Statute of limitations for wrongful death in New York
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Published September 4, 2025 • Updated May 15, 2026 • By DocketMath Team
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How the limitation period applies
The controlling primary authority for US-NY wrongful death SOL (N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 5-4.1) is N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 5-4.1.
N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 5-4.1. The personal representative, duly appointed in this state or any other jurisdiction, of a decedent who is survived by distributees may maintain an action to recover damages for a wrongful act, neglect or default which caused the decedent's death against a person who would have been liable to the decedent by reason of such wrongful conduct if death had not ensued. Such an action must be commenced within two years after the decedent's death; provided, however, that an action on behalf of a decedent whose death was caused by the terrorist attacks on September eleventh, two thousand one, other than a decedent identified by the attorney general of the United States as a participant or conspirator in such attacks, must be commenced within two years and six months after the decedent's death.
Use the calculator
DocketMath's statute-of-limitations tool can model these timelines once you identify the controlling claim type and accrual date. Use the source panel for the verified primary-source citations.
Open the Statute of Limitations calculator
Sources
All sources are official primary law published by www.nysenate.gov.
Corroboration method: government_primary_source_direct_fetch.
