SCPA § 1301

Definitions In this article: 1 · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 1301. Definitions

In this article:

1. A small estate is 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).

2. A voluntary administrator is a person who qualifies and undertakes to settle the estate of the decedent without the formality of court administration as hereinafter provided.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/SCP/1301

In plain English

This small-estate article uses these definitions.

(1) A small estate is a domiciliary’s or non-domiciliary’s estate with $50,000 or less in gross personal property, excluding property set off under EPTL § 5-3.1(a). ★
(2) A voluntary administrator qualifies and settles the estate without formal court administration.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Surrogate's Court in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Surrogate's Court Procedure Act; Volume 5 — Your Career: Surrogate's Court in Plain English.