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Guardianship, Statewide Info
Suffolk County Law Libraries

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    Overview

    Effective - July 1, 2026

    1. The Surrogate's Court staff is available to answer questions during regular business hours.
      Main Phone:

      1. 631-852-1745 to access our menu system

      Specific departments:

      1. Probate: 631-852-1725 
      2. Administration: 631-852-1714
      3. Guardianship: 631-852-1735
      4. Accounting: 631-852-1720
      5. Miscellaneous: 631-852-1720
      6. Cashier: 631-852-1730
    2. You may file original wills and death certificates in person at the Surrogate's Court, 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, New York.
    3. Court records, with the exception of adoption and guardianship proceedings are available on WebSurrogate. WebSurrogate provides information on estate proceedings and other filings within New York State Surrogate's Courts. It is a free service that allows you to search files, retrieve documents, and view historical records that are considered to be public information.
    4. In pending proceedings, Guardians ad Litem and Attorneys for the Child may schedule an appointment to review the file at the courthouse.
    5. Please alert the court by affidavit/affirmation if your proceeding involves a matter of urgency or a proceeding is being filed in response to a petition to punish respondent for contempt by contacting the Office of the Chief Clerk at [email protected].

    6. In-person appearances are required in the following matters:

      1. Process Calendar
      2. Orders to Show Cause
      3. Orders to Attend and be Examined (SCPA 2103)
      4. Orders to Compel Production of a Will

      Virtual appearances may be permitted in the court's discretion.

      Responsive pleadings shall be submitted through NYSCEF, if represented by counsel, or by mail or NYSCEF, if unrepresented.

    7. We have attached our local form of citation for various proceedings, which follows the official forms for use in Surrogate's Court Practice.
    8. Service of process will follow the statutory provisions of Article 3 of the SCPA and Uniform Rule for Surrogate's Court 207.7.
    9. Orders to Show Cause with temporary restraints or other interim relief shall be filed with the court with sufficient notice to the respondent/adversary to permit them the opportunity to be heard. The applicant shall contact the court by phone (631-852-1745) to request permission to be heard. The court will then determine the method of hearing this matter and notify parties accordingly.
    10. The court will call the process calendar at 9:30 a.m. Unless otherwise provided for in these protocols, or allowed and arranged in advance, all matters will be in person. Calendar markings will be posted on our website each week.

    Motion Practice

    Motions are taken on submission unless oral argument is directed or requested and granted. When filing motions, please be guided by the following:

    1. All motions must be returnable on a Tuesday process day. Please see attached calendar for all process dates through the end of the year.
    2. Motions must be e-filed - hand delivered papers will be deemed rejected and not considered.
    3. All responding papers must be e-filed by noon on the date due.
    4. Requests for adjournments should be received at least two business days prior to the return date.
    5. Supporting Affirmations and Affidavits must be uploaded separately from exhibits.
    6. In pending contested matters, counsel may request a telephone conference with all parties and the assigned law assistant prior to e-filing the application, especially if the motion relates to discovery.
    7. We do not require working copies

    Submissions

    In General

    Each electronically-submitted memorandum of law, brief, and, where appropriate, affidavit and affirmation and any attached exhibits, shall include a table of contents  listing  the document's contents as well as a list  of the exhibits with a concise description of each.  Each exhibit must be numbered and paginated.  Any reference to deposition testimony must cite to the exact page and line numbers relied upon and the entire transcript must be submitted as an exhibit.

    It is the court's preference, but not a requirement, that all submissions include bookmarks facilitating easy navigation by the reader within the document. 

    Motions: Length of Papers

    1. Unless otherwise permitted by the court in advance: (i) affidavits, affirmations, briefs and memoranda of law in support of a motion or in opposition thereto shall be limited to 20 pages each and no more than 7,000 words each: reply affidavits, affirmations, and memoranda shall be limited to 12 pages each and no more than 4,200 words.
    2. For purposes of paragraph (1) above, the word count shall exclude the caption, table of contents, table of authorities, and signature block.
    3. Every brief, memorandum, affirmation, and affidavit shall include a page attached to the end of the applicable document certifying that the document complies with the page and word count limits. The person certifying compliance may rely on the word count of a word-processing system used to prepare the document.
    4. Where a cross-motion is made, the affidavits, affirmations, briefs, or memoranda submitted in support of the cross-motion or in opposition thereto shall be limited to 20 pages and no more than 7,000 words each.
    5. Where the court permits the submission of affidavits, affirmations, briefs or memoranda which exceed the limitations set forth above, the certification required by paragraph (3) above shall set forth the number of words in the document and certify compliance with the limit, if any set forth by the court.

    Motions: Sur-Reply and Post Submission Papers

    Absent express permission in advance, sur-reply papers, including correspondence addressing the merits of a motion are not permitted, except that counsel may by stipulation inform the court  of the citation of any post-submission appellate court decision that is relevant to the pending issues, but there shall be no additional argument. Materials submitted in violation hereof will not be read or considered.

    Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

    1. New contested matters will be subject to mandatory Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and otherwise governed by the court’s standard and customary procedures.
    2. Matters referred to mediation through the court’s mandatory ADR program will be referred to roster mediators, with an option for private mediation.  (See separate protocols for information on mediation).

    Conferences

    1. Conferences held by a member of the Law Department may be held in-person or by telephone or video.  All video conferences will be conducted using Microsoft Teams.  We will work with you to set up a convenient time and method to hold the conference.  Please call (631)852-1745 if you have any questions.
    2. Where a conference or hearing is being conducted via Microsoft Teams, the participants (counsel, parties, etc.)  should enter the meeting fifteen (15) minutes prior to its scheduled time and be ready to proceed.  Court matters conducted via Microsoft Teams are formal proceedings.  Parties and counsel, if represented, should be guided accordingly.  The use of any AI summarization or transcription program (i.e. Read AI, Clickup, Otter AI, etc.) is strictly prohibited.

    Knowledge & Authority of Counsel

    On all matters before the court, appearing counsel must be familiar with the facts of the proceeding, be fully prepared to discuss the matter, and have authority to resolve the issues that are the subject of the appearance. Failure to comply with this rule may be treated as a default and/or may be deemed a failure to appear.

    Engagement of Counsel

    Adjournments predicated upon engagement of counsel must include the following information of the case in which the engagement is required: 1) the court and name of the jurist, 2) the name and docket number, 3) the basis for the priority to be afforded the other matter, 4) the nature of the proceeding, 5) the date such engagement was calendared, and 6) whether the other court was made aware of this court’s appearance date to which the adjournment is sought.

    Communication

    All communications with the court shall be on notice to all parties.

    Trials

    Pre-Marking of Exhibits

    1. Unless permitted by the court in advance prior to trial, the attorneys for the respective parties, or the parties pro se, shall appear at a conference with the court for the purposes of pre-marking trial exhibits.
    2. Each party shall provide the original exhibit, and a paginated copy thereof, for each of their adversaries and any other party who has appeared, as well as a copy thereof for the court.
    3. Each attorney/party shall provide a numbered list of exhibits in Word format to the court prior to the pre-marking conference.  Each entry shall concisely describe the exhibit and include the number of pages.  The list shall include two columns one labeled "ID Only" and the other labeled "Evidence."

    Legal Memorandum

    One week prior to trial, each party shall provide the court with legal memorandum specifically addressing each of the matters of contention set forth in the statement of issues, and any anticipated evidentiary issues.

    Trials: Post Trial Submissions

    1. Unless otherwise permitted by the court in advance post trial submissions shall be limited to 15 pages each and no more than 5,250 words each.
    2. For purposes of paragraph (1) above, the word count shall exclude the caption, table of contents, table of authorities, and signature block.
    3. Every post trial submission shall include a certification that the document complies with the page and word count limits. The person certifying compliance may rely on the word count of a word-processing system used to prepare the document.
    4. Where the court permits a post trial submission to exceed the limitations set forth above, the certification required by paragraph (3) above shall set forth the number of words in the document and certify compliance with the limit, if any set forth by the court.
    5. Unless dispensed with by the court, every post-trial memorandum shall cite to page/line numbers of the trial transcript.

    Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs

    Every attorney or party who uses an artificial intelligence (AI) tool in preparing any paper submitted to this court is expected to understand that tool’s capabilities and limitations. Attorneys and parties need to be aware that AI tools, among other risks and limitations, can generate fabricated information or fictitious citations to authority (commonly known as hallucinations). Under existing authority, by signing a paper and submitting it to this court, an attorney or party certifies that the paper does not contain any false material factual statement or any frivolous legal argument (see, e.g., 22 NYCRR 1301.1, 130-1.1a), and an attorney who submits any paper to this court is additionally bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct. Accordingly, any attorney or party who uses an artificial intelligence tool, as defined in 22 NYCRR 161.2(a), in preparing any paper, as defined in 22 NYCRR 161.2(b), filed in or submitted to this court or served on another party in a case before this court is required to carefully review the paper and independently ensure that it contains no fabricated or fictitious cases, statutes, or other material. By signing such paper, an attorney or party certifies that such a review has been conducted and that the paper contains no such fabricated or fictitious content. If this court determines that this requirement has not been satisfied, such attorney or party may be subject to sanction or other remedial action.