Not Everything
Goes Through
Court.

No. New York’s simplified small estate procedure under SCPA Article 13 — voluntary administration — explicitly excludes real property. This procedure applies only to personal property estates under $50,000. A house solely owned by the deceased requires full probate proceedings at Erie County Surrogate’s Court regardless of its value or the overall size of the estate. There is no dollar threshold that bypasses this requirement for real estate in New York State.

A sale of estate real property without court authorization is void — it has no legal effect. Title companies will refuse to insure the transaction, and the deed cannot be recorded. Any executor who attempts to sell estate property without Letters Testamentary and court approval is personally liable for breach of fiduciary duty. If money changed hands in an unauthorized transaction, the estate can seek recovery. NCB will not close on a probate property without verified Letters Testamentary and the appropriate court authorization.

No. A deed signed by family members who are not the court-authorized executor or administrator has no legal effect on estate real property. The deceased person cannot sign a deed. Family members who sign a deed purporting to transfer estate property without court authority are potentially committing fraud. The Erie County Hall of Records at 175 Hawley Street records deeds — a title examiner reviewing the chain of title will flag an unauthorized transfer, and title companies will not insure it.

This is a nuanced area. Non-probate assets — life insurance, retirement accounts, POD bank accounts — generally pass directly to the named beneficiary outside the reach of the estate’s creditors. However, there are exceptions: if the estate itself is the named beneficiary, the assets become probate assets subject to creditor claims. NYS also has specific Medicaid recovery rules that can reach certain non-probate transfers. Your estate attorney advises on creditor exposure for specific non-probate assets in your estate.

Only if the property was properly transferred into the trust before death. A trust that exists on paper but never had the deed re-titled into the trust’s name does not avoid probate — the property is still technically in the individual’s name. The deed must be retitled to read something like “John Smith, Trustee of the John Smith Revocable Living Trust dated [date].” If the decedent had a trust but never transferred the house into it, the house is a probate asset. Check the actual deed at the Erie County Hall of Records.

NCB requires a copy of the Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration issued by Erie County Surrogate’s Court before proceeding to a purchase agreement. Our title company then conducts a full title examination — including a search of the Erie County deed records at 175 Hawley Street — to verify the chain of title, confirm the estate’s ownership, and identify all recorded liens. No closing proceeds without verified court-issued authority and clean title work. Call (716) 557-7005 to discuss your specific estate situation.