When a Manhattan patriarch dies leaving his three adult children as co-executors of his estate, the intention is usually harmony. He wants to avoid playing favorites. He assumes that forcing them to work together will preserve their bond. But what follows in Surrogate’s Court is rarely harmonious. Instead of a streamlined probate process, the children are forced to coordinate signatures for every bank account closure, every real estate listing, and every tax filing. The desire to treat everyone equally often creates an administrative deadlock that drains the estate’s resources and fractures the very family it was meant to protect.
The Financial Consequences Under New York Law
When families ask about multiple fiduciaries, I address the strict legal question first. Yes, you can name three executors in your will. Under New York law, there is no statutory cap on the number of individuals you can appoint to administer your estate. You could theoretically name ten. But doing so triggers specific financial consequences most testators never anticipate.
The Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) outlines exactly how fiduciaries are compensated for their time and liability. If your probate estate is valued at $100,000 or more, SCPA § 2307(5) dictates that up to three executors are each entitled to a full statutory commission. New York’s commission schedule is based on a sliding scale: 5 percent on the first $100,000, 4 percent on the next $200,000, 3 percent on the next $700,000, and so on.
If you appoint one executor for a $1.5 million estate, that individual is entitled to a statutory commission of $46,500. If you appoint three executors, the law permits each of them to claim that full $46,500 fee. Suddenly, the estate owes nearly $140,000 in administrative costs before a single dollar reaches the beneficiaries. While family members often waive these fees, the legal right to claim them remains—a frequent catalyst for litigation when siblings inevitably disagree on who is carrying the heaviest workload.
The Logistical Reality of Co-Administration
In my practice, the push to name multiple executors usually stems from a parent’s desire to treat their children fairly. No one wants an adult child to feel slighted or passed over. But an executor is not an honorary title. It is a demanding, highly scrutinized job.
An executor is a custodian of your legacy. Their role requires gathering assets, paying creditors, filing final tax returns, and distributing the remainder according to your deliberate instructions. When three people share this fiduciary duty, every action requires consensus. If the estate needs to sell a house in Brooklyn, all three executors must agree on the real estate agent, the listing price, and the final buyer. All three must sign the deed.
The banking industry makes this even more difficult. Financial institutions are notoriously rigid when dealing with estate accounts. Opening an estate checking account typically requires all named executors to appear in person, present their original Letters Testamentary, and sign the signature cards. If your three children live in different states, simply opening the bank account to pay the funeral bill becomes a logistical hurdle. If one executor is traveling, falls ill, or simply disagrees with the other two, the entire process grinds to a halt.
Gridlock.
Shared Liability and Fiduciary Risk
Beyond the inconvenience of gathering signatures, naming three executors exposes all three individuals to shared legal liability. A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care recognized by the law. Executors are personally responsible for managing the estate’s assets prudently.
If one executor takes the lead and makes a catastrophic error—such as missing a tax deadline, underinsuring a vacant property, or distributing funds before creditors are paid—the other two executors can be held personally liable for the financial loss. Ignorance is not a defense in Surrogate’s Court. The law expects co-executors to actively monitor one another. If two executors passively allow the third to mismanage the estate, all three can face financial surcharges. This shared liability places an immense strain on sibling relationships, transforming minor disagreements into legal disputes.
Prudent Alternatives for Your Estate Plan
Rather than forcing your beneficiaries to act as a committee, we strongly advise a more deliberate approach to generational wealth transfer. The most effective strategy is usually to appoint a single primary executor—the person most capable of handling financial and administrative tasks, regardless of birth order. You then name the remaining individuals as successive alternates. If the primary executor cannot serve, the first alternate steps in.
If you are concerned that naming only one child will cause resentment, the solution is communication, not co-administration. Explain your reasoning to your family while you are still here. Frame the decision accurately: you are burdening one child with a heavy administrative task so the others can simply grieve and receive their inheritance.
Another alternative is appointing an independent professional or a corporate trustee. While this incurs a predictable fee, it removes the administrative burden from grieving family members entirely. An independent fiduciary operates without the emotional baggage of family history, settling the estate efficiently and objectively.
The goal of a well-drafted estate plan is to provide a clear, efficient transition of wealth, not to create a mandatory group project for your heirs. If you have named multiple co-executors out of a sense of fairness rather than practicality, it is time to reconsider that strategy. Schedule a 30-minute review of your existing will with our Madison Avenue office to verify your chosen fiduciary structure will actually function when your family needs it most.
