How Do I Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate in New York?
When someone is appointed executor of a New York estate, they take on significant legal responsibilities. An executor must identify and safeguard estate assets, pay legitimate debts and expenses, maintain appropriate records, file required tax returns, account to beneficiaries, and ultimately distribute the estate according to the decedent’s Will and New York law.
But what happens when the executor is not doing the job properly?
If an executor is wasting estate assets, refusing to provide information, improperly using estate property, engaging in self-dealing, failing to make distributions, or otherwise putting the estate at risk, beneficiaries and other interested parties may be able to ask the New York Surrogate’s Court to remove the executor.
Removal is a serious remedy, however. New York courts generally give substantial deference to a decedent’s choice of executor and will not remove an executor merely because beneficiaries disagree with the executor’s decisions or dislike how the estate is being administered.
The question is whether the executor’s conduct rises to a level that warrants court intervention.
Can I Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate?
Yes. The Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act provides several grounds for suspending or removing an executor or other estate fiduciary.
SCPA 711 permits an interested person to petition the Surrogate’s Court to revoke a fiduciary’s letters under specified circumstances. These can include wasting or improperly managing estate assets, dishonesty, improvidence, unfitness to serve, failure to obey court orders, failure to account, and other conduct that threatens proper administration of the estate.
However, removal is not automatic simply because an executor has made a mistake.
New York appellate courts have repeatedly explained that removal is a serious remedy because it effectively overrides the decedent’s selection of the executor. Courts generally require a clear showing of statutory grounds and misconduct serious enough to endanger the estate.
What Is Considered Executor Mismanagement in New York?
Executor mismanagement can take many forms. Some problems involve outright misconduct. Others involve neglect, excessive delays, conflicts of interest, or financial decisions that cause losses to the estate.
Common warning signs may include:
- Estate money disappearing without explanation;
- The executor using estate funds for personal expenses;
- Selling estate property significantly below market value without justification;
- Allowing estate property to deteriorate;
- Failing to collect money owed to the estate;
- Failing to pay property taxes, mortgages, insurance, or necessary expenses;
- Making unauthorized distributions;
- Favoring one beneficiary over another;
- Refusing to provide financial records;
- Failing to file an accounting;
- Keeping estate assets in personal accounts;
- Taking estate property for personal use;
- Engaging in transactions that benefit the executor personally;
- Unreasonably delaying the administration of the estate; or
- Ignoring orders of the Surrogate’s Court.
The specific facts matter. A disagreement over an investment decision, for example, is very different from an executor transferring estate money into the executor’s personal bank account.
Can I Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate by Wasting Estate Assets?
Yes.
One of the grounds specifically recognized under SCPA 711 involves wasting or improvidently managing estate assets. Courts may also remove a fiduciary who is considered unfit because of dishonesty, improvidence, lack of understanding, or similar circumstances.
For example, a New York appellate court upheld removal where an estate fiduciary’s delays in selling real estate resulted in dissipation of assets that otherwise would have been available to the estate.
An executor does not necessarily need to steal money to be removed. Serious financial irresponsibility that causes harm to the estate can potentially justify removal.
Can I Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate by Self-Dealing?
Potentially, yes.
An executor is a fiduciary. That means the executor must generally act in the interests of the estate rather than using the position to obtain improper personal benefits.
Possible self-dealing may arise when an executor:
- Purchases estate property for himself or herself;
- Transfers estate assets to a related party on favorable terms;
- Collects income belonging to the estate personally;
- Uses estate property without fairly compensating the estate;
- Pays personal expenses from estate accounts; or
- Manipulates transactions to favor the executor over other beneficiaries.
In a 2025 Second Department decision, for example, the court addressed an executor who lived in estate property while paying only enough to cover certain property expenses and who personally collected rent generated by estate property. The appellate court concluded that the conduct violated fiduciary duties and harmed the estate, supporting suspension of the executor.
Can I Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate Because He or She Will Not Communicate With Me?
Poor communication by itself may not be enough to remove an executor.
Executors do not necessarily have to respond instantly to every beneficiary request, and disagreements frequently arise during estate administration.
But a persistent refusal to provide basic estate information may signal a more serious problem.
If an executor will not explain what assets have been collected, where estate funds are located, what expenses have been paid, or why an estate remains open, a beneficiary may consider seeking a compulsory accounting.
An accounting can require the executor to disclose the estate’s financial activity and identify money received, money spent, property sold, distributions made, and assets remaining.
Can I Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate and Force the Executor to Provide an Accounting?
In appropriate circumstances, yes.
Under SCPA 2205, a creditor or person interested in an estate, among others, may petition the Surrogate’s Court to compel a fiduciary to account.
This can be an important estate litigation remedy because an accounting may reveal whether estate funds were properly handled.
The proceeding can also lead to additional relief. Under SCPA 2206, a petition involving a compulsory accounting may seek suspension or removal of a fiduciary who fails to appear or fails to file an accounting as directed by the court.
In some cases, compelling an accounting is therefore the first step toward determining whether removal, surcharge, or other relief is warranted.
How Do You File a Petition to Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate?
A removal proceeding is generally brought in the Surrogate’s Court handling the estate.
The petition should identify the specific conduct that allegedly justifies removal and provide factual support for the allegations.
Simply stating that the executor is “dishonest” or “mismanaging the estate” may not be sufficient.
Evidence may include:
- Bank statements;
- Cancelled checks;
- Property records;
- Closing statements;
- Emails and text messages;
- Estate account statements;
- Tax records;
- Appraisals;
- Contracts;
- Receipts;
- Prior court orders; and
- Evidence showing unexplained transfers or withdrawals.
Depending on the facts, discovery, document demands, subpoenas, depositions, and an evidentiary hearing may be necessary.
Where disputed material facts exist, the Surrogate’s Court may require an evidentiary hearing before deciding whether removal is warranted.
Can the Court Suspend an Executor Before the Removal Case Is Finished?
In appropriate circumstances, the court may suspend a fiduciary’s authority while the dispute is pending.
SCPA 719 gives the Surrogate’s Court authority in specified circumstances to suspend, modify, or revoke fiduciary letters without a separate removal petition and process.
Temporary relief can be particularly important where estate assets are in immediate danger.
For example, if there is evidence that an executor is rapidly transferring assets, dissipating estate funds, or refusing to comply with court directives, an interested party may seek immediate court intervention rather than waiting until the conclusion of a lengthy removal proceeding.
The availability of emergency relief depends on the facts of the case.
Can Fighting Between Co-Executors Lead to Removal?
Sometimes.
Family disagreements and hostility alone ordinarily do not justify removal. Estate administration frequently involves tension, particularly where siblings are serving together.
But hostility becomes more significant when it prevents the estate from being properly administered.
In Matter of Barnes, decided in June 2026, the Appellate Division affirmed the removal of a co-executor where the evidence demonstrated that the co-executors could no longer communicate or cooperate effectively and the conflict interfered with administration of the estate.
Thus, the important question is generally not whether the executors dislike each other. It is whether their conflict is harming or preventing proper estate administration.
What Happens After an Executor Is Removed?
If an executor is removed, the Surrogate’s Court can revoke the executor’s Letters Testamentary and appoint an appropriate successor fiduciary.
The former executor may also be required to:
- Turn over estate assets;
- Produce records;
- File an accounting;
- Repay improperly used funds;
- Restore losses caused to the estate; or
- Address objections to the fiduciary’s conduct.
Depending on the circumstances, beneficiaries may also seek to surcharge the executor.
A surcharge is generally a monetary remedy intended to compensate the estate for losses caused by a fiduciary’s misconduct or breach of duty.
Removal and surcharge are different remedies. An executor might be removed because continued service threatens the estate, while a surcharge proceeding addresses the financial damage already caused.
Can an Executor Lose His or Her Commission?
Potentially.
Executors in New York are ordinarily entitled to statutory commissions for administering an estate. But serious misconduct may result in denial or reduction of commissions.
New York courts have, in appropriate cases, denied fiduciary commissions where misconduct or improper administration harmed an estate.
Whether commissions should be denied depends on the nature and severity of the fiduciary’s conduct.
FAQs – Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate
Removal can be difficult because New York courts generally respect the decedent’s choice of executor. A beneficiary usually must establish recognized legal grounds for removal rather than simply showing disagreements or personality conflicts.
Yes. A beneficiary who qualifies as a person interested in the estate may generally seek appropriate relief in Surrogate’s Court, including removal under SCPA 711 where statutory grounds exist.
Possibly. A delay in distribution does not automatically justify removal because legitimate issues may delay an estate. However, unexplained or unreasonable delays, particularly when combined with failure to account, self-dealing, or other misconduct, may justify court intervention.
A beneficiary may be able to pursue a compulsory accounting and seek disclosure of the executor’s financial activity. Depending on the proceeding, additional discovery may also be available.
Yes. Misappropriation of estate funds can provide powerful grounds for removal and may also expose the executor to a surcharge and other legal consequences.
The answer depends on the Will, the availability of another nominated executor, and the applicable provisions of New York law. The Surrogate’s Court can appoint an eligible successor fiduciary.
Executor removal proceedings can involve petitions, citations, financial discovery, subpoenas, depositions, accountings, motion practice, and evidentiary hearings. Because removal requires proof of legally sufficient grounds, parties involved in substantial estate disputes should consider speaking with a New York estate litigation attorney.
Speak With a New York Estate Litigation Attorney to Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate
If you believe an executor is mismanaging an estate, improperly using estate assets, refusing to account, engaging in self-dealing, or otherwise breaching fiduciary duties, you may have remedies in the New York Surrogate’s Court.
RK Law PC represents beneficiaries, executors, administrators, trustees, and other interested parties in contested estate and fiduciary matters throughout New York City and the surrounding counties. We can help you Remove an Executor Who Is Mismanaging an Estate.
Our estate litigation practice includes executor and administrator removal proceedings, contested accountings, proceedings to compel an accounting, fiduciary surcharge claims, turnover proceedings, will contests, and other Surrogate’s Court disputes.
If you have questions about removing an executor or protecting assets belonging to an estate, contact RK Law PC to discuss your options with a New York estate litigation attorney.
For more information, please contact NYC Probate Litigation, Guardianship, Probate, and Estate Planning attorney Regina Kiperman:
Phone: 917-261-4514
Fax: 929-556-2089
Email: rkiperman@rklawny.com
Or visit her at:
40 Wall Street
Suite 2508
New York, NY 10005
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