Wills and Trusts Attorney
A wills and trusts attorney puts your wishes in writing so New York law has to honor them. For twenty years, Long Island families have used this office to name their guardians, protect their assets, and spare their loved ones the mess.
The Two Documents Every Plan Is Built On
A will and a trust do different jobs, and most people are never told which job they actually need done. The will is where you name beneficiaries, appoint guardians for minor children, and say who gets what. The trust is how you avoid the probate process, manage assets during your lifetime, and control when and how your beneficiaries inherit. These are the foundation of every estate plan we build.
New York is strict about validity: a will must be signed and witnessed exactly the way the statute requires, or Surrogate's Court can refuse it. That is the gap between a template and an attorney, and it is the gap that turns into litigation after you are gone.
Nobody comes in excited to do this. They come in because something moved: a house closed, a baby arrived, a parent got sick, a kid turned eighteen. Whatever brought you here, the conversation is the same one we have had with Long Island families since 2006, in plain language, with no judgment about how long you put it off.
And when the documents are signed, they do not go in a shoebox. We securely store original wills for clients, so the one document your family needs most is never the one nobody can find.
Shari's Full Hour on Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning
Before you sit down with any attorney, hear this one explain it all first. Shari Lee Sugarman walks through wills, trusts, and what happens without them, the same plain-language explanation clients get in the office, free, for a full hour.
If it answers half your questions, the free consultation answers the rest.
One hour with Shari Lee Sugarman, Esq. on the documents this page is about.
Which Document Does Which Job?
Tap any job to see how it works. Most Long Island families end up needing both, but for different reasons.
Revocable or Irrevocable: The Choice That Shapes Everything
Revocable Living Trust
You keep full control: amend it, move assets in and out, or dissolve it entirely while you are alive. It avoids probate and handles incapacity, but because you still control the assets, it does not shield them from creditors or count them out of your estate.
Irrevocable Trust
You give up control in exchange for protection. Assets moved into an irrevocable trust can be shielded for Medicaid and long-term care planning and removed from your taxable estate, which is why it sits at the center of elder law strategy.
Which one fits depends on your assets, your family, and your goals, and the wrong choice is expensive to unwind. Our breakdown of revocable vs. irrevocable trusts in New York goes deeper, and the consultation settles it for your situation specifically.
The Documents That Complete the Plan
Power of Attorney
Someone you trust, authorized to handle finances and decisions if you cannot. The document families wish existed the day they need it.
Estate Administration
When you are the one settling an estate: assets collected, debts paid, property distributed, done correctly under New York law.
Ethical Wills
The document that passes on what money cannot: your values, your lessons, and your story, preserved for the people you love.
Wills and Trusts FAQ
Do I need both a will and a trust?
Often, yes, because they cover different ground. The trust holds the assets you fund into it and keeps them out of probate; the will names guardians and catches anything the trust does not hold. A plan with only one usually leaves a gap the other was built to close.
Do I need a lawyer to create a will in New York?
New York's requirements for a valid will are exact: how it is signed, how it is witnessed, and in what sequence. A will that misses a formality can be rejected by Surrogate's Court, which puts your estate into the default rules you wrote the will to avoid. An attorney's job is making sure that never happens.
How often should I update my will?
Review it every few years, and immediately after major life changes: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a home purchase, or a significant change in assets. A will that no longer matches your life can cause as much conflict as no will at all.
Can I change my trust after it is created?
A revocable trust, yes, at any time while you have capacity. An irrevocable trust is designed not to change, which is exactly what gives it its protective power, though limited modifications are sometimes possible. We walk through the tradeoff before you sign anything.
Can you store my will for me?
Yes. We securely store clients' original documents, so the signed will your family needs is in a known place, intact, when the time comes. An original that cannot be located is treated by New York courts as if it was revoked, and that is a fight no family should have.
You Have Been Meaning to Do This. Today Counts.
One free consultation, in plain language, and the weight of not having a plan is gone.
Start Your Will or Trust
Fill out the form and we will reach out to schedule your free consultation, or call 631-964-4418.