estate is still salvageable, and sometimes it isn’t. The earlier I’m involved, the more options there usually are.
Cleanouts, repairs and maintenance. I have contacts and resources for all of it, and I’ll shepherd you through it. Whether to clear and fix or sell as-is is a numbers question, and I help you evaluate it.
Old building violations, unpaid water charges, a mortgage nobody marked satisfied. Found early, they’re usually manageable. Found at closing, they can be expensive.
Investors tend to be sophisticated buyers, and once you sign a contract, the leverage shifts. Talk to me before anyone signs anything.
An executor isn’t selling their own house, so “I got a decent price” isn’t the standard. The executor needs to be able to show they acted reasonably, so the pricing evidence, the marketing and the offers are documented as we go. How much market exposure is appropriate depends on the property and the situation. Who hears what, and when, depends on the situation too. I keep my files with the expectation that someone may review them later.
The contract is signed by the executor, as executor. The buyer’s attorney and the title company will want certified letters and the death certificate, and they’ll say what else they need to insure the buyer. Knowing the estate’s paperwork early lets those questions get asked before we’re under contract.
At closing, the executor signs the deed on behalf of the estate. Liens, unpaid charges, any mortgage payoff and transfer taxes come out of the proceeds, and the net goes into the estate account. Your estate attorney handles the estate’s debts and taxes, the accounting, and distribution under the will. If the estate is large enough to owe New York estate tax ($7,350,000 for deaths in 2026, counting certain gifts), the return is due within nine months of the death.
Diallo J. Stevens, Licensed Real Estate Broker, in full-time practice since 2002 and handling estate sales since 2004. A New York State Part 36 fiduciary eligible for court appointments, and a New York State Approved Real Estate Instructor.
I sell estate property in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and Westchester.
Consider me a resource to help you with your matters, including ones where a listing isn’t likely: values, condition, occupancy and what the market will actually bear. I’m also happy to help families get oriented before they’ve retained counsel, and send them your way. More for attorneys
If there’s no will, the road is different. It’s in the companion guide, Selling a house when there’s no will.
Before the cash offer, before the cleanout, before anyone signs anything. 929-400-7653
Five minutes, and it answers most of the first call.
Death and real estate — what actually happens
Recorded on camera, not written down and edited by me.
Estate seller“I inherited a property and needed help”
Often, yes. The house can be secured, valued and prepared, and depending on the will, the family and the title, sometimes more than that. Call me early and we’ll sort out what makes sense for your situation.
When the will doesn’t leave the house to a specific person, and neither the will nor the letters limit the executor, New York law gives the executor the power to sell. Getting everyone on board is still usually the smoother road. If someone objects, call me. I can help keep the sale on track and coordinate with your estate attorney.
It can be done, but an executor buying from the estate, or selling to a relative, needs care: an independent value, disclosure, and the right consents or court approval. I can provide the value and the market evidence, and help you sort out the rest.
Yes, usually after an ancillary proceeding in the Surrogate’s Court of the New York county where the house is. It adds a step, so it’s worth starting early.
Usually not. Many of my estate sellers live out of state. Signing can often be handled remotely, and I go to the property so you don’t have to.
No. Sometimes it’s worth it and sometimes it’s money burned, and we’ll evaluate both paths. Either way, I have contacts and resources for cleanouts, repairs and maintenance, and I’ll shepherd you through everything.
Not without hiring me first. Investors tend to be sophisticated purchasers, and once you sign a contract, the leverage dynamic shifts dramatically. It’s not just a question of the price offered. It’s about making sure you actually get what you agreed to, whether it was the right thing to agree to, and how to keep from being held hostage and leveraged into closing a worse deal.
When the last borrower dies, the loan generally becomes due, and the lender’s clock starts. Heirs typically get a limited window to sell or pay it off, and extensions aren’t automatic. Waiting is usually the most expensive option, so call me as early as you can.
Only on larger estates. For deaths in 2026, a New York return is required when the estate plus certain gifts exceeds $7,350,000, and it’s due within nine months of the death. Whether the sale needs anything from the Tax Department is something we look at early.
I’m a Licensed Real Estate Broker and a New York State Approved Real Estate Instructor, not your attorney. Here are links to the relevant laws and government resources.
Where it is, who is named in the will, and whether letters have issued yet. I’ll tell you how I’d approach it, and I’d like to handle the sale for you.
Would you rather just talk? Call 929-400-7653.
