What Is Estate Planning? A New York Guide

A 38-year-old woman came into my office last spring. Her husband had died suddenly — no will, no power of attorney, nothing. She had two kids under 10. She didn't know who would raise them if something happened to her next. She didn't know how to get access to their joint accounts. She was completely lost.

Estate planning wouldn't have brought her husband back. But it would have left her a roadmap instead of a maze.

I've practiced estate law in New York for over 20 years. And I still meet people who think estate planning is only for the wealthy, or only for the old. It isn't. Let me explain what it actually is — and why you probably need it right now.

The Simple Definition of Estate Planning

Estate planning is the process of deciding, in writing, what happens to your money, property, and people when you die or become incapacitated. That's it.

It answers four basic questions:

1. Who gets my stuff?
2. Who manages my affairs if I can't?
3. Who raises my children?
4. What medical decisions do I want made on my behalf?

Without a plan, New York State answers those questions for you. And the state's answers may not match yours at all.

Who Needs an Estate Plan?

Short answer: you do. If you're an adult with any assets, any dependents, or any opinions about your medical care, you need an estate plan.

Let me be specific. You need an estate plan if:

• You own any real estate — even a co-op or condo
• You have a bank account, retirement account, or investment account
• You have children — biological, adopted, or stepchildren
• You're married, divorced, or in a long-term relationship
• You have a parent, sibling, or other family member who depends on you
• You have a pet you care about
• You have strong opinions about who should make medical decisions for you
• You own a business
• You'd like to leave something to a charity or cause

That's most adults in New York City. Probably you.

The "I'm Not Rich" Objection

I hear this all the time. "I don't have much." But estate planning isn't about how much you have. It's about making sure what you have goes where you want it to go.

Consider Carlos, a 44-year-old Queens mechanic. He had $85,000 in a 401(k), a used car, and $12,000 in a savings account. Not wealthy by most measures. But he had a girlfriend he'd lived with for six years and a teenage son from a previous relationship.

Without an estate plan, his girlfriend — not legally a spouse — got nothing. His son, who Carlos had complicated feelings about, got everything under New York's intestacy law. Not what Carlos would have wanted. A $750 will would have changed that outcome entirely.

The Core Documents of a New York Estate Plan

A complete estate plan typically includes five documents. Here's what each one does.

1. Last Will and Testament

Your will tells the world who gets your assets after you die. It names an executor — the person who manages the estate. If you have minor children, it names a guardian. It can also create testamentary trusts to manage assets for minors or people with special needs.

In New York, a will must be in writing, signed by you in front of two witnesses, and those witnesses must also sign. The exact requirements are spelled out in EPTL 3-2.1. An oral will is not valid in New York.

Read the full breakdown in our guide on New York will requirements.

2. Revocable Living Trust

A living trust holds your assets during your lifetime. At death, a successor trustee distributes them according to your instructions — no probate, no public record, no waiting. You can change or revoke the trust at any time while you're alive.

For New Yorkers who own real estate or have significant assets, a living trust is often worth the extra cost. Probate in New York is slow (typically 9–18 months) and can cost 5–9% of the estate's value. A trust sidesteps all of that.

See the detailed comparison in our post on revocable vs irrevocable trusts in New York.

3. Durable Power of Attorney

A power of attorney designates someone to manage your financial affairs if you're incapacitated. Pay your bills. Manage your investments. Handle your real estate. Without this document, your family may need to go to court to get that authority — a process called Article 81 guardianship, which is expensive and invasive.

New York updated its power of attorney law significantly in 2021. The new form has specific requirements. An old power of attorney drafted before June 2021 may not work as expected today.

Full details in our guide on what is a power of attorney in New York.

4. Health Care Proxy

A health care proxy names a person to make medical decisions for you if you can't make them yourself. This is different from a power of attorney, which covers finances. Your health care agent can authorize or refuse treatment, speak with your doctors, and make decisions about life support.

Without a health care proxy, hospitals must follow a default priority list. Your spouse goes first, then adult children, then parents. If you want your partner — who isn't your spouse — to make these calls, you need a health care proxy. A verbal agreement with your family isn't enough.

5. Living Will (Advance Directive)

A living will records your wishes about specific end-of-life situations. Do you want life support if you're in a persistent vegetative state? What about artificial nutrition? Cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

In New York, your health care proxy can make these decisions. But a living will takes the burden off your loved ones. They don't have to guess what you'd want. You've already told them in writing.

Estate Planning for Families With Minor Children

If you have kids under 18, estate planning isn't optional. It's essential.

Your will is the only document that lets you name a guardian for your children. If you don't name one and something happens to you, a court decides who raises your kids. That could be a family member you don't trust, or a drawn-out dispute between relatives.

I worked with a couple in Brooklyn — both teachers, mid-30s, two kids aged 4 and 7. They kept putting off their estate plan. Then the husband was in a serious car accident. He survived, but it scared them. They came in the next week. We had their entire plan done in two appointments.

Don't wait for the scare. Name a guardian now.

Trusts for Minor Children

Your will can say "I leave everything to my children equally." But what happens if they're 8 and 11 when you die? Minors can't legally own significant assets. A court-supervised custodianship would manage the money until they turn 18 — and then hand them the entire sum the day they turn 18.

Most parents don't want an 18-year-old with unchecked access to a large sum of money. A testamentary trust in your will can hold the assets until your children reach a more mature age — 25, 30, whatever you choose. The trustee manages funds for education, health, and living expenses in the meantime.

Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples

New York gives married spouses significant automatic rights. Unmarried partners get nothing under state law. None. Not a single asset passes automatically to a long-term partner without proper planning.

This is one of the most common and heartbreaking situations I see. A couple together for 15 years. No marriage, no estate plan. One partner dies. The other is suddenly competing with the deceased's family for everything they built together — the apartment, the savings, all of it.

If you're in an unmarried partnership, you need a will at minimum. A joint trust is even better. Beneficiary designations on every financial account are essential.

What Happens Without an Estate Plan

If you die without a will in New York, your estate is distributed under the intestacy statute, EPTL Article 4. The law uses a fixed hierarchy:

1. Surviving spouse gets the first $50,000 plus half of the remainder; children split the other half
2. If no spouse, children split everything equally
3. If no children, parents inherit
4. If no parents, siblings inherit
5. And so on down the family tree

This formula ignores relationships entirely. It doesn't care that you were estranged from your siblings. It doesn't recognize your domestic partner. It doesn't know you wanted to leave something to a close friend or a charity.

The state's plan is generic. Your plan should be personal.

Estate Planning and Medicaid

For New Yorkers over 60, estate planning and long-term care planning go hand in hand. Medicaid in New York pays for nursing home care, but it has strict asset limits. Single applicants must have $1,732 or less in countable assets.

Certain types of trusts — specifically irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts — can protect your assets from Medicaid spend-down while still allowing you to qualify for benefits. But these trusts must be set up at least 5 years before you need Medicaid care. Waiting until you're already in a nursing home is too late.

This is part of our elder law practice. We help clients plan years in advance so they don't lose their life savings to nursing home costs.

New York Estate Tax Planning

New York has a state estate tax with a 2025 exemption of $7.16 million. If your estate exceeds that, you'll owe New York estate tax. For estates between $7.16 million and $8.08 million (about 112% of the exemption), the "cliff effect" means the entire estate is taxed — not just the excess.

If your estate is approaching the exemption threshold, tax planning strategies can reduce or eliminate this tax. Irrevocable trusts, charitable planning, and lifetime gifting are all tools we use.

Read our detailed guide on New York estate tax for specific numbers and planning strategies.

The Cost of Estate Planning

People always ask about cost. Here's an honest answer.

A basic will-based estate plan in New York — will, power of attorney, health care proxy, living will — typically runs $1,500 to $3,000 at a reputable law firm. A trust-based plan with a revocable living trust, pour-over will, and ancillary documents typically runs $3,500 to $7,500.

These are upfront costs. Compare them to the alternative. Probate in New York can cost 5–9% of your estate value. On a $500,000 estate, that's $25,000 to $45,000. A guardianship proceeding for an incapacitated person without a power of attorney costs $5,000 to $15,000 just to establish — then ongoing court oversight forever.

Estate planning is cheap insurance. The cost of not having it is far higher.

How to Update Your Estate Plan

An estate plan isn't a one-time event. Life changes. Your plan should change with it.

Review your estate plan after any of these events:

• Marriage or divorce
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Death of a beneficiary or named executor
• Significant change in assets (buying a home, receiving an inheritance)
• Moving to or from New York
• Change in tax law
• Change in your health
• A named guardian or trustee becomes unable to serve

At minimum, review your plan every 3 to 5 years. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance should be reviewed even more frequently. I've seen estates where the beneficiary on a $400,000 IRA was an ex-spouse from a 20-year-old divorce. The current spouse got nothing.

Common Estate Planning Myths Debunked

Myth: "My spouse will get everything automatically."

Not true. In New York, your spouse has certain statutory rights. But if assets are titled in your name alone with no beneficiary, they go through probate. And the state's intestacy formula doesn't always give everything to a spouse — if you have children, the estate is split.

Myth: "I can just use an online will template."

Online templates are generic. New York has specific execution requirements. A will that's missing one witness signature is invalid. A trust that isn't properly funded does nothing. Generic templates don't know your specific situation. They don't ask the right follow-up questions. I've cleaned up plenty of self-drafted wills that caused more problems than they solved.

Myth: "I already have a will from 20 years ago. I'm covered."

Maybe. But New York law has changed. Your life has changed. Your assets have changed. That 1998 will that left everything to your parents may now create a disaster if both parents are deceased and you have three children who aren't named anywhere in the document.

Starting Your Estate Plan: What to Expect

At Morgan Legal Group, our estate planning process is straightforward. Here's what happens when you call us.

First, we schedule a consultation — typically 60 to 90 minutes. We review your current situation: your assets, your family, your goals. We identify gaps and recommend a plan structure.

Second, we draft your documents. For most clients, that takes 1 to 2 weeks. We send drafts for your review.

Third, we execute the documents. You come in, we supervise the signing in front of witnesses (for the will), and you leave with a complete, legally valid estate plan.

The whole process typically takes 3 to 4 weeks. It doesn't require multiple lengthy appointments. It doesn't require you to know the law. That's our job.

For additional resources on New York estate planning law, morganlegalny.com covers updated statutes and case law regularly.

Ready to get started? Visit our estate planning practice page to learn more about our process and schedule a consultation.