Probate Valuations in Buffalo, NY

What the Erie County Surrogate's Court asks for

Estates of people domiciled in Erie County at death go through the Erie County Surrogate's Court, the proper venue under SCPA 205(1).

Is a professional appraisal of the house required in New York probate?

The court's rules stop short of that. They ask for value information at two points, and neither one is an appraisal report:

1. The petition. A petition for probate or administration must include an estimate of the gross estate passing by will or intestacy, with personal and real property valued separately (22 NYCRR 207.16).
2. The Inventory of Assets. The fiduciary or the attorney of record files the court's Inventory of Assets form within nine months of the date letters issued, or as the court otherwise directs. It states the total only as a letter bracket, from A (under $10,000) to G ($500,000 or over) (22 NYCRR 207.20). If it is not filed, the court may refuse to issue certificates or may revoke the letters.

Separately, the courts' CourtHelp guide for fiduciaries lists collecting, inventorying and appraising the estate's assets among a fiduciary's duties. Whether a formal appraisal is the right support for the house is a question for the estate's attorney. A documented value tends to matter most when an estate tax return is due, when beneficiaries disagree, or when one heir buys out the others or the house is sold.

A house cannot go through the small-estate procedure

New York's simplified procedure for small estates covers personal property with a gross value of $50,000 or less (SCPA 1301), and it does not apply to any interest in New York real property (SCPA 1302). A house titled in the decedent's name alone therefore needs probate or administration, even when everything else in the estate is modest.

Records that show the house as it was when the owner died

For estate tax and for an heir's income tax basis, the date that matters is generally the date of death; ask the estate's attorney which date any sale, buyout or accounting will use. A house may be cleared out, repaired or listed in the months after a death, so its condition on the effective date has to be shown separately from what the appraiser finds at a later inspection.

Start with whatever is on hand:

• The letters, whose date starts the nine-month inventory period, and the date of death.
• The deed, recorded with the Erie County Clerk.
• The latest assessment from the City of Buffalo's Department of Assessment and Taxation, or from the town assessor if the house is outside the city. It is a starting record, not a date-of-death value.
• Dated photos, earlier listing or inspection reports, and invoices for any work done after the death.

Your adviser decides the tax filings

For federal income tax, the IRS generally sets an heir's basis at the property's fair market value when the owner died. A New York estate tax return is required for a resident who dies in 2026 when the federal gross estate plus includible gifts exceeds $7,350,000. Your attorney or tax adviser confirms which filings apply and which date to value.

The typical probate appraisal fee is in the Frequently Asked Questions above. Before you count on the inventory deadline, ask for a written quote with the effective date and the delivery date.