An estate plan should connect your wishes with the property you own and the people who may need to act for you. Willis Law Group helps New York families consider wills, trusts, financial authority, and health care documents together, with attention to the steps needed to carry the plan out.

We serve Rockland County and Westchester County. Founding attorney Michael T. Willis, Esq. is admitted in New York and New Jersey and brings 25 years of legal experience. Whether you are creating your first plan or reviewing an existing trust, start with your family’s goals, current documents, and ownership records.

Request a 30-minute initial estate-planning meeting. Tell us your county of residence, the decisions you want to address, and any urgent health or family concern.

Explore Your New York Estate Plan

What a New York Will Addresses

A will records directions for property after death and names an executor. It can also nominate a guardian for minor children. The New York Courts’ will guidance explains the document’s role and the probate process. A will should be reviewed alongside property ownership and beneficiary arrangements rather than assumed to control every asset.

Discuss who should receive property, who should handle the work, and what should happen if a beneficiary or named decision maker dies before you. Tell us about children from a prior relationship, beneficiaries who may need continuing assistance, and any family disagreement that could affect your choices.

Bring the original will and any amendments when available. We review what you already have before recommending new documents; a family change or move is a reason to examine the plan, not an instruction to discard it.

When a Trust May Belong in the Plan

Begin with the problem you want a trust to address. Is your concern how property will be managed if you need help, how a beneficiary will receive an inheritance, or how the family home fits into your broader plan? The purpose should guide the discussion of the trust’s terms, trustee, beneficiaries, and funding.

If you are comparing a will-based plan with a trust-based plan, ask which assets each approach is intended to govern and what work remains after signing. We can discuss the proposed structure, the responsibilities of the people involved, and how it relates to your family’s goals.

  • The trustee: who will manage the property, and who will serve if that person cannot?
  • The beneficiaries: should an inheritance be distributed at once or managed under continuing terms?
  • Access and control: what rights and responsibilities would you retain under the proposed arrangement?
  • The assets: which property is intended for the trust, and what steps would be needed for each item?

Trust Funding: Connect the Document to the Assets

Signing a trust and transferring property are separate steps. New York’s lifetime-trust funding statute makes actual transfer important; merely reciting an assignment in the trust instrument is not enough. The required transfer method depends on the asset and the circumstances.

A useful review starts with an inventory. For each asset, identify its present owner, any named beneficiary, the intended recipient or manager, and the action needed to align it with the plan.

  • Real estate: bring deeds, mortgage information, and details of co-owners. Discuss any proposed transfer and the review needed before signing or recording documents.
  • Bank and investment accounts: identify account ownership and the institution’s paperwork. Keep records showing whether a proposed change was completed.
  • Retirement accounts and insurance: bring current beneficiary designations. Review the intended recipient and tax questions before changing ownership or beneficiaries.
  • Business interests: bring governing agreements and ownership records so restrictions and any additional professional assistance can be identified.

Before retaining counsel, clarify who is responsible for deeds, institutional forms, account changes, follow-up, and confirmation of completed work. Ask whether initial funding assistance, later-acquired property, or future reviews are included in the written scope. A clear division of responsibilities helps you understand what the engagement covers.

Coordinate Property Ownership and Beneficiary Designations

New York Courts explain that joint ownership and named beneficiaries can affect whether estate proceedings are needed. That is why the review should look beyond the will itself. Bring current statements and designations rather than relying only on your recollection of what was arranged years ago.

Identify a backup beneficiary and explain any special circumstances before making changes. The intended outcome may require coordination among your documents, institution records, and professional advisers. After a new account, refinance, property purchase, marriage, divorce, or death, check whether that coordination needs attention.

Planning for Family Changes, Incapacity, and Care

A spouse, children, or beneficiaries have different needs

Explain the people you want to provide for and the concerns behind your choices. A blended family, a beneficiary with a disability, or a person who needs help managing money may require a different discussion from an equal outright distribution. Bring existing agreements or court orders that may affect the plan.

Someone may need to act during your lifetime

Review your New York power of attorney and health care proxy alongside the estate plan. Financial decisions, medical decisions, and management of trust property involve different roles. Identify who can serve and how they would obtain the information needed.

Long-term care costs are part of the concern

Tell us before making gifts, changing a deed, or moving assets. Our New York Medicaid planning guide explains the financial and care review. A trust’s name alone does not establish its suitability for the care program or planning goal involved.

You have property or family in New Jersey

Identify each state connection and any possible move. We review New York and New Jersey questions within the proposed work and identify other assistance that may be needed for property or legal issues elsewhere. Do not assume one state’s Medicaid or estate instructions apply unchanged in the other.

Prepare for the Initial Meeting

  • Your current wills, trusts, amendments, powers of attorney, and health care documents.
  • A basic asset-and-debt list, deeds, account ownership information, and beneficiary designations.
  • Names of proposed executors, trustees, agents, guardians for minor children, and backups.
  • Your family priorities, intended beneficiaries, and any care, disability, business, or cross-state concerns.
  • Questions about fees, included documents, funding responsibilities, follow-up, and future changes.

Bring what is available and identify missing records. At the initial meeting, we discuss your goals, the issues requiring review, proposed work, fees, and next steps. Use the public form to describe the issue briefly; ask our team how to provide confidential documents securely.

Questions About New York Wills and Trusts

Does a will automatically avoid probate?

No. A will can guide the probate process; it should not be presented as a way to avoid it. Whether particular property requires estate administration depends on its ownership and transfer arrangements.

Is every family better off with a trust?

The recommendation should follow the family’s goals, property, decision makers, and implementation needs. We can discuss what a proposed trust would accomplish and how that compares with other planning choices.

Is my trust finished as soon as it is signed?

Signing is one stage. Review which assets need additional action, who is handling it, and how completion will be documented. Later purchases or account changes may require another review.

Can we review a plan another attorney prepared?

Yes. Bring the full documents, amendments, and available funding records. Explain what has changed and what you want to accomplish so we can discuss the review and any proposed additional work.

If long-term care funding is part of your planning, review Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts in New York. The guide explains the questions to resolve about access to assets, the home, funding, and trustee responsibilities alongside your broader estate plan.

Arrange Your New York Estate-Planning Meeting

Our current New York meeting location is 1 Blue Hill Plaza, Lobby Level, Suite 1509, Pearl River, NY 10965. Meetings are by appointment only; confirm the location with our team before traveling.

Contact Willis Law Group about your New York will or trust. We will explain how to prepare for the initial review and the next steps for your matter.