Obituary Monitoring for Probate Attorneys in New York County (Manhattan)

The Manhattan Surrogate's Court demands a standard of fiduciary diligence that matches the extraordinary value of the estates within its jurisdiction. At 31 Chambers Street, judges routinely evaluate whether personal representatives exercised "due diligence" in identifying creditors and heirs—and in Manhattan, that inquiry increasingly focuses on whether digital search methods were employed. For attorneys handling estates on the Upper East Side, Tribeca, or the Financial District, the stakes of inadequate creditor notification extend to personal liability measured in millions.

The New York Times publishes obituaries for Manhattan's elite, but death notices for New York County residents appear across dozens of publications, from community newspapers to international journals. New York's Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA) requires executors to file an Affidavit of Due Diligence documenting their creditor search efforts—and Manhattan courts scrutinize these affidavits with awareness that manual searching of The New York Times alone cannot constitute reasonable effort in the digital age. The 14-day gap between obituary publication and attorney notification creates precisely the liability exposure that sophisticated creditors' counsel exploit.

ObituaryMonitor provides Manhattan practitioners with the documented digital surveillance that SCPA requires. Our automated platform monitors over 2,500 obituary sources 24/7, including The New York Times, New York Post, funeral homes throughout the five boroughs, Legacy.com, and international memorial platforms. When a death notice matches your watch list, you receive immediate alerts via email and SMS—typically within hours of publication. For New York County Surrogate's Court specifically, our audit logs generate court-ready documentation with unique report identifiers, timestamps, and source citations that satisfy the Affidavit of Due Diligence requirements. Whether you're administering a Park Avenue estate or handling trust matters for a SoHo family, ObituaryMonitor ensures your fiduciary compliance matches the standard that Manhattan's Surrogate's Court expects.