Estate Planning

Protect What Matters Most With Tailored Estate Planning

Your family. Your legacy. Your wishes. We create comprehensive estate plans that make sure everything you've built goes exactly where you intend, with zero ambiguity and total peace of mind.

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Estate attorney meeting with two clients in an office

What Is Estate Planning?

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the process of planning for life's two biggest unknowns: death and cognitive decline. It answers the questions your family shouldn't have to guess at: who will be in charge, who inherits what, and how your wishes will be carried out when you're no longer able to direct them yourself.

At Heirloom Trust, we call this The Foundation: the plan for when you're no longer here. Who gets what, who's in charge, and how things get divided when you're no longer here. It typically includes your revocable living trust, pour-over will, financial power of attorney, healthcare proxy, and halachic compliance documents. From that starting point, we see what further layers of protection need to be built atop The Foundation.

We take an Inherently Personal™ approach. That means we start by listening (to your concerns, your family dynamics, your financial picture, and your goals) before we ever draft a single document. Because the right plan doesn't just look good on paper. It's the one that reflects your life.

The Foundation

What does a Foundational Estate Plan Include?

Every family's plan is unique, but a comprehensive estate plan typically addresses several critical areas. We'll work together to determine exactly which documents and strategies are right for your situation.

Revocable Living Trust

Avoid probate, maintain privacy, and keep control of your assets during your lifetime. You serve as your own trustee and name a successor to step seamlessly when needed, eliminating the need for court involvement.

Last Will & Testament

Direct how your assets are distributed and name guardians for minor children. Even when you have a trust instead of a will, a “pour-over” will catches anything that wasn't transferred to the trust—so you get to decide where it goes, not the court.

Financial Power of Attorney

Designate someone you trust to manage your finances if you become incapacitated without the expense and delay of court-appointed guardianship. This person will pay your bills, manage your investments, handle your real estate, etc.

Healthcare Proxy

Place your medical wishes in the hands of the person you trust most. This covers everything from choosing a surgeon to end-of-life decisions.

Halachic Documents

For observant families, we address the unique intersection of Jewish inheritance law and the secular legal system, ensuring your plan honors both halacha and secular law.

Added Protection

What We Build on Top of The Foundation

The foundational estate plan handles what happens when you're no longer here. But a complete plan often needs more. The question is how to make sure your assets don't take a haircut along the way: to creditors, to long-term care costs, or to estate taxes. That's where the next three layers come in.

Estate Tax Planning

For families with significant assets, federal and New York state estate taxes can take a major bite out of your legacy. In New York, you can't combine unused exemptions between spouses—so when the first spouse passes, whatever exemption they didn't use is simply gone. Then there's the cliff: New York gives you the narrow 5% cushion above the exemption threshold where only the excess is taxed. But once you go past that? The exemption disappears entirely, and the entire estate is taxed from the first dollar—not just the overage. Combined federal and state rates can exceed 50%. This is why early planning is critical.

Not every family needs all three layers, but understanding what's available (and when each one makes sense) is part of our conversation from day one.

Who Needs a Plan?

Who Needs an Estate Plan?

If you have a family, assets, or wishes about your future care, you need an estate plan. This isn't just for the wealthy or the elderly. Life is unpredictable, and having a plan gives your family clarity and protection at the moments that matter most.

You should especially consider estate planning if you:

Are a parent with minor children: who would raise them? Who manages their money?
Own a home, business, or investment accounts
Are concerned about long-term care costs and Medicaid Planning
Want to protect a surviving spouse from financial vulnerability or from remarriage risk
Have children receiving government programs who could lose benefits from an inheritance
Have a child with special needs requiring dedicated planning
Lend money to children (documented or not) and want clarity on what's owed
Simply want to make sure your kids don't fight over what you leave behind

They Say

As one client put it: “I did my trust five years ago. Now I know that even if I need the nursing home, my stuff is protected.” That's peace of mind, and it doesn't happen by accident.

Attorney reviewing and signing planning documents with clients

Equalizing Between Children Is Rarely Simple

Here's something that comes up with almost every family we work with: equal isn't always fair. Say you have ten kids. You've already paid for three weddings. You gave two of them a significant down payment on a house. One of them lives rent-free in a house you bought and still own. If you just divide everything in ten when you pass away, that might not really be equal, because some children already received hundreds of thousands of dollars you never accounted for. If one child is involved in the family business but the others aren't, finding a fair way to split the assets demands sensitivity and foresight.

These are the conversations we have. Did you lend that money, or was it a gift? Do you intend the house to belong to the child who lives in it, or should she buy the other siblings out at fair value? How do you account for lifetime gifts? Nothing here works like a pizza pie you cut into equal slices. It takes somebody asking the right questions to help parents think through what fair actually looks like for their family.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

What Happens Without an Estate Plan?

Without a plan, the consequences can be devastating: both financially and emotionally.

Under New York law, if you pass away without a will or trust, 50% of your non-jointly-owned assets go to your spouse and 50% go to your children. That might seem reasonable until you realize what it means in practice: a young widow with toddlers could have 50% of her husband's business legally belonging to children who are three and five years old. The court appoints a guardian to oversee the children's share. The mother has to apply to the court, file annual reports, and account for every dollar, all while grieving.

For families in the orthodox community, there's an additional challenge. Halachic inheritance law works differently from secular law: under halacha, assets generally pass to sons with an obligation to support the surviving spouse. Without proper planning, you end up living within a halachic system but stuck in a legal system that does things differently, creating conflict and confusion at the worst possible time.

Beyond the immediate chaos, not having a plan means missed opportunities: tax savings that weren't captured, assets that weren't protected, and decisions made by a court that doesn't know your family or your values.

Questions, Answered

FAQs

How much does estate planning cost?

It's an important question, and it deserves a clear answer. Our fees are flat, not hourly. You'll know the full cost upfront. No ticking clock, no surprises. We'll provide a clear estimate during your initial consultation. The right planning can save your family hundreds of thousands in long-term care costs, protect millions in assets, and prevent years of conflict and stress.

How long does the process take?

Every family's circumstances are different. The timeline depends on the complexity of your plan and the information needed to prepare your documents. We'll discuss the next steps during your consultation.

Do I need to update my estate plan after major life events?

It's a good idea to review your plan after significant changes such as a marriage, birth, death, move, or major change in assets to make sure it still reflects your wishes.

What should I bring to my first meeting?

It can help to bring a summary of your family, assets, existing estate-planning documents, and the questions you'd like to discuss. Contact our team if you'd like guidance before your visit.

Can you help if I already have documents from another attorney?

Existing documents can be a useful starting point for a conversation about your current wishes and circumstances. Contact our team to discuss a review of your plan.

What if I'm too simple for estate planning?

An estate plan isn't only about the size of your assets. It can also help you decide who makes important decisions, protect your family, and clearly record your wishes.