Brooklyn (Kings County) practice led by Theodore Alatsas, working the Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, New York and Nassau County Surrogate's Courts for nearly 30 years. Handles probate, administration proceedings, and trust administration, plus wills and trusts, Medicaid and long-term care planning, and asset protection. Runs estate planning workshops.
Probate in Staten Island
Probate Court Record
Richmond County (Staten Island) Surrogate's Court
Richmond County (Staten Island) · 13th Judicial District
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office
18 Richmond Terrace, Room 201, Staten Island, NY 10301
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Richmond County (Staten Island) →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Staten Island? →Settling an estate in Staten Island →
Elder Law Firms Serving Staten Island
Brooklyn practice on Columbia Street representing executors and administrators in the Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Bronx Surrogate's Courts. It collects waivers and consents from distributees, gets a citation issued when an heir will not sign, opens the estate account and EIN, reviews creditor claims and files the final accounting. The first one-hour consultation is free, online or in person.
Midtown Manhattan practice on Lexington Avenue guiding executors and beneficiaries through New York probate and trust administration in the five borough Surrogate's Courts: locating and valuing assets, resolving creditor claims in the statutory priority order, and preparing the accounting the court requires before a final distribution. Also drafts wills, trusts, asset-protection plans, and Medicaid plans. Run by Gabriel Katzner, who passed the CPA exam before law school; the practice also keeps a California office in Encinitas.
Bay Ridge firm working the Kings County Surrogate's Court for Brooklyn executors and heirs. Handles probate of the will, notice to heirs, collection of assets, creditors' claims, estate and decedent tax returns, judicial and informal accountings, and distribution, plus administration and kinship hearings when there is no will. A three-attorney practice limited to estate planning, elder law, probate and estate litigation.
Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn / Kings County) practice running since 1998, representing families and executors in the Brooklyn Surrogate's Court and across the five boroughs, with additional offices in Manhattan and East Quogue. Handles probate and estate administration, drafts wills and revocable and irrevocable trusts, and concentrates in Medicaid asset protection, Article 81 guardianship, and elder law. Inna Fershteyn is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian.
Upper West Side Manhattan solo with a second office in Long Beach, filing probate and administration petitions in the Surrogate's Court for clients across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. Handles both testate probate and intestate administration, where the Surrogate's Court distributes by statutory formula rather than the decedent's wishes. Also drafts wills and trusts and handles elder law, within a general practice covering real estate and civil litigation.
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in New York
Free New York forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for New York.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Healthcare Power of Attorney
New York requires 2NY PHL § 2981(5)(d)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredNY PHL § 2981(5)(d)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
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Financial Power of Attorney
New York treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultNY GOL §§ 5-1501, 5-1501A, 5-1501B, 5-1502A through 5-1502N, 5-1504, 5-1512, 5-1513Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before 2NY GOL §§ 5-1501, 5-1501A, 5-1501B, 5-1502A through 5-1502N, 5-1504, 5-1512, 5-1513Verified Sep 18, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.
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Last Will and Testament
In New York, a will is signed before 2EPTL § 3-2.1Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyEPTL § 3-2.1Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in New York
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in New York: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for New York.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in New York runs $4,250Estimate: 10 hours at $425, Clio's New York Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,375Estimate: 15 hours at $425, Clio's New York Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,344Estimate: 3 hours at $448, Clio's New York Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,688Estimate: 6 hours at $448, Clio's New York Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
Calculate Costs
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In New York, four years at a public university cost about $101,592NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 8% above the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; the state levies an estate taxN.Y. Tax Law §§ 951–971Verified Sep 15, 2026View source above $7,350,000N.Y. Tax Law §§ 951–971Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Calculate the Amount
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in New York costs an estimated $35,992SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 7 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2.5%Modeled estimate under SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 4%Modeled estimate under SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $50,000SCPA § 1301Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
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Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in New York takes 7 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 2.5%Modeled estimate under SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 4%Modeled estimate under SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
New York automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceNY EPTL § 5-1.4Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
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