New York City Living Trust: Surrogate's Court and Deed Recording in the Five Boroughs

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published October 1, 2026. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.

Which county this page covers

This page covers the five counties that make up New York City. The Unified Court System's New York City Surrogate's Court page lists five courts, and each court's own page names its county and borough: New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Queens County, Bronx County, and Richmond County (Staten Island). The Department of Finance's recording pages use the same five names: the City Register records property documents for "the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens," and the Richmond County Clerk records them for Staten Island.

Probate is filed in the county of the decedent's domicile, and a deed is recorded in the county where the land is. If you live or own property outside the five boroughs, in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester or any other county, that county's Surrogate's Court and county clerk apply, not the offices below. The New York County court's page puts it plainly: "For estate matters of decedents having been domiciled in any other county, please contact the Surrogate's Court of that county directly."

The five boroughs at a glance

Probate in New York City: one Surrogate's Court per county

SCPA 205 provides that "the surrogate's court of any county has jurisdiction over the estate of a decedent who was a domiciliary of the state at the time of his death, disappearance or internment," and that "the proper venue for proceedings relating to such estates is the county of the decedent's domicile at the time of his death, disappearance or internment." The court system's citywide page describes what these courts do: "The Surrogate's Court hears cases involving the affairs of decedents, including the probate of wills and the administration of estates. It also handles adoptions." Each court divides its work into departments; the ones a family usually needs are Probate (the decedent left a will), Administration (no will) and Small Estates.

New York County Surrogate's Court (Manhattan)

The court's page says it serves "the estates of individuals who were domiciled in New York County (Manhattan) at the time of their death." Its Administration / Small Estates page lists the department's hours as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, adds that "papers that require a fee must be submitted by 3:30 p.m.," and says applications can be filed "in person, by mail, or by e-filing" through NYSCEF, the state courts' electronic filing system.

Kings County Surrogate's Court (Brooklyn)

Queens County Surrogate's Court

Bronx County Surrogate's Court

The Bronx court's page carries a notice that "effective July 10, 2026 mandatory e-filing via NYSCEF is in effect," and another that effective August 6, 2026 there is no longer a filing fee for a petition to amend letters of administration. It also notes that a notary is available at no charge in the County Clerk's Office, Room 118 of the same building, to witness the signing of documents required in the court.

Richmond County Surrogate's Court (Staten Island)

The Richmond County page says e-filing "is mandatory in Probate, Administration, Voluntary Administration, Accounting/Miscellaneous, and in all related and subsequent proceedings" commenced on or after July 10, 2026, except for self-represented, adoption and guardianship matters. The court also runs a satellite site at the Charleston Library, 225 Bricktown Way, Community Room B, on Thursdays from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM, offering in-person help with "the death of a loved one, Guardianship matters, and Small Estate Applications."

Court fees under SCPA 2402

Surrogate's Court fees are set statewide by SCPA Article 24, and the Kings County court reproduces the article on its Fees page. Under SCPA 2402 the fee to file a petition for probate is "computed initially upon the gross estate passing by will as stated in the petition," and the fee for administration in intestacy is based the same way on the estate passing by intestacy. The schedule:

If a later tax return or court filing shows a larger estate than the petition stated, "an additional probate fee shall be immediately payable" for the difference; if it shows a smaller one, the difference is refunded. The section page on nysenate.gov shows its most recent revision as September 22, 2014, and a search of bills signed in the 2025 to 2026 session for "surrogate's court procedure act" returned six bills, none of which amends SCPA 2402, 1301 or 205.

Small estates: $50,000 or less

SCPA 1301 defines a small estate as "the estate of a domiciliary or a non-domiciliary who dies leaving personal property having a gross value of $50,000 or less exclusive of property required to be set off under EPTL 5-3.1 (a)." The New York County court's page explains the practical limit: voluntary administration applies "when the value of decedent's estate is $50,000 or less," with or without a will, but it "excludes authority to sue for personal injuries or wrongful death, or to administer real property (house, land, condominium)." A house or apartment in the decedent's own name therefore cannot pass through the small estate affidavit; it needs full probate or administration, which is the situation a living trust is designed to avoid. The section page shows its most recent revision as November 29, 2019, and a search of signed 2025 to 2026 bills for "voluntary administration" returned no results.

Recording a deed in New York City

Funding a living trust with a New York City home means signing a deed from yourself to yourself as trustee and recording it. The Department of Finance's page states who records it: "The Office of the City Register records and maintains all property-related documents, including deeds, mortgages, and leases, for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. (Visit the Richmond County Clerk to record property documents in Staten Island.)"

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx: the City Register and ACRIS

The Department of Finance says "you must record all property documents for Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx online using the ACRIS System," the Automated City Register Information System. Its ACRIS page describes the steps: prepare your documents, "this includes your tax forms and cover page"; scan and upload them; review and submit; and pay any taxes or fees by eCheck or credit card. Uploaded files must be clear black and white scans no larger than 11 by 17 inches, because ACRIS converts them to images for the public record. The ACRIS Contact Center is (212) 487-6300.

The City Register's Checklist for Document Recording lists, for every document, that the names and addresses match the cover page, that the New York State acknowledgment has the current wording with venue, date and name, that the document is dated and signed, and that the block and lot match the cover page. Under "Recording a deed" it lists: a completed NYC Real Property Transfer Return including a Social Security or employer identification number; a completed NYS TP-584; a completed RP-5217; a completed smoke detector form for a one or two family dwelling; and the HPD Affidavit in Lieu of Registration or a copy of a completed HPD registration application.

The City Register has an office in each of the four boroughs, inside the Department of Finance business center. The department asks visitors to schedule an appointment before coming in, and the Queens office also houses the Land Records Research Library for documents before 1966.

• New York County Office. 66 John Street, 13th floor, New York, NY 10038. City Register's Office hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, closed public holidays.
• Kings County Office. Brooklyn Municipal Building, 210 Joralemon Street, 2nd floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Document submission, pick-up, certified copies and research from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.
• Queens County Office. 144-06 94th Avenue, Jamaica, NY 11435. Document submission, pick-up, certified copies and research from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
• Bronx County Office. 3030 Third Avenue, 2nd floor, Bronx, NY 10455. Document submission, pick-up, certified copies and research from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.

Staten Island: the Richmond County Clerk

The Department of Finance's Staten Island page lists the Richmond County Clerk's Office at this address with one service: "Recording documents (for Richmond County only)." The clerk's own site describes the office as "Chief Recording Officer" and "the official records repository for Richmond County," with an Office of the County Register among its four divisions. Its Fees and Taxes page links a land document fee schedule, headed "No personal checks", that lists a general recording fee of $10.00 for all document types, a $20.00 surcharge on all document types, $2.00 per page including the endorsement page, $2.00 for each additional block and $3.00 for each additional lot, a $5.00 TP-584 form filing fee, and an RP-5217 fee of $125.00 for residential and $250.00 for non-residential property; copies are $0.25 per page and certified copies of land documents $4.00 per page. The Department of Finance adds that transfer tax returns for Staten Island property are prepared electronically in ACRIS and also filed on paper "in the office of the Richmond County Clerk."

The transfer tax return

The Department of Finance's Real Property Transfer Tax page says the tax is due "on sales, grants, assignments, transfers or surrenders of real property in New York City," that it "applies whenever the sale or transfer is more than $25,000," and that "even if the transfer is not subject to tax, or the tax is zero, the return must still be filed within thirty days after the transfer." Among the transfers it lists as exempt but still reported is one "that effects a mere change of identity or form of ownership or organization but only to the extent that the beneficial ownership remains the same." The page does not mention a transfer to a living trust by name, so this page does not say whether tax is due on a trust deed; it says only that the NYC-RPT return, the TP-584 and the RP-5217 are the forms the City Register's checklist lists for recording a deed. Ask the Department of Finance or an attorney about your own deed before you file.

What a living trust changes for a New York City homeowner

With a will alone, a New York City home passes through the Surrogate's Court of the county where the owner was domiciled: a petition, the SCPA 2402 fee on the gross estate, citation to the people entitled to notice, letters to the executor or administrator, and the steps described in the New York probate process guide. Because the small estate procedure under SCPA 1301 covers personal property only, and the New York County court's page says it excludes authority to administer real property, a home in the owner's own name always needs a full proceeding.

A home that was deeded to the trustee of a living trust while the owner was alive is not part of the estate the court administers; the successor trustee already holds title under the trust's terms. The deed to the trustee is recorded once, through ACRIS with the City Register for the four boroughs or with the Richmond County Clerk for Staten Island, with the cover page, the transfer tax return and the other forms on the City Register's checklist. After that there is nothing for the court to do with the house.

New York also has a transfer on death deed. Real Property Law 424 says "an individual may transfer property to one or more beneficiaries effective at the transferor's death by a transfer on death deed," which "is revocable even if the deed or another instrument contains a contrary provision." To work it must "be signed by two witnesses who were present at the same time," "be acknowledged before a notary public," and "be recorded before the transferor's death in the public records in the county clerk's office of the county where the property is located in the same manner as any other type of deed." The section page shows its most recent revision as July 26, 2024, and a search of signed 2025 to 2026 bills for "transfer on death deed" returned no results. The New York transfer on death deed guide compares it with a trust.

The New York Complete Estate Plan includes the living trust, a pour-over will for anything left outside the trust, and funding instructions that explain the deed. Preparing and recording the deed itself is the owner's step, at the City Register fee above or the Richmond County Clerk's fee.