Free forms for planning your estate in New York: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
In New York, a pour-over will is signed before 2EPTL § 3-2.1Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
In New York, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryN.Y. Real Prop. Law 424Verified Oct 19, 2026View source and 2N.Y. Real Prop. Law 424Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathN.Y. Real Prop. Law 424Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
In New York, a will is signed before 2EPTL § 3-2.1Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyEPTL § 3-2.1Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Free tools for planning your estate in New York: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
In New York, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 2.5%SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 4%SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in New York runs $4,250Estimate: 10 hours at $425, Clio's New York Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,375Estimate: 15 hours at $425, Clio's New York Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
New York authorizes transfer on death deedsN.Y. Real Prop. Law 424Verified Oct 17, 2026View source: a recorded, revocable deed that passes real property at death outside probate.
New York automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceNY EPTL § 5-1.4Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
75 asset protection firms in New York, by county and firm type.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
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75 firms
FirmRome, NY
Elder law and estate planning firm with offices in Rome (Oneida County) and Ilion (Herkimer County). Its three attorneys, led by a Certified Elder Law Attorney with over 25 years in practice, handle probate and estate administration, guardianships, estate litigation, and crisis Medicaid and long-term care planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
FirmCorning, NY
Corning firm (Steuben County) serving the Southern Tier since 1979, with seven attorneys. Its trusts and estates practice covers estates, probate and administration, guardianship proceedings, wills, special needs trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies, plus Medicaid planning and applications.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
FirmRochester, NY
Rochester elder-law and estate practice (formerly Dutcher & Zatkowsky) working out of The Design Center Building on Winton Place in Monroe County. Guides executors, trustees and other fiduciaries through the Surrogate's Court process — filing the will and required paperwork, managing estate assets and debts, handling disputes or challenges to the will, and distributing to beneficiaries after the seven months the court requires an estate to stay open for creditor claims. The firm states that no attorney in Monroe County has brought more Article 81 guardianships.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more
FirmPainted Post, NY
Two-attorney firm at 109 W. Water Street in Painted Post, Steuben County. Works for the named executor or trustee: protecting assets for beneficiaries, collecting outstanding assets and income, paying valid bills, dividing personal property, filing the required federal and state returns, calculating tax basis for the beneficiaries and filing court reports. Also handles estate planning, elder law with Medicaid applications, and business formations.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
FirmOrchard Park, NY
Orchard Park firm serving Erie County families in Surrogate's Court, whether a loved one left a will or died without one. The practice covers getting the executor or administrator appointed, identifying and collecting the decedent's assets, and distributing to beneficiaries. Planning work runs to Medicaid asset protection trusts and supplemental needs trusts for a beneficiary on public benefits.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawSpecial Needs Planningand 2 more
FirmSyracuse, NY
Syracuse firm working with Onondaga County executors from the petition to probate a will through to final settlement in Surrogate's Court. The group marshals and disposes of estate assets, prepares estate, inheritance and fiduciary income tax returns, and represents executors and trustees before the IRS and the U.S. Tax Court. It also administers life insurance, charitable and testamentary trusts, including accountings and communications with beneficiaries.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 7 more
FirmRiverhead, NY
Riverhead firm filing for Suffolk County families in the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court, with a second office in Melville. Takes administrators from inventorying assets through paying debts to final distribution, guides trustees who have just inherited the job through managing and distributing trust property, and represents both sides in contested accountings and will contests.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 6 more
FirmLockport, NY
Lockport firm covering Niagara County — North Tonawanda, Lockport and Niagara Falls — with three partners. For an estate it handles the probate proceeding, in which a surrogate's court validates the will and oversees distribution, and sees that the assets named in it, from personal property to retirement plans and bank accounts, reach the descendants or surviving spouse. Its elder-law side covers Medicaid eligibility and guardianship for seniors.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianshipand 2 more
Solo PracticeOlean, NY
Olean (Cattaraugus County) firm open since 2018, with one attorney and three paralegals working estate matters. Handles probate and estate administration, trust administration and trust funding, and estate litigation, alongside wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and proactive and crisis Medicaid planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 3 more
FirmSchenectady, NY
Schenectady elder law and estate planning practice led by Kathleen M. Toombs, self-employed since 2007. Handles probate management, trust administration, and the transfer of estate assets, plus Medicaid home-care and nursing-home planning, guardianships, health care proxies, and powers of attorney. Free initial consultation for estate planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
FirmMelville, NY
Melville (Suffolk County) elder law and estate planning firm with further offices in Northport and Riverhead, guiding Long Island families through Surrogate's Court. Handles probate and estate and trust administration, including informal and judicial accountings and heirship issues, plus wills and trusts and Medicaid and asset-protection planning. Its founding attorney is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation; consultations are free.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawAsset Protection
FirmPoughkeepsie, NY
Poughkeepsie firm at 85 Civic Center Plaza representing executors and administrators in the Dutchess County Surrogate's Court. Handles the collection and marshalling of estate assets, appraisal of real and personal property, payment of debts, expenses and taxes, and final distribution to beneficiaries, plus estate accounting and will-contest proceedings when a family disputes the estate.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTax Planningand 4 more
Solo PracticeSchenectady, NY
Schenectady solo practice serving families through the Schenectady County Surrogate's Court and four neighbouring counties. The office locates and values estate property, collects investment income, determines payment of claims, debts and taxes, prepares estate tax returns and distributes property to beneficiaries. Will challenges based on capacity, execution, undue influence or duress are handled in-house.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 4 more
Solo PracticeBrooklyn, NY
Brooklyn practice on Columbia Street representing executors and administrators in the Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond and Bronx Surrogate's Courts. It collects waivers and consents from distributees, gets a citation issued when an heir will not sign, opens the estate account and EIN, reviews creditor claims and files the final accounting. The first one-hour consultation is free, online or in person.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax Planningand 5 more
FirmRego Park, NY
Rego Park firm guiding Queens executors through probate, with a second office downtown at 225 Broadway. Takes newly appointed executors from filing through distribution, handles intestate administration where survivors must be identified as heirs under state law, and advises trustees already named under an existing trust. The firm declines work outside wills, trusts, estates, probate and elder law and refers it out; Russian is spoken.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 6 more