§ 207.33 Engagement of counsel

If your lawyer is busy with another case in court, that alone won't get your Surrogate's Court date pushed back. The court won't automatically grant a delay just because your attorney says they have a scheduling conflict with another matter.

Instead, any request to delay a case for this reason has to follow the specific process laid out in a separate set of rules, Part 125 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator. Those rules spell out the exact steps a lawyer must take to ask for more time when they're tied up elsewhere, including proper notice and documentation.

What this means for you is that "my lawyer is busy" isn't enough on its own to delay your case. Your attorney needs to follow the correct procedure under Part 125, or the court can deny the request and keep your case moving forward as scheduled.