SCPA § 1908

Order in which parcels shall be sold If the sale of real property is necessary for the purposes set forth in 1902, subdivisions 1, 2, 3 o... · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 1908. Order in which parcels shall be sold

If the sale of real property is necessary for the purposes set forth in 1902, subdivisions 1, 2, 3 or 4 and the decedent dies seized of more than one distinct parcel, the following rules must be observed in determining the order of sale:

1. Property of which the decedent died intestate shall be sold before property which the decedent devised.

2. Property of which the decedent died intestate and which has not been conveyed by the distributees shall be sold before property which has been conveyed by them.

3. Property devised by the residuary clause in the will shall be sold before property which has been specifically devised.

4. When two or more parcels have been devised to the same person or group of persons, parcels which have not been conveyed by the devisees shall be sold before property which has been conveyed by them.

5. When one parcel has been devised to one person or group and another parcel has been devised to another person or group both parcels shall be equally subject to sale notwithstanding that one parcel may have been conveyed.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/SCP/1908

In plain English

When real property must be sold for the purposes in 1902, subdivisions 1, 2, 3 or 4 and the decedent owned more than one parcel, parcels are sold in this order:

(1) intestate property before devised property; ★
(2) intestate property not conveyed by the distributees before property they have conveyed;
(3) property passing under the residuary clause before specifically devised property; ★
(4) among parcels devised to the same person or group, unconveyed parcels before conveyed ones;
(5) parcels devised to different persons or groups are equally subject to sale, even if one has been conveyed.

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.