By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

Erie County Surrogate's Court is the first court of its kind in the state to enact e-filing. The court accepted its first e-filed document at 11:41 a.m. Tuesday.

Hon. Barbara Howe, currently Erie County surrogate's judge, courted the support of state Sen. Dale Volker, R-Depew, who first sponsored legislation in 2004 to create the pilot program.

While the U.S. District Court in the Western District of New York requires e-filing, Howe prefers it to be voluntary. With 60 different forms and 400,000 records, the single-judge and paper-intensive court is an ideal place to conduct the pilot program.

"What's really exciting is we're the test court for the entire state. I think the bar will be responsive in participating and lead the way for the rest of the state," said Hiscock & Barclay LLP partner Catherine Wettlaufer.

The next surrogate's courts to follow with the initiative will be Chautauqua, Monroe, Queens and Suffolk counties.

These will join about 20 other state courts that accept e-filing including state Supreme Court in 17 counties, including Erie, for commercial, tort and tax certiorari cases as well as Court of Claims in the Albany District and New York City's Civil Court for no-fault insurance claims.

"I believe e-filing is our future. It's actually our present," said Hon. Sharon Townsend, administrative judge for the 8th Judicial District.

Howe said e-filing should soon become commonplace and "will continue to grow in its appeal."

"While we're certainly going to a paperless society, it'll take some time" for some lawyers to adapt, said Wettlaufer, who as chair of the Bar Association of Erie County's Practice and Procedure in Surrogate's Courts Committee. She served with several others on a committee led by Ron Younkins, the Unified Court System's Office of Court Administration chief of operations, who is overseeing the pilot program statewide.

The court will continue to offer training for attorneys and support staff, including a continuing legal education seminar June 25 and 26, and has just begun a one-month beta testing to work out kinks and welcome suggestions.

One clarification already enacted is that the original will and a certified copy of the death certificate must be filed in hard copy no later than two business days after the e-filing.

While there is no cost to file electronically, the Web site accepts credit cards for the statutory fees.

The e-filing site is www.NYCourts.gov/efile.