A trustee is the person or institution legally responsible for managing the assets held in a trust and distributing them according to the trust’s terms, all for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiaries. In New York, a trustee is a fiduciary — meaning the law holds them to the highest standard of honesty and care. Under the New York Estates,
The single biggest difference between a trust and a will in New York is what happens after you die: a properly funded trust lets your assets pass to your loved ones privately and without probate, while a will must be filed and proven in the Surrogate’s Court through a public court proceeding. Both documents direct who receives your property, but
When the person who created a trust dies in New York, trust administration is the private, court-free process by which the successor trustee gathers the trust assets, pays the decedent’s final debts and taxes, and distributes what remains to the beneficiaries according to the trust’s written terms. Unlike a will — which must be filed and probated in the Surrogate’s
Can an irrevocable trust protect your home and savings from nursing-home costs in New York? Yes — but only if you fund it early, because every transfer into an irrevocable trust is subject to Medicaid’s 5-year look-back period. When you apply for institutional (nursing-home) Medicaid in New York, the program reviews the prior 60 months of your finances. Assets moved
To choose a trustee for your New York trust, select a person or institution who is trustworthy, organized, impartial, financially capable, and willing to serve under New York’s demanding fiduciary standards. The right choice depends on the type of trust, the size and complexity of the assets, family dynamics, and whether your beneficiaries have special circumstances. Below, we answer the
Yes — a properly drafted and properly funded irrevocable trust can reduce or even eliminate New York estate tax, because assets you transfer into it are generally removed from your taxable estate. That is the short answer New Yorkers are looking for. The longer answer involves how the trust is structured, the difference between an irrevocable trust and a revocable
A practical New York checklist on the QDOT trust for non-citizen spouses: why the marital deduction fails, how to fix it, and when to call immigration counsel.