Manhattan Estate Planning Lawyer

Significant wealth invites significant complexity. For Manhattan residents holding concentrated equity positions, closely held business interests, marketable real estate, and multi-state assets, an off-the-shelf estate plan rarely fits. Our practice concentrates on high-net-worth estate planning and asset protection governed by New York law, including the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) and the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA).

Who We Serve

We work with founders, principals at investment firms, real estate sponsors, professionals, and families whose balance sheets call for careful structuring. A penthouse on Central Park West, a stake in a private partnership, and a brokerage account spread across several custodians each raise distinct planning questions. Our role is to coordinate those moving parts into a coherent plan that controls who receives what, when, and under what protections.

Core New York Instruments

Most plans are built from a familiar set of New York instruments, each calibrated to the size and character of the estate:

• Last Will and Testament executed under EPTL 3-2.1, the controlling formality statute for attested wills.
• Revocable living trust to hold assets during life and pass them outside Surrogate’s Court probate at death.
• New York statutory durable power of attorney under General Obligations Law 5-1501 for financial decision-making.
• Health care proxy under Public Health Law Article 29-C naming an agent for medical decisions.
• Irrevocable trusts for transfer-tax planning, creditor insulation, and dynastic continuity.

Asset Protection Through Structure

For high-net-worth clients, the difference between a good plan and a fragile one often lies in structure. Properly drafted irrevocable trusts, entity layering, and beneficiary spendthrift provisions under EPTL 7-1.5 can help insulate wealth from future creditors and from the claims that can follow professional or business exposure. We design these protections to be implemented well in advance of any claim, because protection built after a problem arises is rarely effective.

The Spousal Right of Election

New York law gives a surviving spouse a right of election under EPTL 5-1.1-A, generally the greater of $50,000 or one-third of the net estate, measured against an augmented estate that reaches certain lifetime transfers. For married high-net-worth clients, this right shapes how we structure trusts and beneficiary designations, and it is a frequent source of conflict when planning ignores it. We account for the elective share from the first draft.

Avoiding Surrogate’s Court Friction

When a New Yorker dies with a will, the will is offered for probate in the Surrogate’s Court of the county of domicile, which for Manhattan residents is New York County. Probate can be public, slow, and contentious where the estate is large. Funded revocable trusts, coordinated beneficiary designations, and clean title work reduce the assets that must pass through that process, preserving privacy and control for the family.

Coordinated, Ongoing Counsel

Wealth changes, families change, and New York law changes. We treat estate planning as an ongoing relationship, reviewing documents after liquidity events, marriages, births, and significant tax developments so the plan continues to reflect your intentions.

This page is general information, not legal advice. New York estate and trust law is detailed and fact-specific. Please consult a licensed New York attorney before acting on anything described here.