Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts

systems are standardized throughout the state but there are no
plans yet to create a centralized Surrogate’s system. 162 However,
the building blocks for merger of the court’s information systems
are in place and much progress has already been made. As such,
the necessary technological merger that flows from our proposal
is already well underway.
Procedural Changes. To make court restructuring a
reality, certain changes will have to be made to our state’s
procedural codes, including the Civil Practice Law and Rules
(CPLR), the various Court Acts (i.e., Surrogate’s Court Practice,
Court of Claims, Family Court, New York City Civil Court,
Uniform District Court, and the Uniform City Court Acts) and
the Uniform Rules for the New York State Trial Courts. The
codes would need to reflect the new court names, but more
importantly, decisions would have to be made as to what
substantive and jurisdictional differences are deemed worthy of
preservation, even within the newly merged structure. For
example, while amendments would be necessary to reflect the
merger of the Surrogate’s Court, Family Court, and Court of
Claims into the Supreme Court (and the creation of a Division
within the Supreme Court for each) it may be wise to preserve
some of the unique procedures of these former Courts in the new
Divisions. The following are a few examples of the substantive
and jurisdictional modifications of the various procedural codes
that will be required.
Supreme Court, Probate Division. Under our proposal,
the Surrogate’s Court Practice Act (“SCPA”) Article 2
(“Jurisdiction and Powers”), as well as all other articles touching
upon jurisdiction and procedure, would have to be amended in
order to either eliminate or reconcile procedures different than
those provided for in the CPLR, or to provide for their continued
use in the Surrogate’s Division. For example, Article 3
(“Proceedings, Pleadings and Process”) sets out some of the
unique procedural features pertaining to trusts and estates, such
as the statute of limitations, the pleadings, the contents of a
petition, and the joinder of parties, which may be deemed worthy
162
Information provided by OCA.
A Court System for the Future, February 2007 85