What Is the New York Estate Tax Cliff (and How to Avoid It)?
The New York estate tax “cliff” is a quirk in state law that can cost a family hundreds of thousands of dollars over a difference of just a few dollars in the size of an estate. Here is the short answer: New York gives every estate a basic exclusion amount of $7,350,000 for deaths occurring […]
Medicaid Planning and Your New York Estate (5-Year Look-Back)
Medicaid planning protects your New York estate by legally repositioning assets — most often into an irrevocable trust — far enough in advance that they no longer count against you when you apply for long-term care benefits. The single most important number to remember is the five-year look-back: when you apply for institutional (nursing home) […]
How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan in New York?
As a general rule, you should review your New York estate plan every three to five years, and you should update it immediately after any major life event — a marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, or significant change in your finances. An estate plan is not a “set it and forget it” document. The will […]
Health Care Proxy vs. Power of Attorney in New York
In New York, a Health Care Proxy and a Power of Attorney are two separate documents that do two completely different jobs: a Health Care Proxy (governed by New York Public Health Law Article 29-C) names an agent to make medical decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself, while a Power of Attorney […]
Estate Planning for Blended Families in New York
If you are part of a blended family in New York — a marriage that brings together children from prior relationships, a new spouse, and perhaps shared children — the single most important step is to build a coordinated plan that provides for your current spouse while still protecting your own children’s inheritance. The default […]
A New York Estate Planning Checklist for 2026
A complete New York estate plan for 2026 comes down to four coordinated documents and a handful of practical follow-through steps: a valid will, the right trust(s), a durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy — all reviewed against the new $7,350,000 New York estate tax exclusion and its unforgiving “cliff.” This checklist […]