How To Serve A Citation In Surrogates Court

What Is A Citation In Surrogate’s Court?

In the state of New York, Surrogate’s Court is the court that handles probate and estate matters after a person passes away. A citation from the Surrogate’s Court is a notice to an individual to present themselves in the Surrogate’s Court, similar to a summons.

The purpose of the citation is to allow the individual the opportunity to provide their consent, or any objections they may have, to the proceedings during the probate process. The document will specify the date, time, and place that the person is expected to appear in the Surrogate’s Court, as well as the reason for the summons. The citation should be provided to the individual at least ten days before the established court date.

If you have received a citation or are going through the probate process, your Surrogate’s Court lawyer can help you understand your next steps involving probate or Surrogate’s Court citations. For more information on these types of citations, contact Surrogate’s Court litigation attorney Christopher Haner of C. Haner Law, PLLC in Woodbury, New York.

Unless the Court provides otherwise, in all Surrogate’s Court proceedings, there are only 3 permissible ways to serve “process,” i.e., the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause, upon a Respondent to the proceeding:

1. Service by Personal Delivery: Commonly referred to as “in hand service,” serving a Respondent by personally handing him/her the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause is always a permissible way to effectuate service and is, perhaps, the preferred way to serve a Respondent with process. Note that if the Respondent to be served lives anywhere in New York State, service by personal delivery is the only permissible way to effectuate service on the Respondent. When personally serving a Respondent with process, it is always best to use the services of a professional process server to avoid any potentially unpleasant encounter. If serving a Respondent who resides in New York State by personally delivery, the Respondent must be handed a copy of the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause no less than 10 days before the return date/hearing date specified in the Citation/Order to Show Cause.
2. Service By Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested: If the Respondent to be served lives outside the State of New York, but within the United States, the Surrogate’s Court will allow the Petitioner to serve this Respondent by simply mailing a copy of the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause to the out-of-state Respondent’s residential address via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. With this type of service, as soon as the package containing the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause is dropped in the mail service is complete upon the Respondent – nothing further must be done. If effectuating service by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, the mailing, as outlined above, must be done no less than 20 days before the return date/hearing date specified in the Citation/Order to Show Cause.
3. Service by Registered International Mail, Return Receipt Requested: If the Respondent to be served lives outside the United States, the Surrogate’s Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause should be served upon the Respondent by mailing the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause to the Respondent at his/her last known residential address via Registered International Mail, Return Receipt Requested. As with service via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, discussed above, as soon as the package containing the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause is dropped in the mail service is complete upon the Respondent – nothing further must be done. If effectuating service by Registered International Mail, Return Receipt Requested, the mailing, as outlined above, must be done no less than 30 days before the return date/hearing date specified in the Citation/Order to Show Cause.

Note that in certain circumstances, such as when you cannot personally serve a New York State resident because they are purposely avoiding service of the Court’s Citation/Order to Show Cause or when you are required to serve process on a Respondent whose residential address is unknown, the Surrogate’s Court is permitted to deviate from the methods of service outlined above and may allow service by “nail and mail,” service by publication or service by other means.