When Life Takes a New Direction: Family Law Attorneys in New York

Reviewed by Alan Vaitzman, Esq. — 5+ years handling elder law, estate planning, and guardianship matters in New York.

Reviewing Your Estate Plan After a Family Change

Some changes happen automatically under New York law, while others require an update to your documents.

At Estate Law New York, we help you keep your estate plan aligned with your family and your wishes.

After a divorce, remarriage, or change in your children’s care, this may include:

• Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance
• Powers of attorney and health care proxies
• Trust documents
• Guardianship designations for minor children
• Provisions naming someone who no longer reflects your wishes

Moving Forward With a Clear Plan

We explain what may need attention and help you make the necessary updates, so you can move forward knowing your plans still reflect the people who matter to you.

Family Law Services That Fit Your Family

Those plans can evolve as your family does. Whether you’re getting married, raising children, going through a divorce, or blending families, we help you make legal decisions with your family’s bigger picture in mind.

Our family law and estate planning work brings these pieces together, so each decision supports the future you’re planning for your family.

Planning for Your Children’s Care and Inheritance

Choosing a guardian is an important decision. We help you plan for both who will care for your children and how their inheritance will be managed.

We help you bring both pieces together, so your wishes are clear, and your children have a thoughtful plan for the future.

Estate Planning for Blended Families

Blended families often bring new relationships and priorities to your estate plan. We help you find a thoughtful balance between providing for your spouse and making sure your children remain part of your plans for the future.

We help you explore options such as a QTIP trust and build them into a plan that reflects your family relationships and priorities.

Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

Marriage can bring new considerations around your assets, business interests, inheritance, and future plans. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can help you establish those expectations clearly.

This helps keep your agreements and estate plan working together as your family and financial plans change.

A More Personal Approach to Your Case

When family law and estate planning overlap, it helps to have one team looking at the bigger picture. We take the time to understand your circumstances, explain your options clearly, and help the different pieces of your plan work together.

This can include coordinating family matters with matrimonial law and asset protection work, particularly when changes to your family also affect your assets and future plans.

You work directly with the attorney handling your matter. Our attorney is licensed in New York, Florida, and New Jersey and recognized as a Surrogate’s Court Counselor and Medicaid Planning Professional, with experience helping more than 500 families with estate and probate matters.

We also agree on a flat fee before work begins, so you know what to expect and can focus on the decisions that matter to your family.

A Thoughtful Start to Your Case

Your first conversation is a chance to tell us what has changed and get a clear sense of what comes next. We look at the legal pieces together, explain what may need attention, and help you understand your options.

We may review:

• Your will, beneficiary designations, and documents naming a spouse
• Custody, visitation, and guardianship arrangements
• Businesses, retirement accounts, and other significant assets
• Documents that may need to be updated as your family changes

Before any drafting begins, we provide a clear flat-fee quote. You leave the conversation with a better understanding of your options and the next steps for your family.

Planning Around Your Family’s Assets

Family changes can bring new questions about your home, business, retirement accounts, and other assets. We consider these alongside your family law and estate planning needs, so your decisions work together.

Keeping Your Assets Aligned With Your Plan

Property owned before marriage or received as a gift or inheritance may be considered separate property in New York. How those assets are held and used can affect how they are treated.

We can help you explore options with an asset protection attorney and consider planning tools that fit your circumstances.

Our work may include:

Our work includes:

• Trust and asset protection planning
• Business and ownership considerations
• Coordinating prenuptial or postnuptial agreements with your estate plan
• Planning for spouses and children in blended families

The goal is to create a plan that supports the people, assets, and future that matter to you.

Here for Families Across New York

Our Lower Manhattan office serves families throughout New York City and surrounding counties, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, Rockland, and Orange counties.

Consultations are available in person, by Zoom, or by phone. We’ve helped more than 500 families across our practice areas and report a 98% client satisfaction rate.

If your family law matter also raises questions about who would care for a loved one, our guardianship planning services can address those needs as part of your broader family plan.

Take the Next Step With Confidence

A free consultation is a comfortable place to start, even if you’re still working out what needs to change. We’ll listen to your situation, review the relevant pieces of your estate plan, and help you understand your options.

Meet with us in person in Lower Manhattan or virtually by Zoom or phone. Contact us to schedule a time that works for you.