The New York estate tax cliff is a quirk in state law that causes an estate exceeding the exemption by just a small margin to lose its entire exemption — meaning the estate is taxed from the very first dollar, not just on the amount above the threshold. For deaths in 2026, the basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000, and the
You avoid probate in New York by titling your assets so they pass automatically at death — outside the Surrogate’s Court process — rather than through a will alone. The single most powerful tool is the revocable living trust under EPTL Article 7, which lets you move ownership of your home, accounts, and investments into a trust you control during
You should review your New York estate plan every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event — a marriage, divorce, birth, death, large change in assets, a move into or out of New York, or a shift in the tax law. An estate plan is not a “set it and forget it” document; it is a
In New York, a health care proxy and a power of attorney are two entirely separate documents that protect you in two entirely separate spheres of life. A health care proxy, governed by New York Public Health Law Article 29-C, appoints an agent to make medical decisions for you when you cannot speak for yourself. A power of attorney, governed
Estate planning for young families in New York is not about death taxes for the wealthy — it is about answering one urgent question: if both parents were gone tomorrow, who would raise your children, who would manage the money, and who could make decisions in a crisis before a court ever gets involved? The innovative answer for young New
Estate planning for a blended family in New York means building a plan that simultaneously protects your surviving spouse and guarantees that your children from a prior relationship are not unintentionally disinherited — and the most powerful way to do that is rarely a simple will. Because New York’s default rules and a basic “I love you” will tend to
A cost-and-timeline guide to cross-border estate planning for New York immigrant families with overseas assets, non-citizen spouses, and foreign heirs.