Tips on E-Filing Your Small Estate DIY Form

NYSCEF is the court's online e-filing system. Filing your court papers over the internet is called e-filing.

1. To e-file your court papers, make an account at NYSCEF, the court's online e-filing system.
2. The court papers should not be converted into a pdf file until they have been signed and notarized.
3. Each document must be saved as a separate pdf file. For example, you can have a pdf file for the affidavit, another pdf file for the heirship affidavit, another pdf file for the funeral bill and another pdf file for the death certificate.
• Do not encrypt or password protect the pdf file
• Do not upload a compressed file
• There is a 100MB limit per uploaded pdf
4. The papers are not considered "filed" with the court until the filing fee is paid. This means that if you decide to "pay at court" instead of paying with a credit card, the court will not start your case until you pay the filing fee at Surrogate's Court.
5. You must file the original death certificate and will (if there is one) with the Surrogate's Court within two business days of the date you filed. You can bring the will and death certificate to the courthouse or you can mail it to the court certified return receipt requested.
6. On the NYSCEF "Create Surrogate's E-Filing Record" screen:
• What type of estate is this? The small estate affidavit is also known as a "Voluntary administration"
• The "Decedent" means the person who died
• "A/K/A" means an alternate or other name used by the person who died
7. On the NYSCEF "Consent to File Electronically" screen:
• "Party Role" is Affiant
• "Party Represented" is your name
• "Party Represented Domicile" is your address
• Click "Consent to the Selected Party" button
• If there is a co-affiant, click "Add New Party" in the "Verify Consent to File Electronically" screen
8. On the NYSCEF entering your documents screen:
• "Request for Surrogate's Court Action" form when you start your filing. This was printed with your DIY Form.
• The "Document Type" for the small estate affidavit is "Voluntary Admin Affidavit (Article 13)"
• If the "Document Type" for your document is not listed, choose "Other Document"
• The printed instructions are for your use - do not upload them.