There are numerous occasions where the Surrogate’s Court appoints a fiduciary to oversee an estate or a trust. With regard to an estate, the Court may need to appoint an executor or a preliminary executor in the case of a probate proceeding. If a decedent dies intestate, it may be necessary to appoint an administrator or temporary administrator.
In addition to the above fiduciaries, the Court may have occasion to appoint a testamentary trustee for a trust created in a Last Will. Also, the Court may obtain jurisdiction over trustees who are appointed in a Living Trust.
The Court always gives deference to trustees and executors who have been designated by a decedent or a person who has created a trust. This is because the Courts view such appointment as furthering the interests or intentions of the person who made the appointment.