Most people don’t put off estate planning because they don’t care — they put it off because they don’t know the next step. This page is built to fix exactly that. Instead of a dense treatise, it gives you a working checklist: what a complete New York estate plan actually contains, which document does which job, and the concrete actions to take to get it done correctly under current New York law.
Morgan Legal Group, led by attorney Russel Morgan, Esq., builds these plans for clients across the entire state — New York City, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, and Upstate. Wherever you live in New York, the four core documents are the same, and so is the order of operations below.
When you’re ready to move from reading to doing, you can schedule a consultation at any point.
The Four Documents Every New York Plan Needs
A real estate plan is not a single will sitting in a drawer. A comprehensive New York plan coordinates four instruments so they reinforce — rather than contradict — one another:
| Document | Governing NY Law | What It Does | What Happens Without It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Will & Testament | EPTL §3-2.1 | Directs who inherits, names an executor and a guardian for minor children | Intestacy under EPTL Article 4 decides for you |
| Trust (revocable or irrevocable) | EPTL Article 7 | Avoids probate, protects assets, or plans for Medicaid/taxes | Assets pass through probate; no protection or tax planning |
| Durable Power of Attorney | GOL §5-1513 | Lets a trusted agent manage your finances if you can’t | Family may need a court guardianship to access funds |
| Health Care Proxy | Public Health Law Article 29-C | Appoints an agent to make medical decisions for you | Doctors and family may be left guessing your wishes |
The key word is coordinated. A will that contradicts how your trust is funded, or a financial power of attorney that doesn’t anticipate Medicaid planning, can do more harm than no plan at all. Each document below links to a deeper guide on this site.
Step 1 — Take Inventory (Before You Sign Anything)
The best plan starts on paper, not in a lawyer’s office. Before your first meeting, gather:
- Assets: real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, business interests, life insurance.
- Beneficiary designations: 401(k)s, IRAs, and life insurance pass by designation, not by your will — list them.
- Debts and liabilities: mortgages, loans, lines of credit.
- People: who you trust as executor, trustee, financial agent, health care agent, and guardian for any minor children.
This inventory matters in New York for a specific reason: the 2026 estate tax. New York imposes its own estate tax separate from the federal system, and where your total estate lands determines whether tax planning is the priority or an afterthought (more on the cliff below).
Step 2 — Get Your Will Right (EPTL §3-2.1)
Your will is the backbone of the plan. New York is strict about execution formalities, and a technically defective will can be challenged or thrown out. Under EPTL §3-2.1, a valid New York will requires:
- The testator signs at the END of the document.
- Two attesting witnesses observe the signing.
- Publication — the testator declares to the witnesses that the document is their will.
Skip a formality and you risk intestacy, where EPTL Article 4 — not your wishes — dictates who inherits. For a surviving spouse with children, for blended families, or for unmarried partners, the intestacy result is frequently not what people assume. A properly executed will is the cheapest insurance against that outcome.
Step 3 — Decide Whether You Need a Trust (EPTL Article 7)
Not everyone needs a trust — but many New Yorkers benefit from one. Trusts under EPTL Article 7 come in two broad flavors, and they do very different jobs:
Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust avoids probate, keeps your affairs private, and lets a successor trustee step in seamlessly if you’re incapacitated. Important caveat: a revocable trust offers no estate-tax savings and no asset protection — because you still control the assets, they remain part of your taxable estate. Its value is in probate avoidance and continuity, not taxes.
Irrevocable Trust
An irrevocable trust is the tool for tax reduction, asset protection, and Medicaid planning. Because you give up control, assets moved into it can be removed from your taxable estate and shielded from long-term-care costs. The critical timing rule: Medicaid imposes a five-year look-back, so an irrevocable trust used for nursing-home planning must be funded well before care is needed.
Supplemental Needs Trust
A Supplemental Needs Trust (SNT) under EPTL 7-1.12 lets you provide for a loved one with disabilities without disqualifying them from means-tested government benefits such as Medicaid and SSI. If anyone in your family has special needs, this is a planning conversation to have early.
Step 4 — Lock In Your Power of Attorney (GOL §5-1513)
A power of attorney is the document people skip — and then deeply regret skipping. Under GOL §5-1513, a New York power of attorney is durable by default, meaning it survives your incapacity (which is exactly when you need it most). New York overhauled the form in 2021; today you use the 2021 statutory short form, which is easier to execute and harder for banks to reject.
Without a valid, durable POA, a family that needs to pay your bills or manage your property may have to petition a court for a guardianship — a slow, public, and expensive process. The POA is how you avoid that.
Step 5 — Appoint a Health Care Agent (Public Health Law Article 29-C)
The financial POA does not cover medical decisions. For that you need a separate health care proxy, authorized under NY Public Health Law Article 29-C. It names an agent to make medical decisions for you if you can’t speak for yourself, and it pairs naturally with a living will expressing your wishes about life-sustaining treatment.
Two distinct agents, two distinct documents: one for your money, one for your medical care. A complete plan has both.
Step 6 — Run the 2026 New York Estate Tax Math
This is where New York surprises people — and where good planning pays for itself many times over. New York has its own estate tax, and it works very differently from the federal one.
For deaths on or after January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026:
- Basic exclusion amount: $7,350,000 — estates at or under this generally owe no New York estate tax.
- The cliff: at 105% of the exclusion = $7,717,500, an estate that exceeds it loses the ENTIRE exemption and is taxed from the first dollar, not just the excess.
- Rates: progressive, 3% to 16%.
Read that cliff again, because it is the single most important number in New York estate planning. An estate worth $7.7 million pays nothing; an estate worth a few dollars over $7,717,500 can suddenly owe hundreds of thousands. The space between the exclusion and the cliff is sometimes called the “estate tax cliff zone,” and it’s where lifetime gifting and irrevocable trusts earn their keep.
Two more New York-specific rules:
- No gift tax. New York imposes no separate gift tax, so lifetime gifting is a legitimate strategy.
- Three-year add-back. Gifts made within three years of death are added back into the taxable estate — so deathbed gifting won’t beat the cliff.
For a deeper dive, see our NY estate tax guide. For how these rules apply region by region, see the statewide guide.
Your Estate Planning Checklist at a Glance
- [ ] Inventory assets, debts, beneficiary designations, and the people you trust.
- [ ] Execute a will that satisfies EPTL §3-2.1 (signed at the end, two witnesses, publication).
- [ ] Decide on a trust — revocable for probate avoidance, irrevocable for taxes/Medicaid, SNT for a loved one with disabilities.
- [ ] Sign a 2021 durable power of attorney (GOL §5-1513).
- [ ] Sign a health care proxy (Public Health Law Article 29-C).
- [ ] Check your estate against the 2026 cliff ($7,717,500) and plan gifts at least 3 years out.
- [ ] Fund your trust and store documents where your agents can find them.
- [ ] Review every 3–5 years or after any major life change (marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, large asset change).
A signed-but-unfunded trust is one of the most common — and most costly — mistakes. Funding (retitling assets into the trust) is what makes the plan work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum estate plan every New Yorker should have?
At a minimum: a will (EPTL §3-2.1), a durable power of attorney (GOL §5-1513), and a health care proxy (Public Health Law Article 29-C). Those three cover what happens after death and who acts for you during incapacity. Many New Yorkers add a trust under EPTL Article 7 to avoid probate or plan for taxes and Medicaid.
Do I need a trust if I already have a will?
Not always — but often. A will still goes through probate and only takes effect at death. A revocable living trust avoids probate and provides continuity if you’re incapacitated, while an irrevocable trust adds tax reduction, asset protection, and Medicaid planning (subject to the five-year look-back). The right answer depends on your assets and goals.
What happens if I die without a will in New York?
You die intestate, and EPTL Article 4 decides who inherits — typically your spouse and children in fixed shares set by statute. That formula frequently doesn’t match what people actually want, especially in blended families or unmarried partnerships, and it can’t name a guardian for minor children.
How does the 2026 New York estate tax cliff work?
The 2026 basic exclusion is $7,350,000. If your estate exceeds $7,717,500 (105% of the exclusion), you lose the entire exemption and are taxed on the whole estate from dollar one, at progressive rates of 3%–16%. Estates in or near that zone should plan proactively.
Can I just give my money away to avoid estate tax?
New York has no gift tax, so lifetime gifting is allowed — but gifts made within three years of death are added back into your taxable estate. Effective gifting must happen well in advance, which is exactly why early planning matters.
Ready to turn this checklist into a finished plan? Schedule a consultation with Russel Morgan, Esq. to build a coordinated New York estate plan tailored to your family and your goals — wherever in the state you call home. Start with the estate planning overview and explore our guides on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care proxies.
Further reading from Morgan Legal Group: estate planning in New York.