Estate Planning in New York: A 2026 Statewide Overview

Estate planning in New York is not one document — it is a coordinated set of legal instruments that work together to protect you while you are living and your family after you are gone. A plan built for a resident of Manhattan should function just as well for a homeowner in Westchester, a business owner on Long Island, a retiree in the Hudson Valley, or a farm family Upstate. New York’s statutes apply statewide, and this overview is written specifically for New York State residents who want to understand how the pieces fit together under current law.

At Morgan Legal Group, attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. and our team build plans around four coordinated pillars. Each addresses a different risk; together they form a complete plan. This page explains each pillar, cites the controlling New York statute, and walks through the 2026 New York estate tax figures that drive much of the planning we do across the state.

The Four Pillars of a New York Estate Plan

A comprehensive New York estate plan combines a will, one or more trusts, a durable power of attorney, and a health care proxy. Leave one out and you leave a gap — for example, a beautifully drafted will does nothing while you are alive and incapacitated, which is exactly when a power of attorney and health care proxy matter most.

Pillar	What it does	Controlling NY law	When it operates
Will	Directs who inherits; names an executor and guardians for minor children	EPTL §3-2.1	After death, through probate
Trust(s)	Avoids probate and/or reduces tax, protects assets, preserves benefits	EPTL Article 7	During life and after death
Durable Power of Attorney	Lets a trusted agent manage your finances if you cannot	GOL §5-1513	During life, especially in incapacity
Health Care Proxy	Lets an agent make medical decisions for you	Public Health Law Art. 29-C	During life, when you cannot decide

Each pillar is explored in depth on its own page — see our Wills and Trusts guides, our Power of Attorney page, and our Health Care Proxy overview — and the sections below show how they connect.

Your Will: The Foundation (EPTL §3-2.1)

The will is where most people begin. Under EPTL §3-2.1, a valid New York will must meet strict execution formalities: the testator must sign at the end of the document, the signing must be witnessed by two attesting witnesses, and the testator must publish the will — that is, declare to the witnesses that the document is their will. These formalities are not technicalities; a will that fails them can be rejected, defeating your intentions entirely.

Your will names an executor to carry out your wishes, directs how your assets pass, and — critically for parents — lets you nominate a guardian for minor children. Without that nomination, a court decides who raises your children.

If you die without a will, you die intestate, and New York’s intestacy rules under EPTL Article 4 decide who inherits. The statute distributes your estate to your closest relatives in a fixed order that may not match your wishes at all — unmarried partners, stepchildren, and chosen charities receive nothing under intestacy. Writing a will is the only way to override that default. Learn more on our Wills page.

Trusts: Avoiding Probate, Cutting Tax, Protecting Assets (EPTL Article 7)

Trusts are the most flexible instruments in the New York toolkit, governed by EPTL Article 7. The right trust depends on your goal:

• Revocable living trust — You keep full control during life and can change it anytime. Its central benefit is avoiding probate: assets titled in the trust pass to your beneficiaries without court administration, privately and often faster. Important caveat: a revocable trust offers no estate-tax savings and no creditor protection, because you still own and control the assets.
• Irrevocable trust — By giving up control, you move assets out of your taxable estate. Irrevocable trusts are the workhorses of estate-tax reduction, asset protection, and Medicaid planning. For Medicaid eligibility, New York applies a five-year look-back, so these trusts must be funded years before care is needed.
• Supplemental (Special) Needs Trust — Authorized under EPTL 7-1.12, an SNT holds assets for a beneficiary with disabilities without disqualifying them from means-tested public benefits such as Medicaid and SSI.

Choosing among these — and coordinating them with your will so nothing falls through the cracks — is where experienced counsel earns its keep. See our Trusts page for detail on each type.

Durable Power of Attorney (GOL §5-1513)

A power of attorney lets you appoint an agent to handle your financial and legal affairs — paying bills, managing accounts, dealing with property — if you become unable to. Under GOL §5-1513, a New York power of attorney is durable by default, meaning it remains effective even after you lose capacity, which is precisely the moment it is needed.

New York overhauled this area with the 2021 statutory short form, which streamlined execution and added protections for the principal. A properly executed durable POA can spare your family the cost, delay, and intrusion of a guardianship proceeding. Our Power of Attorney page explains the form and the gifting and agent-authority options in detail.

Health Care Proxy (Public Health Law Article 29-C)

The financial POA does not cover medical decisions. For those, New York uses a separate document: the health care proxy, governed by Public Health Law Article 29-C. It appoints an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if your doctors determine you cannot make them yourself. Pairing a health care proxy with a financial power of attorney closes the incapacity gap completely — one agent manages your money, another voices your medical wishes. Read more on our Health Care Proxy page.

The New York Estate Tax in 2026

New York imposes its own estate tax — separate from the federal estate tax — and its mechanics make planning essential for higher-net-worth families across the state. The figures below apply to deaths on or after January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.

Key 2026 figures

• Basic exclusion amount: $7,350,000. Estates at or below this figure generally owe no New York estate tax.
• The “cliff” at 105%: $7,717,500. This is the feature that surprises families most.
• Tax rates: progressive, ranging from 3% to 16%.
• No state gift tax: New York has no gift tax — but gifts made within three years of death are added back to the taxable estate.

Why the cliff matters

Most states phase out their exclusion gradually. New York does not. Once an estate exceeds 105% of the exclusion — $7,717,500 in 2026 — the entire exemption disappears, and the estate is taxed from the first dollar, not just the amount over the threshold. The difference between an estate just under and just over the cliff can be a tax bill in the hundreds of thousands of dollars on a relatively small amount of excess value.

This is why irrevocable trusts and lifetime gifting strategies — coordinated carefully, given the three-year add-back rule — are central to planning for estates near the threshold. A full treatment lives on our NY Estate Tax Guide.

2026 New York estate tax	Figure
Basic exclusion amount	$7,350,000
Cliff threshold (105%)	$7,717,500
Tax rate range	3% – 16%
State gift tax	None (3-year add-back applies)

Coordinating the Plan Statewide

The power of a New York estate plan is in coordination, not in any single document. Your will and trusts must agree on how assets are titled and who receives what. Your powers of attorney must name agents who can actually carry out the plan. And for families near the estate-tax cliff, the gifting, trust funding, and beneficiary designations all have to move in concert. Because every pillar is governed by New York statute and applies the same way from New York City to the North Country, a properly built plan travels with you across the state.

Whether you are starting from scratch or updating documents drafted years ago, Russel Morgan, Esq. and the Morgan Legal Group team can help you build a plan that fits New York law and your family. For a deeper, region-by-region walkthrough, see our New York Statewide Guide, and return to this Estate Planning Overview anytime as your starting point.

Ready to begin? Schedule a 30-minute consultation with Russel Morgan, Esq.

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents make up a complete New York estate plan?

A complete plan combines four coordinated documents: a will (EPTL §3-2.1), one or more trusts (EPTL Article 7), a durable power of attorney (GOL §5-1513), and a health care proxy (Public Health Law Article 29-C). The will governs what happens after death, while the POA and health care proxy protect you during life if you become incapacitated.

What happens if I die without a will in New York?

You die intestate, and EPTL Article 4 determines who inherits according to a fixed statutory order of relatives. Unmarried partners, stepchildren, friends, and charities receive nothing under intestacy. A valid will is the only way to control who inherits and to name guardians for your minor children.

Does a revocable living trust save New York estate tax?

No. A revocable living trust is excellent for avoiding probate and keeping your affairs private, but because you retain full control, the assets remain part of your taxable estate — it provides no estate-tax savings. For tax reduction and asset protection you generally need an irrevocable trust under EPTL Article 7.

What is the New York estate tax “cliff” in 2026?

For 2026 the basic exclusion is $7,350,000. If your estate exceeds 105% of that amount — $7,717,500 — you lose the entire exemption and the estate is taxed from the first dollar, at progressive rates of 3% to 16%. Estates near this threshold often use trusts and lifetime gifting to stay below the cliff.

Can I give away assets to reduce my New York estate tax?

New York has no gift tax, so lifetime gifting can reduce a taxable estate. However, any gifts made within three years of death are added back to the taxable estate, so timing matters. Coordinating gifts with irrevocable trusts is best done with counsel — see our NY Estate Tax Guide.