A Trust Lawyer NYC Clients Rely On for Thoughtful Estate Planning

Trust Planning Built for New York City Households

If you own a home in New York, have retirement accounts, or need to protect a family member with special needs, a will can leave gaps. A trust can close them.

Estate Law New York’s estate planning lawyer focuses on the trust tools many city households use: revocable living trusts, Medicaid asset protection trusts, special needs trusts, and SLATs.

Every document reflects New York realities: co-op board consent rules, the NYS estate tax cliff, and the five-year Medicaid look-back.

For many households, an estate planning lawyer in New York recommends a funded trust as the most practical planning tool available.

Common Trust Issues We Solve in NYC

1. Probate Delays in Surrogate’s Court

Probate in the New York County Surrogate’s Court can take nine to eighteen months. A will contest can take longer.

During that time, heirs cannot access brokerage accounts, sell property, or transfer a co-op. Out-of-state heirs may need repeated trips to the Surrogate’s Court at 31 Chambers Street. The file becomes public.

Fees, court costs, and executor commissions can shrink what was meant for the family. Administration drags on while assets stay frozen.

Solution: Funded Revocable Living Trust

A funded revocable trust avoids Surrogate’s Court for any asset it holds. We draft it under New York EPTL, retitle your accounts and property into it, and handle the co-op paperwork.

If you pass away or become incapacitated, your successor trustee can take over the same day. No court order. Most plans are funded within four to six weeks.

2. The New York Estate Tax Cliff

New York taxes estates above about $7 million per person, with the figure updated each year. Cross that line by more than 5%, and you lose the exemption on the whole estate.

A $500,000 overage can cost your heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many people cross the line once a Manhattan condo, retirement accounts, and life insurance are added together.

Solution: SLATs, ILITs, and Gift Tax Planning

An ILIT keeps life insurance outside your taxable estate, so the death benefit does not raise your New York estate tax bill. A SLAT can move assets out of one spouse’s estate while preserving access through the other spouse. Both tools reduce taxable estate value while keeping family support available.

We run the numbers using the current state and federal exemptions. When income and gift tax planning affect the trust structure, we coordinate both. If a gift tax audit or appeal relates to an earlier transfer, we coordinate that as well. Documents are ready in 4 to 8 weeks.

3. Inheritance That Could Cancel Benefits

A gift or inheritance to someone on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid can wipe out benefits with a single transfer. The same risk applies to relatives in supported housing or vocational programs.

Families learn this after a relative names a vulnerable beneficiary on an account or in a generic will. Undoing the damage can take court filings and months of disrupted care.

Solution: Third-Party Special Needs Trust

A third-party special needs trust holds the inheritance outside the beneficiary’s countable assets. It pays for what public benefits do not cover: dental care, therapies, assistive technology, recreation, and daily needs that public programs rarely fund.

We draft it under New York law and name a trustee who knows the SSI and Medicaid rules. Families often come to us after working with disability lawyers on benefit eligibility. The SNT pairs with a pour-over will, power of attorney, and health care proxy so the plan stays intact.

4. Five-Year Look-Back and Long-Term Care

Skilled nursing in NYC often runs $180,000 to $220,000 a year. Many families pay out of pocket until savings run out, then turn to Medicaid.

New York’s five-year look-back penalizes recent transfers. A last-minute gift to your children can trigger a long period of ineligibility at the worst possible time.

Solution: Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT)

A MAPT is an irrevocable trust that shields your home and savings from Medicaid spend-down once the five-year clock has run. You keep the right to live in your home, receive trust income, and direct who inherits.

The principal sits beyond the reach of nursing-home costs. Set up early, a MAPT is one of the most reliable tools for shielding a co-op or brownstone from spend-down.

How Our Trust Lawyer in NYC Builds Your Plan

Our law firm begins with a single working session to map every asset, beneficiary, and concern on a single page.

We cover your accounts, insurance, business interests, real estate, and digital assets. We flag titling problems, beneficiary gaps, and estate tax exposure under New York and federal rules.

If a family member has special needs, we document benefit status and the support network. You leave with a written summary, even if you decide to plan with another firm.

Each plan is a specific mix of instruments matched to your assets and goals.

1. Trust Selection and Drafting

• Revocable trust for probate avoidance and incapacity.
• ILIT or SLAT for households near the New York cliff.
• MAPT for long-term care, when the five-year timing works.
• Third-party special needs trust for a beneficiary on means-tested benefits.

Every document is drafted under EPTL and SCPA, aligned with your goals, and built around trustee succession. Each trust includes a pour-over will, a power of attorney, a health care proxy, a HIPAA release, and a living will. Drafts are ready within ten business days of the planning meeting.

2. Trust Funding and Asset Retitling

A trust does nothing until it owns assets. Funding is the step many plans skip.

We handle the retitling work for you, including deeds, brokerage changes, beneficiary updates, and coordination with co-op managing agents and condo boards.

Co-op transfers need board consent and a recognition agreement. We draft the full package. Most plans are funded within four to six weeks, with a written record of every transfer.

3. Trustee Coaching and Ongoing Administration

A trust can outlive the person who drafts it. We brief your trustees on duties under New York law: the prudent investor rule, accounting standards, and distributions.

For special needs trusts, we walk the trustee through SSI and Medicaid rules so distributions do not jeopardize eligibility. If you would rather use a professional fiduciary, you can engage us or a corporate co-trustee.

We offer an annual review so changes in family circumstances, tax law, or assets are reflected before they create problems. Unprepared trustees face a higher risk of trust litigation. If a dispute arises, we pursue tax dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution early.

Revocable vs. Irrevocable: Which Fits Your Situation

A revocable trust keeps full control in your hands. You can change, revoke, or undo it at any time. It handles probate and incapacity but does not protect against estate tax or Medicaid.

An irrevocable trust trades control for separation. Assets inside it can sit outside the NYS estate tax calculation and outside the Medicaid look-back.

Many New York families use both. A revocable trust serves as the backbone, with one or more irrevocable trusts added for tax or benefit goals. We map the trade-offs between revocable and irrevocable trusts in plain numbers so you can choose with eyes open.

Why New York Families Hire an Estate Planning Lawyer at Estate Law New York

New York-Specific Legal Knowledge

Our law firm focuses on New York trust and Surrogate's Court work under EPTL and SCPA. We handle the NYS estate tax cliff, the Medicaid look-back, co-op and condo transfers from the Financial District to uptown, rent-stabilized leases, and New York-Florida dual residency. Templates miss Manhattan co-op complexities.

Trust Planning as a Practice Focus

Trust planning is the center of our law firm's practice. You get deep drafting experience, current Medicaid and tax research, and pre-briefed trustees. We draft these instruments under New York law every week.

Educational First

Our law firm's first meeting is a working planning session. You leave with a one-page asset map, a written recommendation, and a clear view of the trade-offs for each trust type. The session stands on its own as useful planning work.

End-to-End Funding Support

We do the retitling work that many law firms hand back to the client. Deeds, account changes, beneficiary updates, and co-op board packages. A trust protects only its own assets, so we transfer what matters before closing the engagement.

Coordinated Document Set

Every trust we draft comes paired with a pour-over will, durable power of attorney, health care proxy, HIPAA release, and living will. Each document references the others, and the full estate plan functions as one integrated structure.

Trustee and Beneficiary Coaching

You don’t hand your trustee a binder and hope they figure it out. We brief trustees on New York fiduciary duties and walk SSI-relevant beneficiaries through what each distribution means for benefits.

Direct Attorney Access

At our law firm, your drafting attorney is the same person you met in discovery and the same person you call with questions after signing. No paralegal handoffs, no rotating contacts.

Flat-Fee Trust Pricing in New York

You get a flat fee in writing before any drafting begins. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices.

We set the fee after the discovery meeting, once we know the scope of your plan.

Pricing depends on complexity. A standalone revocable trust costs less. Adding an ILIT or SLAT increases the scope. A full special needs or Medicaid plan involves more drafting and funding work.

Deed transfers, out-of-state property, and co-op funding are quoted as separate line items. Most clients receive a written quote within two business days. Payment plans are available for larger engagements.

The discovery meeting has a fixed introductory rate credited back if you hire us. Book a consultation with an estate planning lawyer to receive a written scope and quote within two business days.

Build a Trust Plan With Our Estate Planning Lawyer

You want a plan that holds up in New York, where details can slow everything down. Co-op transfers can stall. Accounts can stay titled incorrectly. Probate can drag on. The New York estate tax cliff can arrive sooner than most people expect.

Estate Law New York is the law firm that drafts and funds trusts under New York law. Then we retitle what matters, so your plan works in real life.

Schedule a session or call our New York office to discuss your goals with an estate planning lawyer.