This resource is published by Morgan Legal Group, a New York firm led by attorney Russel Morgan that concentrates on estate planning, probate, and Surrogate’s Court practice statewide. Because New York settles estates county by county across 62 Surrogate’s Courts, our work is built around the rule that ties them together — domicile-based venue under SCPA 205 — and the uniform statutes that govern every county, the EPTL and the SCPA. The pages on this site are written and reviewed by New York-licensed attorneys.
Attorney Russel Morgan
Russel Morgan is the founding attorney of Morgan Legal Group and the editorial authority behind this site. His practice focuses on New York wills and trusts, probate and estate administration, Medicaid and elder-law planning, and contested estate matters in the Surrogate’s Court. He and the firm represent executors, administrators, beneficiaries, and families across New York — from downstate co-op and condo estates to upstate and Long Island single-family homes and family businesses. (Bar admission and credential details are verifiable through the firm’s primary site and public attorney directories.)
Our approach to New York estates
We treat the county-based structure of New York probate as the starting point, not an afterthought. The first question we answer for any family is which Surrogate’s Court has jurisdiction — because filing in the wrong county wastes weeks. From there, the work is the same disciplined sequence in every county: identify the distributees, prepare an accurate petition, manage citations and waivers, marshal assets, satisfy creditors and taxes, and account cleanly to the beneficiaries. The statutes are statewide; the execution is local, and we plan for both.
Why trust this information
- New York focus. We practice New York estate law specifically — EPTL, SCPA, and the NY estate tax — not a generic national overview.
- Statute-grounded. Our content cites the governing sections (EPTL 3-2.1, EPTL 4-1.1, SCPA 1402, SCPA 2307, SCPA 2402) with plain-English explanations, so readers can verify what we say.
- Attorney-reviewed. Every page is reviewed by a New York-licensed attorney, and year-dependent figures (estate-tax exemptions, fees) are flagged for annual verification.
- Real experience. The firm has handled estates across the spectrum of New York counties, asset types, and disputes described throughout this site.
Service area
Morgan Legal Group serves clients throughout New York State. Because venue follows domicile (SCPA 205-206), we routinely work across the 62 county Surrogate’s Courts — New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Queens, Bronx, Richmond, Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Capital Region, Central and Western New York, and the rest of the state. Our statewide estate guide explains how the county system works in practice.
Editorial standard
Content on this site is informational, written for New Yorkers trying to understand probate before they act, and reviewed by a New York-licensed attorney. It is not legal advice for a specific estate, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Where a figure changes annually — estate-tax exemptions and the SCPA 2402 fee schedule — we note that it should be verified for the current year.
Talk to us
Start with the probate process, the Surrogate’s Court overview, or the FAQ — then, when you’re ready, book a 30-minute consultation with Russel Morgan.