Courts show great deference to a testator's choice of fiduciary. While a court may remove a fiduciary for cause, the Court of Appeals has made clear that this power should be exercised "sparingly" and that a fiduciary is usually entitled to a hearing first. See Matter of Duke, 87 N.Y.2d 465, 473 (1996). Nonetheless, the court has also recognized that, under SCPA Section 719, "the Surrogate is clearly granted the exceptional authority to summarily remove executors … [where misconduct] is established by undisputed facts or concessions, or where the fiduciary's in-court conduct causes such facts to be within the court's knowledge …" Where a fiduciary's behavior clearly demonstrates entrenched hostility toward beneficiaries or a co-fiduciary, summary removal has been held appropriate.

SCPA Section 719 describes circumstances in which the Surrogate may remove a fiduciary without a pleading or the issuance of process. The grounds include, among other things, a fiduciary's felony conviction, commingling of estate assets with his or her own funds, or failure to account pursuant to a court order. The statute also permits removal where "any of the facts provided in Section 711 are brought to the attention of the court." In turn, SCPA Section 711 permits service of process and a petition upon a fiduciary seeking their removal for any of 12 specified reasons. These include, for example, a fiduciary's dishonesty, waste, improvidence, want of understanding, failure to comply with a court order, failure to inform the court of a change in address, substance abuse or removal of property from the state without court permission.