Free New York forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
New York requires 2NY PHL § 2981(5)(d)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredNY PHL § 2981(5)(d)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
New York treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultNY GOL §§ 5-1501, 5-1501A, 5-1501B, 5-1502A through 5-1502N, 5-1504, 5-1512, 5-1513Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before 2NY GOL §§ 5-1501, 5-1501A, 5-1501B, 5-1502A through 5-1502N, 5-1504, 5-1512, 5-1513Verified Sep 18, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.
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 calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in New York: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
An attorney-prepared revocable 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 and a simple will $1,344Estimate: 3 hours at $448, Clio's New York Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,688Estimate: 6 hours at $448, Clio's New York Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
In New York, four years at a public university cost about $101,592NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 8% above the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; the state levies an estate taxN.Y. Tax Law §§ 951–971Verified Sep 15, 2026View source above $7,350,000N.Y. Tax Law §§ 951–971Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Probate on a $500,000 estate in New York costs an estimated $35,992SCPA § 2110 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 7 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with 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. Estates under $50,000SCPA § 1301Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
Probate in New York takes 7 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges 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; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
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.
126 elder law 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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126 firms
FirmBath, NY
Bath (Steuben County) firm serving the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier for over 100 years. Its wills, trusts and estates practice is planning-side — wills and trusts, health care proxies, living wills, powers of attorney, Medicaid planning and guardianships — alongside real estate and civil litigation.
PracticesEstate PlanningElder LawGuardianshipMedicaid Planning
FirmKingston, NY
Kingston firm a block from the Ulster County Courthouse, established in 1905 and the second oldest law firm in Ulster County. Acts as counsel to executors through probate and estate administration, and serves as executor or estate administrator itself when the named person is unable to serve or the heirs cannot agree. Handles the work of settling an estate — appraising assets, settling creditor claims, locating beneficiaries, paying estate taxes and executing deed transfers — alongside wills, trusts, special-needs trusts and Medicaid planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawSpecial Needs PlanningMedicaid Planning
FirmUtica, NY
Utica (Oneida County) firm handling probates and trust administration — proving the will and distributing property and assets under the will through a court-supervised process it puts at seven months to several years, and following a trust's instructions after the grantor's death without court oversight. Also covers wills and trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies, Medicaid and long-term-care planning, and special-needs planning and guardianships for adults with a disability.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 3 more
FirmBrooklyn, NY
Bay Ridge (Brooklyn) estate and elder law firm with four further offices in Manhattan, Bayside, Middle Village and Staten Island. For executors it files the original will, contacts next of kin, collects assets and prepares income and estate tax returns, and it litigates will contests, contested accountings and contested deed transfers in Surrogate's Court. Also handles wills and trusts, special needs trusts, estate tax and capital-gains planning, and Medicaid and long-term-care planning; the initial consultation is complimentary.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 4 more
FirmBinghamton, NY
Binghamton (Broome County) firm tracing its lineage to 1898, with seven New York offices from Ithaca to Walton. Its trusts, estates and elder law group counsels executors, administrators and trustees through estate and trust administration, obtains Letters Testamentary and Letters of Administration, and litigates disputed executor appointments in Surrogate's Court.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 7 more
Solo PracticeNew City, NY
New City firm handling Rockland County probate and administration proceedings in the Surrogate's Court, where an executor is appointed under a will or an administrator when someone dies intestate. Also carries trust planning and administration, guardianship petitions for incapacitated adults, and Medicaid asset-protection trusts. Charles G. Davis is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more
FirmSyracuse, NY
Syracuse firm founded in 1993 to focus exclusively on estate and long-term planning, serving Onondaga, Madison, Oneida, Cortland, Oswego and Cayuga counties. Walks executors and administrators through Onondaga County Surrogate's Court — petitioning for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, requesting Preliminary Letters for urgent tasks, small-estate voluntary administration under $50,000, and marshaling assets into an estate account. Also handles living trust administration and funding, irrevocable trusts, and Medicaid and elder-law planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
Solo PracticeOneida, NY
Solo practitioner in Oneida (Madison County) serving Central New York — Oneida, Rome, Utica, Syracuse, Chittenango, New Hartford, Whitesboro and Lowville. Takes wills through Surrogate's Court probate and handles administration where there is no will, gathering assets, paying outstanding bills and final and administrative expenses, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries or statutory distributees. Also handles wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies and HIPAA authorizations, and Medicaid applications, fair hearings and crisis planning, alongside a general civil practice.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawMedicaid Planning
Solo PracticeSyracuse, NY
Syracuse (Onondaga County) practice founded in 2003, with a second office in Baldwinsville. Handles probate and post-death administration for families settling a relative's affairs, alongside wills and trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies, and Medicaid asset protection planning such as placing the family home into a protection trust. Also does business succession and real estate work — contract review, title searches and closings. Consultations are free.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax Planningand 4 more
FirmNew Windsor, NY
New Windsor (Orange County) firm whose estate group handles the probate and administration of a loved one's estate, simple or complex, including the tasks that come with it such as selling estate real property and filing any estate tax returns. Also advises on wills, trusts, health care proxies and powers of attorney, elder law and Medicaid and nursing-home planning, guardianship proceedings and special needs trusts. The group includes members of the Hudson Valley Estate Planning Council.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianshipand 2 more
FirmRochester, NY
Rochester firm whose trust and estate probate and administration group handles Surrogate's Court proceedings for Monroe County families. For an executor the work runs to setting a timeline, identifying the interested parties, ranking creditor priority, accounting to beneficiaries, and filing fiduciary and estate tax returns. Its litigation group takes on will objections and accounting disputes when a proceeding turns contested.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 8 more
FirmWhite Plains, NY
White Plains elder law and estate firm with a second office in Somers, serving the greater Westchester County area through the Surrogate's Court. Files the will and petitions for letters testamentary, values estate assets, notifies beneficiaries, works with the family accountant on estate tax returns and distributes the estate; where there is no will, petitions for letters of administration instead. Nine attorneys, and its guardianship practice covers Article 81 guardianship of an incapacitated adult as well as 17-A special needs guardianships.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax Planningand 3 more
FirmCairo, NY
Cairo (Greene County) two-lawyer practice serving the Catskills — Coxsackie, Catskill, Windham, Hudson, Ravena and Kingston. Guides estate administrators and executors through probate, and drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies alongside Medicaid asset protection. Michael Esslie and Denise Frenia Esslie, a husband-and-wife team each with more than 16 years in practice, handle matters personally and offer free consultations, home visits and after-hours appointments.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawMedicaid Planning
FirmAlbany, NY
New York elder law and estate planning firm working from twelve offices — Albany, five on Long Island, three in the Mid-Hudson Valley, New City and White Plains, and Staten Island. Guides executors and families through probate and estate administration, and handles trusts built to keep an estate out of Surrogate's Court, Medicaid asset protection, Medicaid applications and estate tax savings. Nine lawyers and seventeen paralegals and support staff, practicing since 1991; consultations are no-cost, virtual or in person, and the firm takes uncontested probate only.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
Solo PracticeAstoria, NY
Astoria solo practice on Broadway handling Queens County estates through the Queens County Surrogate's Court. Furey gets executors and administrators appointed as fiduciary — filing the Surrogate's Court papers whether or not there was a will — then works the collection of assets, payment of bills and distribution to beneficiaries, and petitions the court for a guardian when an elderly or disabled relative needs one.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianshipand 2 more
Solo PracticeBrooklyn, NY
Sunset Park firm handling Kings County probate and administration from a single Brooklyn office. It petitions the Surrogate's Court to get an executor or administrator appointed, works through intestate distribution under EPTL 4-1.1, and takes on will contests where a beneficiary objects to the appointment or to the document itself. Also brings Article 81 guardianship proceedings for incapacitated adults.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 5 more
FirmSmithtown, NY
Smithtown firm filing for Suffolk County families in the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court at Riverhead, with a second office covering Nassau's court in Mineola. Gets executors their letters testamentary so banks will release funds and real property can be sold, and handles administrations where there is no will as well as small estates.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax Planningand 5 more
Solo PracticeBrooklyn, NY
Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn / Kings County) practice running since 1998, representing families and executors in the Brooklyn Surrogate's Court and across the five boroughs, with additional offices in Manhattan and East Quogue. Handles probate and estate administration, drafts wills and revocable and irrevocable trusts, and concentrates in Medicaid asset protection, Article 81 guardianship, and elder law. Inna Fershteyn is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax Planningand 4 more
Solo PracticeCanandaigua, NY
Canandaigua (Ontario County) solo practice working out of a former Town of Hopewell schoolhouse on Route 5 and 20. Guides Finger Lakes families through estate administration and probate start to finish, and handles wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, irrevocable asset protection trusts and Medicaid applications. Free consultations in person, by phone or over Zoom.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawAsset ProtectionMedicaid Planning
Solo PracticeElizabethtown, NY
Elizabethtown (Essex County) general civil practice serving the Adirondacks for more than 30 years. Handles probate and estate administration for trustees and personal representatives — record keeping, filing all necessary tax returns and reports, and filing judicial accountings for trusts and estates — and represents clients in disputes that arise during estate administration, alongside wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and elder law.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationElder Law