11 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 15, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM The Justice System 101: Inside the Surrogate Courts
BY AIDAN SEIDEN
Towering over the northwest corner of
Chambers Street, between Centre and Elk
streets, sits the historical New York County
Surrogate Courthouse.
Th e seven-story, steel-framed edifi ce features
54 hand-carved statues with a granite facade
and intricate marble interior — and was also
the home of New York City’s Hall of Records
until 1962. Now it is the offi cial site for the
managing of probates and estate proceedings
(among other duties) in the New York State
Unifi ed Court System.
Every county in the state of New York has
a Surrogate Court — each with the purpose
of adjudicating cases involving the aff airs of
decedents, which includes the validation of
wills, estate administration for New Yorkers
who died without a will, as well as adoption
proceedings. Alongside the Surrogate Courts,
the Family and Supreme Courts have equal
power over guardianships of infants.
Each of New York’s 62 counties has one
elected surrogate judge, with the exception
of New York County (Manhattan) and Kings
County, which each have two. In New York
County, the surrogate judges are Hon. Nora S.
Anderson and Hon. Rita Mella.
Both judges oversee a variety of complex
cases on a daily basis, answering the court’s
most commonly asked questions, which are
as follows: What happens if my loved one
dies without a will? Who may be appointed to
handle an estate proceeding? I am the executor
of a will; how do I get the will admitted to
probate?
All of these inquiries can also be answered
at the Surrogate Court’s Help Center in Room
302, which is available as a source of information
from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and
from 2 to 4 p.m.
In addition, the Records Room remains
open to the public (by appointment only),
giving visitors access to records dating back
as late as 1674, including documents signed by
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
In fact, Th e New York Times reported in
January 2017 that a substantial set of records
were being transferred to the New York County
Surrogate Courthouse Hall of Records. However,
upon the box’s arrival, they merely accounted
for about 10% of the total collection.
While full access to the Hall of Records has
been restored, a few other areas of the courthouse
were subject to COVID-19 related restrictions.
In recent months, safety precautions
have been implemented to protect the health of
employees as well as court users. Current inperson
visitors are now serviced one at a time,
and are required to wear a mask and submit to
temperature screening and questioning upon
arrival.
Similarly, proceedings have been modifi ed to
where most trials and hearings have continued;
however, they are now conducted remotely,
with individuals appearing virtually using
Microsoft Teams.
With the court’s staff having returned to
work in person on a full-time basis, it appears
as though the Surrogate Courthouse is once
again continuing to aff ect public good.
And according to Chief Judge Janet Difi ore,
“the New York State Court System provides
essential justice services to the people of the
state of New York.”
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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