What Is the New York Estate Tax Cliff (and How to Avoid It)?
The New York estate tax cliff is a feature of state law that can quietly erase your family’s entire estate-tax exemption the moment your taxable estate climbs just slightly past the threshold. For deaths in 2026, the basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000, but if your taxable estate exceeds 105% of that figure — $7,717,500 — […]
What Documents Belong in a Complete New York Estate Plan?
A complete New York estate plan is built on four coordinated documents working together as one protective system: a last will and testament, one or more trusts, a durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy. Each one guards a different part of what you have built — your property, your tax exposure, your […]
How to Avoid Probate in New York
The most reliable way to avoid probate in New York is to make sure your assets pass outside of the Surrogate’s Court process — primarily by funding a revocable living trust (authorized under EPTL Article 7), titling property jointly, and naming beneficiaries directly on accounts. When property is already legally arranged to transfer at death, […]
Estate Planning for Young Families in New York
If you are a young family in New York, estate planning is the single most important step you can take to safeguard what you have built — your children’s future, your home, and your savings — against the unexpected. A complete New York estate plan is not just a will. It is a coordinated set […]
Estate Planning for Blended Families in New York
Estate planning for a blended family in New York means building a coordinated plan — a will, one or more trusts, a durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy — that protects your current spouse and the children from a prior marriage at the same time, so that neither is accidentally disinherited and […]
Do I Need a Trust or Just a Will in New York?
For most New York families who want to truly protect what they have built, the honest answer is: you likely need both a will and at least one trust, working together as part of a coordinated plan. A will is the legal backbone that names guardians for minor children and directs who inherits, but it […]