Trusts in New York for Individuals: Your 2026 Guide to Revocable, Irrevocable & Special Needs Trusts

If you are planning for yourself — not for a couple, not for a partnership, but for one person making decisions about one life — a trust may be the most powerful tool in your New York estate plan. A trust lets you decide, while you are alive and well, exactly who controls your property, who benefits from it, and what happens if you become incapacitated. For an individual, that control matters even more, because there is no spouse to step in by default. A well-built trust becomes the steady hand that acts on your behalf when you cannot, and the private instruction manual that distributes your estate without ever passing through a courtroom.

This page explains how trusts work under New York law in 2026, the difference between the trust types, and how a trust fits alongside the other documents every individual should have. It is written by the estate planning attorneys at Morgan Legal Group, led by Russel Morgan, Esq., and it serves clients across all of New York State — New York City, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, and Upstate.

What a Trust Actually Is

A trust is a legal arrangement governed in New York by the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL Article 7). In plain terms, a trust involves three roles:

• The grantor (also called the settlor or trustor) — the person who creates the trust and transfers property into it. As an individual, this is you.
• The trustee — the person or institution who manages the trust property according to your written instructions. With most living trusts, you serve as your own trustee while you are healthy, then a successor you name takes over.
• The beneficiary — the person or people who receive the benefit of the trust property, which can include you during your lifetime and whomever you choose afterward.

The defining feature of a trust is that it separates legal ownership from beneficial ownership. Once you fund the trust — meaning you actually retitle assets such as your home, brokerage accounts, or bank accounts into the trust’s name — those assets are owned by the trust, managed by the trustee, and never become “yours” in the eyes of the Surrogate’s Court when you die. That is the mechanism that lets a trust avoid probate.

Why an Individual Should Care About Trusts

When a single person dies owning assets in their own name with only a will, those assets must go through probate — the court process that proves the will and authorizes the executor to act. Probate is public, it takes time, and it requires court oversight. A will alone does not avoid it; a will is precisely the document that goes through probate.

For an individual, a revocable living trust solves several problems a will cannot:

1. Incapacity planning. If you become unable to manage your affairs, your successor trustee steps in immediately to pay your bills and manage your property — no court guardianship proceeding required. For someone without a spouse, this is often the single most valuable benefit.
2. Privacy. A will becomes a public court record. A trust stays private; the terms, the assets, and the beneficiaries are not filed with any court.
3. Probate avoidance. Assets titled in the trust pass directly to your beneficiaries under your instructions, without the delay and expense of a court proceeding.
4. Control across time. You can direct that a beneficiary receive assets at a certain age, in installments, or only for specific purposes — control a simple will rarely provides.

The Two Core Trust Types in New York

New York individuals generally choose between two foundational structures. The right one depends on your goals: control and probate avoidance, or tax reduction and asset protection.

Feature	Revocable Living Trust	Irrevocable Trust
Can you change or cancel it?	Yes — fully amendable and revocable while you are competent	No — generally cannot be altered once established
Avoids probate?	Yes	Yes
Saves estate tax?	No	Yes (assets can be removed from your taxable estate)
Asset protection from creditors?	No	Yes, when properly structured
Medicaid planning?	No	Yes — subject to the 5-year look-back
Who controls the assets?	You, as your own trustee	A separate trustee you appoint
Typical use for an individual	Probate avoidance, privacy, incapacity	Tax reduction, asset protection, long-term care

Revocable Living Trust

The revocable living trust is the workhorse of individual estate planning. You create it, fund it, and run it yourself. You can add or remove assets, change beneficiaries, or tear the whole thing up at any time while you are competent. Because you retain complete control, the trust assets remain part of your taxable estate — a revocable trust does not reduce or avoid New York estate tax. Its value lies in probate avoidance, privacy, and seamless incapacity management.

Irrevocable Trust

An irrevocable trust is used when you want to accomplish something a revocable trust cannot: remove assets from your taxable estate, shield them from creditors, or qualify for Medicaid long-term care benefits. The trade-off is control. Once you transfer assets into a properly drafted irrevocable trust, you generally give up the right to take them back or change the terms. For Medicaid purposes in particular, the 5-year look-back applies: transfers made within five years before applying for nursing-home Medicaid can trigger a penalty period, which is why irrevocable Medicaid planning is most effective when done well in advance.

Special Needs Trust (SNT)

A Special Needs Trust under EPTL 7-1.12 allows you to provide for a disabled loved one — or to protect your own benefits — without disqualifying the beneficiary from means-tested government programs such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. For an individual planning their estate, an SNT is essential if any intended beneficiary receives, or may one day need, public benefits. Assets in a properly drafted SNT supplement, rather than replace, those benefits.

Where a Trust Fits in Your Complete Plan

A trust is powerful, but it is not the whole plan. A comprehensive New York estate plan for an individual coordinates four documents that work together:

• A Will (EPTL §3-2.1) — even with a trust, you need a “pour-over” will to capture any assets you forgot to retitle and to name guardians if you have minor children. A valid New York will requires two attesting witnesses, your signature at the end of the document, and publication (declaring to the witnesses that it is your will). Dying without a will means intestacy under EPTL Article 4, where the State’s formula — not you — decides who inherits.
• A Durable Power of Attorney (GOL §5-1513) — durable by default in New York, using the 2021 statutory short form, this appoints someone to handle financial matters outside the trust if you are incapacitated.
• A Health Care Proxy (NY Public Health Law Article 29-C) — appoints an agent to make medical decisions for you. This is entirely separate from your financial power of attorney and is critical for an individual with no spouse to speak for them.

Learn how these pieces connect on our Estate Planning Overview, and explore each document on our Wills, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxy pages.

Trusts and the New York Estate Tax in 2026

For individuals with larger estates, a trust can be the difference between passing on your wealth and handing a sizable portion to the State. Here are the 2026 numbers every New Yorker should know:

New York Estate Tax — 2026	Figure
Basic exclusion amount (deaths 1/1/2026–12/31/2026)	$7,350,000
The “cliff” at 105% of the exclusion	$7,717,500
What happens above the cliff	The entire exemption is lost — the estate is taxed from the first dollar
Tax rate range	Progressive, 3% to 16%
New York gift tax	None — but gifts within 3 years of death are added back

The New York “cliff” is unforgiving and unique. Unlike the federal system, where exceeding the exemption only taxes the excess, an estate that climbs just over the cliff at $7,717,500 loses its exemption entirely and is taxed on the whole amount. An estate worth $7,718,000 can owe far more tax than one worth $7,700,000. Note also that while New York imposes no gift tax, any gifts you make within three years of your death are pulled back into your taxable estate.

A revocable trust will not help here — those assets remain in your estate. Reducing exposure to the cliff requires irrevocable strategies, often combined with lifetime gifting executed early enough to clear the three-year add-back. For a deeper look, see our New York Estate Tax Guide.

A Statewide Practice for New York Individuals

Trust administration, court oversight, and Surrogate’s Court procedures follow New York State law, but the practical details differ from county to county. Morgan Legal Group serves individuals throughout the State — from Manhattan and Brooklyn to Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island, north into Westchester and the Hudson Valley, and across Upstate New York. Wherever you live, the planning principles on this page apply. See our New York Statewide Guide for region-specific notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a revocable living trust save me money on New York estate tax?

No. Because you keep full control over a revocable trust and can revoke it at any time, the assets remain part of your taxable estate. A revocable trust avoids probate and provides privacy and incapacity protection, but it offers no estate-tax savings. To reduce New York estate tax — especially to plan around the 2026 cliff at $7,717,500 — you generally need an irrevocable trust and early lifetime gifting.

Do I still need a will if I have a trust?

Yes. Even with a fully funded living trust, an individual should have a “pour-over” will under EPTL §3-2.1. It captures any asset you neglected to retitle into the trust and names guardians for minor children. Without any will, New York’s intestacy rules under EPTL Article 4 decide who inherits — and that result may not match your wishes.

What is the 5-year look-back, and why does it matter for trusts?

For nursing-home Medicaid, New York reviews asset transfers made in the five years before you apply. Transfers into an irrevocable trust during that window can create a penalty period that delays your eligibility. That is why Medicaid asset-protection trusts work best when established well in advance — ideally more than five years before you expect to need long-term care.

Who should serve as my trustee if I am single?

Many individuals serve as their own trustee of a revocable trust while healthy, then name a trusted successor — a sibling, an adult child, a close friend, or a professional fiduciary — to take over upon incapacity or death. Choosing a reliable, financially responsible successor trustee is one of the most important decisions a single planner makes, because there is no spouse to fill that role automatically.

Can a trust protect a disabled family member’s benefits?

Yes. A Special Needs Trust under EPTL 7-1.12 lets you leave assets for a disabled beneficiary without disqualifying them from means-tested programs like SSI and Medicaid. The trust supplements, rather than replaces, public benefits, paying for quality-of-life needs the programs do not cover.

Plan Your Trust With Morgan Legal Group

Choosing and building the right trust is a decision worth getting right the first time. Russel Morgan, Esq., and the Morgan Legal Group team design coordinated estate plans for individuals across New York State. Schedule a 30-minute consultation to discuss whether a revocable trust, an irrevocable trust, or a special needs trust fits your goals.