Educational guide — not legal advice. Costs vary by attorney and county. A written fee agreement states the fee before a New York attorney is engaged.
The short answer
New York’s probate-avoidance tools, and what each one covers:
| Method | What it charges | What it operates on |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary designations (retirement, life insurance) | No charge by the plan or carrier | Accounts that carry a designation |
| Payable-on-death (POD) / transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts | No charge by the bank or brokerage | Bank and brokerage accounts |
| Joint ownership with right of survivorship | No charge to register; a deed carries the county clerk’s recording fee | Spouses, co-owners |
| Revocable living trust (attorney-drafted) | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 | Real estate, larger or multi-state estates |
| Online living trust | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 | Simple situations |
The mechanisms that carry no charge cover the assets they are filed against. A funded trust covers any asset retitled into it — and in New York the cost it displaces is set out below, because New York probate is expensive.
What you’re avoiding: the cost of New York probate
To know whether paying for a trust makes sense, compare it to the probate bill you’d skip. New York probate has two main costs:
Executor commissions (set by statute)
Under SCPA §2307, the executor is entitled to a commission on a sliding scale:
| Estate value | Commission |
|---|---|
| First $100,000 | 5% |
| Next $200,000 | 4% |
| Next $700,000 | 3% |
| Next $4,000,000 | 2.5% |
| Above $5,000,000 | 2% |
Attorney fees (separate, “reasonable”)
New York attorney fees are not statutory. They are charged on top of the executor’s commission. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026.
Plus Surrogate’s Court filing fees
We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
For the full breakdown, see Probate Cost in New York.
What the no-charge mechanisms cover
The mechanisms that carry no charge operate only on the assets they are filed against. Where an estate consists of:
- Retirement accounts and life insurance with named beneficiaries,
- Bank and brokerage accounts with POD/TOD registrations, and
- A home owned jointly with your spouse (right of survivorship),
then those assets already pass outside probate, at no charge from the institution that holds them. A will governs whatever is left and names a guardian for minor children. A trust operates only on the assets retitled into it.
What a New York living trust reaches
We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
- You own real estate in your own name — New York has no transfer-on-death deed, so a trust (or joint ownership) is the main way to keep a home out of probate.
- Your estate is larger, where statutory commissions and attorney fees add up fast.
- You own property in more than one state — a trust avoids a second “ancillary” probate.
- You live in New York City or its suburbs, where probate tends to be slower and pricier.
- You want privacy (probate is a public record) or incapacity protection (a trust lets your successor trustee manage assets without a court guardianship).
The catch with any trust: it only avoids probate for assets you actually retitle into it. An unfunded trust does nothing. Budget time (or ask the attorney) to fund it — deed the house in, move the accounts.
A note on New York’s small-estate shortcut
New York provides a simplified “small estate” proceeding, voluntary administration, under SCPA Article 13. SCPA §1301(1) 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 filing fee for a voluntary administration proceeding is $1, stated in the Surrogate’s Court small estate packet published at nycourts.gov.
Two things §1301(1) turns on. Its $50,000 is measured on personal property only, and real property in the decedent’s sole name takes the estate outside Article 13 regardless of value — so a solely-owned home means full probate whatever the rest of the estate is worth.
Multiple executors and multiple commissions
SCPA §2307(5) sets how many full commissions an estate with more than one fiduciary pays, by the gross value of the principal accounted for. Subject to SCPA §2313 on multiple commissions, the thresholds are:
| Gross value of principal | Full commissions available |
|---|---|
| Less than $100,000 | One, apportioned among the fiduciaries according to services rendered |
| $100,000 or more but less than $300,000 | Each fiduciary takes a full commission, unless there are more than 2, in which case the compensation allowed to 2 is apportioned among them |
| $300,000 or more | Each fiduciary takes a full commission, unless there are more than 3, in which case the compensation allowed to 3 is apportioned among them |
The fiduciaries may agree in writing to a different apportionment, which may not give any one of them more than one full commission.
Under SCPA §2307(5), on an estate whose gross principal accounted for is $300,000 or more, each of up to three fiduciaries may take a full commission; beyond three, the compensation allowed to three is apportioned among them.
A worked comparison
Applied to a $600,000 New York estate (a home plus accounts), the SCPA §2307(1) schedule gives the figures below for a will-only plan that goes through probate, against a funded living trust:
| Will → probate | Funded living trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Executor/trustee commission | $22,000 on the SCPA §2307(1) schedule — 5% of the first $100,000, 4% of the next $200,000 and 3% of the remaining $300,000 | A trustee may waive the commission; whether one does is not a figure |
| Attorney fees | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 | $0 at death (paid up front to create trust) |
| Up-front cost | $0 | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Time to distribute | Set by the Surrogate’s Court calendar and the statutory steps; no independent published source for a duration was found | Distribution follows the trust’s own terms |
| Public record? | Yes | No |
For a homeowner, the trust’s up-front cost is small next to the probate it prevents — which is why New York is one of the states where a living trust most often makes sense.
What the record shows
In New York, beneficiary designations, POD and TOD account registrations, and joint ownership with right of survivorship carry no charge and pass the assets they cover outside probate. The figures those costs sit against are the statutory executor commissions under N.Y. SCPA §2307 and the reported attorney charges through Surrogate’s Court, both cited above. New York has no transfer-on-death deed for real property, so real property is passed outside probate by survivorship titling or by a funded trust. A trust operates only on the assets actually retitled into it. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to avoid probate or go through it in New York?
Where the assets already pass by beneficiary designation, POD or TOD registration, or survivorship titling, those mechanisms carry no charge and the assets are outside probate already. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
How much does a living trust cost in New York?
A trust operates only on the assets retitled into it. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
Does New York have a transfer-on-death deed?
No. Unlike some states, New York has no statutory TOD deed for real estate. To keep a home out of probate, New Yorkers use a living trust or joint ownership with right of survivorship.
Can I avoid probate in New York for free?
Largely, yes — named beneficiaries, POD/TOD accounts, and joint ownership cost nothing and cover most assets. Real estate owned solely in your name is the main thing that usually needs a trust or joint title.
Related reading
- What Happens to a House When the Owner Dies Without a Will in New York
- Estate Planning in New York: The Complete Guide
- Probate Cost in New York
- How to Avoid Probate in New York
- How Much Does a Living Trust Cost?
Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. New York probate costs vary by estate and county; confirm current figures with a licensed New York attorney. Sources: NY SCPA §2307, Article 13; New York Surrogate’s Court; published fee surveys.