If you have been putting this off, you are not alone. Most people come to us with the same concerns. They want to know what a will should cover, who should serve as executor, how to name a guardian, and what happens to assets such as joint accounts, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies.
Our role is to help you make those decisions with clear legal guidance and a process that feels manageable from the start. From your first consultation to signing and safekeeping, we help you put a will in place that reflects your wishes and gives your family more certainty.
A Wills Lawyer Who Explains Every Step
A will tells New York Surrogate’s Court who inherits what, who is named guardian for any minor beneficiary, and who manages your estate when you are gone. Without one, state law decides. With one written for your situation, your wishes hold.
Wills are drafted, witnessed, and stored from our Lower Manhattan office at 299 Broadway, 17th Floor, a short walk from the New York County Surrogate’s Court on Chambers Street. Your last will, your executor choice, your guardian appointment, and your health care proxy sit in one file, handled by our estate team from intake through signing.
The first worry on the first call is always the same: you do not know where to start. Book a free consultation in person or via video, bring your questions, and leave with a plan you understand. Same-week appointments are usually available for clients across Lower Manhattan and the Financial District.
Common Worries About Filing a Will
“I keep putting it off and don’t know where to start.”
You are in the right place. The free consultation covers your family, your assets, and your goals, with no legalese and no pressure. You leave with a written outline of next steps and an honest quote.
“I don’t know what a will covers.”
A will covers assets that pass through probate. It does not cover beneficiary designations, life insurance proceeds, joint bank accounts with right of survivorship, or assets held in trust. Your lawyer reviews the full picture, so your will, beneficiary forms, and trust documents tell a consistent story.
“I need to name a guardian for a minor beneficiary.”
A guardianship clause names the person who will raise a minor if both parents are gone, and an alternate if the first choice cannot serve. The same plan ties into your health care proxy and durable power of attorney, so trusted family members can step in for medical and financial matters while you are living.
“I have a co-op, out-of-state property, or a blended family.”
Co-ops, condos, and rent-stabilized leases have different transfer rules, something we see often with SoHo lofts and similar buildings. Out-of-state property can add probate steps. Blended families also face New York’s elective share rule under EPTL § 5-1.1-A, which can give a surviving spouse a statutory share even if an earlier will says otherwise. Your plan accounts for these details.
Our Wills Process in New York
1. Free Consultation and Estate Planning Decisions
Your first meeting is free and usually lasts about 45 minutes. During that conversation, we talk through your family, your assets, and the estate planning decisions you are facing. You can ask about beneficiaries, executors, guardianship, or any other concern you want to understand before moving forward.
From there, your lawyer helps outline an estate planning approach that may include your will, retirement account beneficiary designations, a health care proxy, and a durable power of attorney. We also look for New York-specific issues that could affect your plan, such as co-op transfer rules or property you own outside the state.
You leave with a written summary, a clear fee quote, and time to decide what makes sense for you.
2. Drafting Your Last Will Under New York Law
Drafting begins once you confirm the direction. The team prepares your last will under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL), which governs how wills are written and interpreted in New York. Your draft names an executor and alternate executor, identifies your beneficiaries, includes your guardian appointment, and covers specific bequests and your residuary estate.
Per stirpes and per capita distribution choices are spelled out. If a blended family or second marriage is involved, the team addresses the elective share to prevent surprises later. You review the draft, mark up the changes you want, and the team revises the document until it matches your intent.
The result is a clean, signed will written for New York that your family can rely on. No template language. No copy-paste mistakes.
3. Wills, Health Care Proxy, and Power of Attorney as One Plan
A will speaks for you after death. A health care proxy and a durable power of attorney speak for you while you are alive. The three documents work together as a single plan, with built-in links among them.
Your health care proxy, under New York Public Health Law § 2981, names a person to make medical decisions if you cannot. Your advance health care directive, sometimes called a living will, records your wishes about life-sustaining treatment. Your durable power of attorney names someone to handle finances, taxes, and property if you become incapacitated.
Your lawyer prepares all three documents in one engagement, so the same trusted family members have the authority they need in every situation.
4. Signing, Witnessing, and Safekeeping Your Will
A New York will needs two witnesses and your signature to be valid. The team hosts a signing ceremony at 299 Broadway, with witnesses and a notary on-site. The will includes a self-proving affidavit, which allows the court to admit it to probate without having to track down witnesses years later.
You receive a signed original and digital copies. The original can stay in the firm’s secure storage at no extra cost, in your bank’s safe deposit box, or at home. The team also coordinates updates to your health care proxy, advance directives, and power of attorney during the same visit.
You leave with a complete set of documents, ready the day you walk out.
5. Updating Your Will After Life Events
A will is a living plan. Plan on a review every three to five years and after any major life event. Triggers worth a fresh look include:
- Marriage or divorce.
- A new birth or adoption, or a need to add family members to your plan.
- The death of a named executor or guardian.
- A property purchase or sale.
- A move out of New York.
- A sale of a business.
- A big change in retirement accounts or beneficiary designations.
Small changes can be handled with a codicil. Larger shifts call for a fresh will. The team also revisits beneficiary designations for 401(k)s, IRAs, and life insurance proceeds during each review to keep the full plan in sync.
How Our Estate Team Works on Your Will
Our estate practice focuses on wills, probate, and trust administration under New York law. You work with the same lawyer from intake through signing.
Why New York families pick our team
- One lawyer, intake through signing, with no paralegal handoff in between.
- Plain English on every term, with statutes translated rather than quoted at you.
- Planning grounded in New York rules that affect real life, from Manhattan co-op transfers to the state estate tax cliff and the Medicaid five-year lookback.
What you receive in writing
Drafting follows EPTL and SCPA. Health care proxy work follows New York Public Health Law § 2981. After the free consultation, you receive the fee terms in writing before drafting begins.
What a Wills Lawyer Charges
Fee terms go in writing before drafting begins. Your free consultation includes a written quote covering the in-scope documents and any add-ons you select. You see the price before you commit.
Pricing depends on what you need. Blended families, out-of-state property, business interests, and trust planning take more work. Estates that involve family offices or multiple businesses add more layers. A simple will costs less. A package that includes extra documents or a revocable trust costs more.
The first consultation is free, and short follow-up questions during the engagement do not get billed. A custom quote follows the consultation, once the team has the information it needs.
Ready to Put Your Will in Writing?
You are not behind. Most people wait because the details feel heavy. This consult gives you a calm place to get clear answers and a plan you can follow.
A will brings up questions people set aside. Who inherits what? Who serves as executor? Who steps in as guardian if your family needs one? You can show up without having the answers ready.
The first call is short, free, and focused on your situation. You share what you own, who matters to you, and what you want to protect.
You leave with a written structure, a timeline, and a fee.
FAQs: Wills in New York
1. Do I need a lawyer to make a will in New York?
A will can be valid in New York without a lawyer, but a will lawyer helps you avoid drafting mistakes that delay Surrogate’s Court filings or spark family disputes. A lawyer also coordinates your will with your health care proxy, power of attorney, and beneficiary designations, so the full plan works together and holds up later.
2. How much does a wills lawyer cost in NYC?
Cost depends on complexity. A simple will runs from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, while a full estate planning package or a plan that includes a trust costs more. After your free consultation, you get a written quote based on your family situation, your assets, and the number of documents you need.
3. What does a will not control?
A will controls property that passes through probate in your name alone. It does not control beneficiary designations, life insurance proceeds, joint accounts with right of survivorship, retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, transfer-on-death or payable-on-death accounts, or assets held in trust. Those pass under their own rules, so your will, account titling, and beneficiary forms should match.
4. What happens if I die without a will in New York?
If you die without a will in New York, the state’s intestate succession rules decide who inherits. A spouse and children come first, then parents, siblings, and more distant relatives. Without a will, you cannot name a guardian, leave specific items to specific people, or protect an unmarried partner, and the court appoints an administrator to handle your estate.
5. How do I choose an executor and a guardian?
Pick an executor who is organized, trustworthy, and willing to do the work, such as a spouse, adult relative, sibling, or trusted friend, and name an alternate. Choose a guardian who shares your values and can offer a stable home, talk with them before you sign, and name an alternate guardian as well.
6. Do I need a will or a trust in New York?
A will is enough for many New York families. A trust makes sense when you want to avoid probate, handle out-of-state property, plan for incapacity, or keep matters private, and irrevocable trusts come up for Medicaid or estate tax planning. The right fit depends on your assets and goals, which we cover when comparing wills versus trusts in your free consultation.
7. How often should I update my will?
Review your will every three to five years and after major life changes like marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a move, or a big shift in assets. Small changes can be handled with a codicil, while bigger ones call for a new will. Each review should confirm that your beneficiary designations and health care proxy still match.
8. How does probate work in New York Surrogate’s Court?
Probate is the court process that gives your executor legal authority over your estate, handled by the Surrogate’s Court in the county where you lived. Your executor files the original will, a probate petition, and a death certificate, notifies the required people, and after Letters Testamentary issue, pays debts and taxes and distributes the estate. A self-proving affidavit speeds things along.
