Where the decedent died without a will and died leaving personal property of $50,000
or less, a competent adult may serve as a voluntary administrator of the decedent’s
estate in the following order of priority:
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the fiduciary of a distributee; or
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the chief fiscal officer of the county (except in the Counties of Bronx, Kings, New
York, Queens, Richmond, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Onondaga, Suffolk, and Westchester).
No other person can become a voluntary administrator. (N.Y. SURR. CT. PROC. ACT §§
1301(1), 1303(a) ).
Where the decedent left a will and died leaving personal property of $50,000 or less,
the named executor or alternate executor has the first right to act as voluntary administrator,
by filing an affidavit within 30 days after filing the will in surrogate’s court.
If the executor or his or her alternate does not file the required affidavit within
30 days after filing the will in surrogate’s court, then beneficiaries under the will
could file the required affidavit and act as voluntary administrator in the following
order of priority: the sole beneficiary of the will (or the sole beneficiary’s fiduciary
if the sole beneficiary is dead), one or more of the residual beneficiaries (or their
fiduciary if they are deceased), the public administrator, or the county treasurer.
(N.Y. SURR. CT. PROC. ACT §§ 1303(b), 1418).
Personal property is exempt from the $50,000 limit if a qualified spouse or minor
children survive the decedent. These exemptions include:
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jewelry (unless disposed of in the will), furniture, appliances, electronic and photographic
devices, and fuel valued up to $20,000;
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books, pictures, and computer software, DVDs, CDs, audio tapes, record albums, and
other electronic storage devices valued up to $2,500;
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farm animals and machinery valued up to $ 20,000;
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one motor vehicle valued up to $ 25,000; and
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money or other personal property valued up to $25,000.
(N.Y.
EST. POWERS & TRUSTS § 5-3.1 ).
A person may qualify as a voluntary administrator by filing an affidavit and a death
certificate with the Clerk of the Surrogate’s Court of the county in which the decedent
resided. (N.Y. SURR.
CT. PROC. ACT § 1304(3) ). A voluntary administrator can show that he or she is qualified by presenting a
certificate from the court showing that he or she filed the required affidavit. (N.Y. SURR. CT.
PROC. ACT § 1304(5) ).