A special needs trust — also called a supplemental needs trust (SNT) — is a New York trust authorized under EPTL 7-1.12 that holds money or property for the benefit of a person with a disability without disqualifying that person from means-tested government benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In plain terms: it lets a family set
The short answer most New Yorkers are looking for: choose a revocable living trust if your main goals are avoiding probate, keeping your affairs private, and planning for possible incapacity while keeping full control of your assets — and choose an irrevocable trust if your goals are reducing estate tax, protecting assets from creditors, or qualifying for Medicaid to pay
You protect your assets with a trust in New York by transferring ownership of selected property into a legally created trust, governed by the New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Article 7, so that those assets are managed by a trustee under clear rules instead of passing through the public Surrogate’s Court process. Depending on which type of
To fund a trust in New York, you must legally transfer ownership of your assets out of your individual name and into the name of the trust — by retitling real estate deeds, bank and brokerage accounts, and updating beneficiary designations so they coordinate with the trust. This single step matters more than almost any other in your estate plan,
Yes. A properly created and fully funded revocable living trust avoids probate in New York. When you transfer assets into a living trust during your lifetime, those assets are owned by the trust rather than by you personally. Because the trust does not “die” when you do, there is nothing for the Surrogate’s Court to administer — your successor trustee
Yes — despite the name, an irrevocable trust in New York is not always permanently locked. While these trusts are designed to be difficult to alter (that rigidity is exactly what produces their estate-tax, asset-protection, and Medicaid benefits), New York’s Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Article 7 provides two real pathways to change one: full consent of the grantor
A New York Q&A on trusts for immigrant and mixed-status families: QDOTs for non-citizen spouses, probate, inheritance, and when to call an immigration attorney.