Long Island Estate Guide: Nassau & Suffolk Probate, Homes & Courts

Settling or planning an estate on Long Island means working with one of two Surrogate’s Courts — the Nassau County Surrogate’s Court at 262 Old Country Road in Mineola, or the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court at 320 Center Drive in Riverhead — chosen by the decedent’s county of domicile under SCPA 205-206. What makes Long Island distinct is that estates here are built around deeded single-family homes, not co-op shares, plus boats, small businesses, and East-End second homes. This guide ties the court, the county, and the local property realities together.

This is the deepest, most Long Island-specific page on the site. Use it as the map; each pillar guide (wills, trusts, probate, executor duties) goes deeper on its topic.

Verified court details

	Nassau County	Suffolk County
Court	Nassau County Surrogate’s Court	Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court
Address	262 Old Country Road, Mineola, NY 11501	320 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901
Phone (verify)	516-493-3800	631-852-1745
E-filing	NYSCEF	NYSCEF
Governing law	EPTL (substance) + SCPA (procedure)	EPTL (substance) + SCPA (procedure)
Venue rule	SCPA 205-206 — county of domicile	SCPA 205-206 — county of domicile

Which court is yours? A decedent domiciled anywhere in Nassau — Hempstead, Garden City, Great Neck, Massapequa — files in Mineola. A decedent domiciled anywhere in Suffolk — Huntington, Smithtown, Patchogue, Southampton, Montauk — files in Riverhead.

Long Island property and asset realities

Long Island estates look different from NYC estates because of what people own:

• Single-family homes (real property). The defining Long Island asset. Unlike a Manhattan co-op (shares + proprietary lease), a Long Island house is deeded real estate. At death, title passes through the estate (there is no transfer-on-death deed in New York), and the executor records a new deed to the beneficiary or buyer. Decades of appreciation mean even an ordinary ranch in Levittown can carry serious value — and estate-tax-cliff exposure.
• Boats and marina slips. Common across the South Shore and East End. Boats have their own titling and registration, and a marina slip or mooring may involve a separate transfer.
• Small businesses. The contractor, the landscaper, the family restaurant, the medical or dental practice — these need valuation and a succession plan, or the executor must wind them down.
• East-End and seasonal second homes. A Suffolk decedent may own both a primary residence and a Hamptons or North Fork getaway — two parcels to insure, value, and transfer, each adding to the taxable estate.

Long Island filing realities

Both Nassau and Suffolk are on NYSCEF, so most documents can be e-filed. Filing fees follow the graduated SCPA 2402 schedule (by estate value), the same statewide — verify the current figure for your estate. Each court runs a help center for self-represented filers, though staff cannot give legal advice. Realistic timelines: an uncontested estate generally runs 7 to 12 months; busier dockets and any contest stretch that out.

County-specific quirks

1. The Riverhead distance. Suffolk’s only Surrogate’s Court sits in Riverhead, at the eastern end of a very long county. A family in Babylon or Huntington (western Suffolk) faces a substantial drive for in-person appointments — a genuine practical factor that makes NYSCEF e-filing and local counsel especially valuable for western Suffolk estates.
2. Two counties, never merge them. “Long Island probate” is not one proceeding. A Nassau estate cannot be filed in Suffolk and vice versa. Confirming county of domicile is the first task.
3. Home equity, little cash. Because so much Long Island wealth is locked in the house, estates can owe New York estate tax with little liquid money to pay it — forcing a sale. Planning ahead with trusts and tax strategy matters more here than in renter-heavy areas.

Long Island neighborhoods and sub-areas

To ground this concretely: Nassau runs from the Queens border through Great Neck, Manhasset, Garden City, Hempstead, Levittown, and Massapequa. Suffolk stretches east through Huntington, Smithtown, Islip, Patchogue, and Riverhead out to the East End — the Hamptons (Southampton, East Hampton, Montauk) and the North Fork (Cutchogue, Greenport). The South Shore’s boating communities and the East End’s seasonal homes both shape what local estates contain.

A worked Long Island example

Consider “Robert,” domiciled in Massapequa (Nassau County), who dies with a will naming his daughter as executor. His estate: a single-family home he bought decades ago, now worth far more; a boat docked on the Great South Bay; a modest brokerage account; and life insurance naming his daughter directly.

• Venue: Nassau — his daughter files in Mineola (SCPA 205-206).
• Probate: She files the SCPA 1402 petition with the original will and death certificate, notifies distributees, and receives letters testamentary.
• Outside probate: The life insurance passes straight to her by beneficiary designation — it never enters the estate.
• The home: A probate asset. She maintains insurance, then transfers or sells it, recording a new deed.
• The boat: Retitled per its registration.
• Estate tax: Because the appreciated home plus other assets may approach the New York exemption, she checks cliff exposure carefully — the home’s value alone could push the estate into the danger zone.

Had Robert instead placed the home in a funded revocable trust, the house would have skipped Mineola probate entirely and passed to his daughter by trust administration — faster and private. That is the core Long Island planning lesson.

Mini-FAQ: Long Island specifics

Can I file my Nassau parent’s estate online? Yes — Nassau Surrogate’s Court uses NYSCEF, though the original will is still required for probate.

My relative lived in western Suffolk — do I really have to go to Riverhead? That is the county’s only Surrogate’s Court, so yes for in-person matters, but NYSCEF lets you handle most filings remotely.

Does my Hamptons second home get probated separately? If it is in Suffolk and the decedent was a Suffolk domiciliary, it is part of the same Suffolk estate. A New York property owned by an out-of-state decedent may require an ancillary proceeding.

Is my Long Island house safe from probate if it’s in both spouses’ names? A home held by spouses as tenants by the entirety passes automatically to the survivor — no probate on the first death. The survivor should still plan for the second death.

Where to get help locally

Whether your estate sits in Mineola or Riverhead, Morgan Legal Group and attorney Russel Morgan focus on New York estate and probate law for Nassau and Suffolk families. Start with a conversation.

Book a 30-minute consultation · Explore the wills, trusts, probate process, and estate-tax guides, or the full FAQ.