Best Lawyers in New York, United States for Trusts and Estates

Practice Area Overview

What is Trusts and Estate Law?

Trust and estate law, also known as estate planning law, refers to the area of law that governs the management and distribution of a person's assets after they pass away or can no longer manage it under their own volition. It involves the creation of legal instruments such as trusts, wills, powers of attorney and other estate planning documents, which are designed to protect and distribute a person's assets according to their wishes.

Trust and estate law also covers issues related to inheritance, taxes, probate and the administration of trusts and estates. It is a complex area of law that requires specialized knowledge and experience to ensure that a person's assets are properly managed and distributed in accordance with their wishes.

How Can a Trusts and Estates Attorney Help?

Trusts and estates law in New York can help in several ways, including:

  1. Estate Planning: A New York estate lawyer, and their law firm, can assist in creating an estate plan that will ensure assets are distributed according to the wishes of the deceased after their death. This may involve drafting a will, creating a trust or establishing other legal instruments that will provide for the distribution of these assets.
  2. Asset Protection: The best trust and estate lawyers in New York can help protect a person’s assets from creditors, lawsuits and other potential threats. They can help create trusts, limited liability companies (LLCs) and other legal entities that will protect assets and shield them from potential claims.
  3. Probate Administration: For executors of an estate, a trust and estate counsel can assist in the probate process. Probate is the legal process through which a deceased person's estate is administered and distributed to beneficiaries or heirs and having a probate lawyer to help with the probate estate concerns can be essential. They can help navigate the legal requirements, file necessary paperwork and ensure that the estate is properly administered.
  4. Estate Litigation: If there is a dispute involving an estate or trust, a trust and estate lawyer can represent a litigant in court. An estate planning lawyer in NY can help resolve issues related to will contests, trust disputes and other legal matters related to the administration of an estate.
  5. Tax Planning: A trust and estate lawyer in NYC can assist in creating a tax-efficient estate plan that minimizes the amount of taxes that will be owed by your estate. They can help navigate complex tax laws and regulations and develop strategies to minimize estate taxes and other tax liabilities.

Overall, a trust and estate lawyer in NY can provide clients with valuable legal advice and guidance to ensure that their assets are protected and distributed according to their wishes.

What are the Trusts and Estates Practices Focal Points?

Wealth Planning

When attorneys begin the planning process, they consider a client’s objectives, family relationships, charitable inclinations and the relationship of federal and state estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax laws to these objectives.

Attorneys then work with the client and, in some cases, with other advisers to design the appropriate plan to meet your goals and objectives, prepare the necessary documents to carry out the desired plan and assist with the implementation of your plan. In connection with family wealth planning, attorneys plan and draft trust agreements and wills, create various business entities and carry out business reorganizations.

Estate Administration

Trust and estate attorneys also handle the administration of estates. Attorneys confer with members of a decedent’s family on the various issues, including:

  • Assistance to the executor with the preparation of the required probate documents and assist in valuation of estate assets
  • Making insurance claims
  • Preparation of final income tax returns and the estate’s income and federal and state estate tax returns
  • Monitoring of the investment of the estate’s assets
  • Arranging for the distribution of the estate’s net assets
  • Throughout the administration of an estate, consideration is given to income tax savings through the timing of distributions and the timing and claiming of appropriate deductions.

Trust Administration

In the trust administration area, attorneys advise and consult with corporate and individual trustees concerning the discharge of the trust’s terms and consult with beneficiaries concerning trust administration matters including the preparation of trust accounts.

Trust and Estate attorneys also assist clients in all phases of probate and trust litigation. This may involve construing or reforming the terms of a will or trust, prosecuting or defending a will contest action or surcharge actions against trustees.

What is a Trusts and Estates attorney's goal for its clients?

The goal of a trust and estate attorney is to assist clients to achieve their personal goals while obtaining the significant tax savings which may be available to them through proper planning. Attorneys in the practice spend a significant amount of time dealing with the federal estate, gift and generation skipping tax issues involved in transfer planning.

Family Law Legal Guide 2025

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Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

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Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.