SCPA § 1921

Conveyance of real property by fiduciary to vendee of contract of sale made by decedent 1 · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 1921. Conveyance of real property by fiduciary to vendee of contract

of sale made by decedent

1. Where a decedent dies seized of real property after he has made a contract for the conveyance thereof remaining unexecuted at his death his fiduciary or successor may make a deed reciting the contract and conveying the real property.

2. The vendor's fiduciary, distributees, devisees or assigns may file a petition praying for the confirmation of the conveyance, or the vendee, his fiduciary, distributees, devisees or assigns, for a decree that it be made or delivered, or the vendor's fiduciary may pray for like relief in a petition for the judicial settlement of his account, but no proceeding pursuant to this section shall be required in any case for the sole purpose of perfecting title to real property and any such conveyance heretofore made by a fiduciary of a decedent is ratified and confirmed.

3. In a proceeding pursuant to this section the court shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate the amount remaining payable under the terms of any such contract and the respective rights of the parties.

4. In any case process shall issue to all persons interested and the court shall make such decree or order as justice shall require.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/SCP/1921

In plain English

Completing a decedent's unfinished contract to sell real property.

(1) If the decedent died owning land under an unperformed contract to sell it, the fiduciary or successor may make a deed reciting the contract and conveying the property.
(2) The vendor's fiduciary, distributees, devisees or assigns may petition to confirm the conveyance; the buyer or the buyer's fiduciary, distributees, devisees or assigns may petition for a decree that it be made or delivered; or the vendor's fiduciary may seek the same relief in a judicial-settlement petition. No proceeding is required solely to perfect title, and earlier such conveyances by fiduciaries are ratified and confirmed. ★
(3) The court may determine the amount still payable under the contract and the parties' rights.
(4) Process must issue to all interested persons, and the court makes the decree or order justice requires. ★

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.