Estate Planning Lawyers Helping Families in New York Prepare for the Future

Thinking about the reality of your death may not seem like a pleasant prospect, but the truth is that people of all ages pass away. For some families, death comes unexpectedly due to an accident or illness, leaving a young family bereft. We cannot know when it will be our time, but it is essential to take steps today to prepare your family for your death, especially young families with dependents such as a spouse and minor children.

Protecting Your Assets With Personalized Estate Planning

One of the best things you can do for your loved ones is to speak with an experienced estate planning attorney about how to protect your assets using estate planning tools. These could include a will, trust, health care proxy, power of attorney, or other asset protection tools. How you hold your assets is extremely important for the future of your beneficiaries, as it can make a huge difference in the taxes they pay from their inheritance.

For help deciding on the best estate plan for your situation, please reach out to our law firm right away. We can help you determine the right course of action and will craft the perfect estate plan for your needs. Call us at (516) 253-1366 for free case consultation.

Why Choose Davidov Law Group for Your Estate Plan?

Flat-Fee Pricing & Pay-Later Options

We offer transparent, fixed-fee pricing for all services—so you know the costs upfront. For probate and estate administration, you don’t pay until funds are available from the estate, easing the financial burden during a difficult time.

Legal and Financial Expertise Under One Roof

Our award-winning attorneys and certified financial planners work together to address your legal and financial needs, all in one place. From estate planning to advanced wealth management, we offer the full scope of support.

Guaranteed Medicaid Qualification

We can help your loved one qualify for care while protecting your family’s assets. Without proper planning, long-term care can cost up to $15,000 every month and can quickly consume your loved one’s assets. Our proven strategies can help save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Peace of Mind for You and Your Family

Whether you’re planning for the future or dealing with estate matters after losing a loved one, we provide compassionate legal counsel and work to simplify the process so you can move forward with confidence.

Our Services

We are ready with the legal and financial acumen to help you protect your assets and your legacy. Here are our areas of expertise to protect your estate and loved ones.

Charitable Trusts

We create charitable trusts for those who want to leave behind a legacy of giving as they donate part of their estate to their preferred charity.

Trusts

We analyze clients’ financial and family situations to determine the best trust, including revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, charitable trusts, and more.

Living Trusts

We help individuals avoid probate and the need for a guardian with a living trust. Your affairs can be kept private and not a matter for the probate court.

Special Needs Trusts

Our law firm helps families with special needs beneficiaries create special needs trusts to preserve beneficiaries’ benefits, including Medicaid and SSI.

Health Care Proxy

Our healthcare proxy attorneys craft the necessary documents for those who want to designate a trusted friend or relative to make medical decisions on their behalf if they become unable to make medical decisions on their own.

Trust Administration

Our lawyers help trustees and family members ensure the decedent’s wishes are fulfilled, and the estate is protected throughout the trust administration process.

Probate

We guide families through the complicated probate process, ensuring all creditors and taxes are paid and that heirs receive their full share of the decedent’s estate.

Asset Protection

We know the various methods of holding assets, such as LLCs, limited partnerships, and trusts, and can offer excellent counsel on protecting your assets from creditors, predators, and taxes.

Wills

Our wills and trusts attorneys can help you create a sound Last Will and Testament that designates beneficiaries, a guardian for minor children, and an estate executor.

Estate Administration

We help executors, estate administrators, and beneficiaries through the administration process, including marshaling assets, paying off debts, distributing the inheritance to beneficiaries, filing taxes, and more.

Medicaid Planning

Our experienced elder law attorneys help individuals structure their holdings to qualify for the maximum Medicaid benefits possible and will help with the Medicaid application process when the time comes.

Estate Planning

We can help you care for your loved ones by building a plan to protect your estates. Get the assistance you need by working with an estate planning attorney.

Financial Planning

Our firm has an in-house Certified Financial Planner who can help coordinate your estate plan with a sound financial strategy.

Why Do I Need an Estate Plan?

Estate planning is critical for anyone who has a family or a reasonable amount of assets. Contrary to popular opinion, estate planning is for more than for the ultra-wealthy! Many of our clients are surprised to learn how much they are worth when they sit down and inventory their possessions and accounts. When you have a proper estate plan, your assets and investments can be protected from creditors, predators, and unnecessary taxes.

Preparing for unexpected events that could cause you to become incapacitated is also important. If you can’t make your wishes known because of injury or illness, having a health care proxy and living will can help medical professionals know how you want your medical care to be handled. You can also appoint a power of attorney to handle important financial and business matters if you are unable to make decisions. Contact our talented legal team to learn more!

What Are Some Common Estate Planning Tools?

The estate planning process can seem overwhelming because of the many documents you can choose from. However, hiring the right estate planning lawyer can help because you will have someone to guide you through this complex process and make complicated decisions far easier.

Some commonly used estate planning tools are:

Last Will and Testament – This document serves to name beneficiaries, appoint a designated executor of the estate, indicate guardianship for minor children, and declare your wishes regarding the distribution of your estate.

Trust – A trust is a powerful tool that can help you avoid having your estate go through the process of probate, a Surrogate Court proceeding to validate the will. A trust can also be used to minimize the tax burden for your property and gives you greater control over how and when each beneficiary receives their inheritance.

Power of Attorney – This tool grants an individual the power to make financial decisions on your behalf according to the terms you set in the event that you are not able to make these decisions yourself.

Living Will – A living will provides instructions to family and medical personnel on how you want your treatment to be handled if you can’t express your wishes because of age, injury, or illness.

What Is a Trust?

Trusts are valuable tools in estate planning because they give the grantor a great deal of flexibility in how to hold and distribute assets. Depending on the type of trust you choose, you can pursue different primary goals: a Revocable Trust allows you to retain full access to and control over your assets while you are still alive, offering convenience and probate avoidance; however, to achieve robust asset protection from litigation or maximum tax benefits, you generally must choose an Irrevocable Trust, which requires giving up significant or complete personal access to those possessions.

Some examples of trusts we create for our clients are:

Irrevocable trusts – These are very difficult to change or revoke once created, but they are an excellent way to minimize taxes and protect your assets from the costs of long-term care expenses.

Revocable trusts – As the grantor of a revocable trust, you have greater access to and control over the trust funds. This is also a great way to avoid probate.

Special needs trusts – Special needs trusts allow grantors to provide for a family member with special needs without affecting their eligibility for SSI or Medicaid benefits.

Charitable trusts – These trusts can provide for charity and for your loved ones in a tax efficient manner.

Award Winning Estate Planning Lawyers: Davidov Law Group in Long Island

Davidov Law Group is an excellent choice for estate planning because our law firm focuses solely on estate planning, elder law and financial planning. Unlike other locations that offer a wide variety of services, our focus is limited to estate planning and elder law daily. This gives us the know-how to handle any issue that could arise during your estate planning or administration experience.

We Listen, and We Care.

You should choose our skilled legal team because we listen carefully to our clients. We recognize that every person and family is different, and your needs will not be the same as anyone else’s. We will take the time to understand your goals and wishes and then craft the perfect estate plan that meets those needs.

Over 20 Years Serving the Community

With over 20 years of experience helping thousands of clients, you can trust our lawyers’ knowledge when seeking legal counsel. Every time you sit down with one of your attorneys, you get advice based on years of working with estate planning and elder law. We will leverage that experience to create the right plan that provides a bright future for you and your loved ones.

Awards and Honors

It’s easy to choose our law firm when considering the many recognitions we have received for excellent service. For example, Michael Davidov, one of our founding attorneys, was named a NY Metro Super Lawyers honoree in 2022 and was a Rising Star in the New York Metro Area from 2013-2016. 2022 Honoree of the Herald Top Lawyers of Long Island Award, and received Lawyers of Distinction membership in 2023 for excellence in Estate Planning. Ilana Davidov was named a NY Metro Super Lawyer in 2022, 2021 and 2020 and a “top women in business” honoree in 2015.

Comprehensive Service

Our law firm offers more than just estate planning. We dedicate part of our practice to helping individuals prepare financially for the best future possible. We take a holistic look at your financial situation to give you a healthy economic aspect in every possible way. Contact us today for more information about our financial planning services and wealth management.

Focused on You and Your Family

Our hearts are in the right place and have a real passion for our practice. Our founding attorneys decided to practice estate planning law so we could help other families avoid the devastating effects of losing a loved one without a proper estate plan. We promise to dedicate our time and energy to finding the best solutions for your family.

What Do Estate Planning Lawyers Do?

When you need advice on any estate matter or help to create the perfect estate plan, you need to speak with experienced estate planning lawyers. Your lawyer can look at your financial and family situation and help you decide what tools are right to include in your estate plan. At Davidov Law Group, we offer a free estate planning consultation so you can learn what to expect during the estate planning process.

Estate planning lawyers do much more than help write your will. They can assist the administrator with distributing a loved one’s estate. They help mitigate the tax burden on your family and will mediate if a dispute arises among beneficiaries when a family member dies. Your lawyer can also modify your estate plan when your family situation changes because of a family member’s birth, death, marriage, or divorce.

Can Our Estate Planning Attorneys Help You?

Whether you are creating your own estate plan or are an executor, administrator or trustee needing help carrying out the wishes of a deceased loved one, you deserve excellent legal counsel. You can count on our attorneys for outstanding advice and representation regarding estate planning and elder law. We also offer financial planning and wealth management services to improve your financial situation as you prepare for retirement. Our financial planners are fiduciary advisors, always acting in our clients’ best interests.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is more than preparing your assets for distribution after you die. While much estate planning involves choosing beneficiaries and deciding how to divide the inheritance, you should also consider other questions, such as how to protect your assets from long-term care expenses, predators and guardianship courts while you are alive. You can also take steps now to prepare in case you become incapacitated, such as choosing a power of attorney, a healthcare proxy agent, and creating a living will.

What is Probate?

Probate is the court-supervised legal process in which a deceased person’s Last Will and Testament is validated, and the estate is properly administered and distributed. It involves inventorying the estate assets, paying creditors, filing taxes, and disbursing funds to heirs. In New York, an estate that is subject to a will must go through probate. However, you can significantly limit how much of your estate is subject to this legal process by holding your assets in trusts, thereby minimizing the delay and costly process for your family members and potentially reducing the tax burden on your estate.

What is a Trust?

Think of a trust as a box or vehicle to hold your assets. Trusts are created by the grantor or trustor, and assets are distributed to beneficiaries by the trustee, an individual named by the grantor to manage the assets. As a grantor, you may specify the terms under which your heirs inherit the assets of the trust. This can prevent young or irresponsible beneficiaries from spending their inheritance too quickly. Trusts can also provide asset protection to the beneficiaries. Trusts also protect your assets from probate, giving your family members greater privacy and protection following your death. Please speak with our talented trust attorneys today for help getting started.

Does Every Estate Need Probate in New York?

The simple answer is that most estates in New York go through probate or estate administration. Any person that dies intestate, or without a will, must have their estate go through estate administration to be distributed to heirs according to New York regulations. Estates of people who died with a will are subject to probate to validate the will, but assets held in trusts will be exempt from this process. Contact our estate administration and probate lawyers immediately for help administering a loved one’s estate and navigating the complicated probate process.

What Is A Durable Power Of Attorney?

A: One excellent document you can create while estate planning is a power of attorney. This allows a trusted individual of your choosing to act on your behalf. You may limit your power of attorney on what decisions they can make, such as creating a financial power of attorney who may control your business and financial decisions. Another example is a durable power of attorney, who can act on your behalf if you become incapacitated due to injury or illness.

How is a Living Will Different from a Health Care Proxy?

A Living Will and a Health Care Proxy are two distinct but related documents that form your advance directive. A Living Will is a written statement outlining your specific preferences for end-of-life medical treatment, such as whether you wish to receive mechanical ventilation or artificial nutrition, if you are unable to communicate. Conversely, a Health Care Proxy is a document that appoints a trusted individual, known as an Agent, to make all medical and treatment decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated, giving them broad authority beyond the scope of a specific end-of-life preference.

What are the Benefits of a Revocable Trust?

We recommend revocable trusts to many of our clients because of the flexibility and protection these estate planning documents offer. These trusts allow the grantor/trustor to control their assets, and the trust can be altered or revoked at any time. They also help your family members avoid the time and expense of having your estate go through probate after you pass away. However, revocable trusts do not offer protection against long-long term care expenses.

What are the Benefits of an Irrevocable Trust?

Irrevocable trusts provide a great deal of protection for families hoping to protect assets from the costs of long-term care expenses, creditors, lawsuits, and judgments. Irrevocable trusts can also provide significant tax benefits to your family. Irrevocable special needs trusts can provide a comfortable life for a family member with special needs while still allowing them to qualify for Medicaid and SSI benefits.