SCPA § 207

Lifetime trusts; jurisdiction and venue 1 · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 207. Lifetime trusts; jurisdiction and venue

1. The surrogate's court of any county has jurisdiction over the estate of any lifetime trust which has assets in the state, or of which the grantor was a domiciliary of the state at the time of the commencement of a proceeding concerning the trust, or of which a trustee then acting resides in the state or, if other than a natural person, has its principal office in the state. The proper venue for proceedings relating to such lifetime trusts is the county where (a) assets of the trust estate are located, or (b) the grantor was domiciled at the time of the commencement of a proceeding concerning the trust, or (c) a trustee then acting resides, or, if other than a natural person, has its principal office.

2. Where venue may lie in more than one county under the provisions of subdivision one, the court where a proceeding is first commenced with proper venue shall retain jurisdiction, and matters relating to the estate of the lifetime trust pending in the surrogate's courts of other counties shall be transferred to it.

3. A surrogate shall transfer any proceeding to the surrogate's court of the proper county either on his own motion or on the motion of any party.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/SCP/207

In plain English

A lifetime trust may come within Surrogate’s Court jurisdiction through New York assets, the grantor, or a trustee.

(1) Any county’s court has jurisdiction if the trust has New York assets, the grantor is domiciled in New York when the proceeding begins, or an acting trustee resides or has its principal office here; venue follows the matching asset, grantor, or trustee location. ★
(2) If several counties qualify, the first properly filed court keeps jurisdiction, and other Surrogate’s Court matters must be transferred there.
(3) A surrogate must transfer a proceeding to the proper county, on the court’s own motion or a party’s motion.

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.