Estate Planning for Individuals in New York: A 2026 Overview

Estate planning is often pitched as a “family” project — a married couple at a conference table, kids and grandchildren on a whiteboard. But a very large share of New Yorkers are planning for one person: themselves. Single professionals, divorced or widowed adults, people without children, and individuals who simply want their own affairs handled correctly — all of them have estate-planning needs that are different in emphasis from the textbook household.

This overview is written for the individual. When you plan as one person, you cannot assume a spouse will step in to make medical decisions, manage your money during a hospitalization, or carry out your wishes after death. You have to name the right people yourself, in the right legal documents, and coordinate them so they work together. Done well, an individual estate plan in New York protects you while you are alive — not just your beneficiaries after you are gone.

Morgan Legal Group serves clients across New York State — from New York City and Long Island to Westchester, the Hudson Valley, and Upstate. Attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. and our team build coordinated plans designed around your situation, not a template. This page walks through the four core documents, the New York statutes that govern them, and the 2026 estate-tax rules that can quietly reshape your plan.

The Four Pillars of a New York Estate Plan

A comprehensive New York estate plan is not a single document. It is four instruments that work together:

Document	What it does	Governing NY law	When it operates
Last Will & Testament	Directs who inherits; names an executor and (if relevant) a guardian	EPTL §3-2.1	After death, through probate
Trust(s)	Avoids probate (revocable) or protects assets / reduces tax / preserves benefits (irrevocable)	EPTL Article 7	During life and/or after death
Durable Power of Attorney	Lets a trusted agent manage your finances if you cannot	GOL §5-1513	During life, while you are incapacitated
Health Care Proxy	Names an agent to make medical decisions for you	Public Health Law Article 29-C	During life, when you cannot decide

Two of these — the will and (sometimes) a trust — concern what happens after you die. The other two — the power of attorney and the health care proxy — protect you while you are alive. For an individual without a built-in spouse to fall back on, those two “living” documents are arguably the most urgent of all.

You can explore each pillar in depth on our dedicated pages: Wills, Trusts, Power of Attorney, and the Health Care Proxy.

The Will: Your Baseline Document

A Last Will and Testament is the foundation. Under EPTL §3-2.1, a valid New York will requires:

• Two attesting witnesses;
• The testator signs at the END of the document; and
• Publication — the testator declares to the witnesses that the document is their will.

Skip a formality and the will can fail. For an individual, the will is where you do the work a spouse would otherwise absorb by default: naming who inherits, choosing an executor you actually trust, and — if you have a charity, a friend, or a non-traditional set of heirs in mind — making those intentions explicit and legally binding.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will

If you die without a valid will, you die intestate, and New York’s intestacy rules in EPTL Article 4 decide who inherits — strictly by bloodline. For many single individuals this is exactly the wrong result. The state may direct your assets to relatives you are not close to, while the people and causes you care about receive nothing. Intestacy does not recognize an unmarried partner, a close friend, or a favored charity. A will is how an individual overrides the state’s default.

Trusts: Probate Avoidance, Tax Planning, and Protection

Trusts are governed by EPTL Article 7, and they fall into two broad families that serve very different purposes.

Revocable living trust. You keep full control during life and can change or cancel it anytime. Its main benefit is avoiding probate — assets titled in the trust pass to beneficiaries without a court proceeding, privately and often faster. Important caveat: a revocable trust offers no estate-tax savings and no asset protection, because the law still treats the assets as fully yours.

Irrevocable trust. Here you give up control in exchange for powerful benefits: estate-tax reduction, asset protection, and Medicaid planning. Medicaid planning carries a five-year look-back — assets must generally be moved into the trust at least five years before you apply for long-term-care Medicaid. For an aging individual without a spouse or adult children nearby, an irrevocable trust can be the difference between preserving a home and losing it to care costs.

Supplemental Needs Trust (SNT). Under EPTL 7-1.12, an SNT lets a person with disabilities receive an inheritance without losing means-tested public benefits such as Medicaid and SSI. If you plan to leave assets to a disabled sibling, friend, or yourself, this is the right vehicle.

For a deeper walkthrough, see our Trusts page.

Durable Power of Attorney: Protecting Yourself While Alive

A Power of Attorney (POA) lets you name an agent to handle your finances — paying bills, managing accounts, dealing with property — if you become unable to do so. Under GOL §5-1513, a New York POA is durable by default, meaning it remains valid even after you lose capacity. New York adopted a modernized 2021 statutory short form that streamlined execution.

For an individual, the POA is critical. There is no spouse who can automatically step in at the bank or the mortgage company. Without a durable POA, your loved ones may face a court guardianship proceeding just to pay your rent — slow, public, and expensive. Naming your own agent in advance keeps that decision in your hands. Learn more on our Power of Attorney page.

Health Care Proxy: Who Decides for Your Medical Care

The Health Care Proxy, governed by New York Public Health Law Article 29-C, appoints an agent to make medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself. It is distinct from the financial Power of Attorney — the POA handles money, the proxy handles treatment. You need both; one does not cover the other.

This document is especially important for individuals. New York law does not automatically appoint your medical decision-maker the way some people assume. A close friend or unmarried partner may have no legal standing at the hospital unless you have named them in a health care proxy. Naming your agent — and a backup — ensures the person who knows your wishes is the one consulted. See our Health Care Proxy page for details.

The 2026 New York Estate Tax — and the “Cliff”

Even a single individual with no spouse can have a taxable estate, and New York’s estate tax is unusually unforgiving. Here are the 2026 rules.

• Basic exclusion amount: $7,350,000 for deaths on or after January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. Estates at or below this generally owe no New York estate tax.
• The “cliff.” New York phases out the exemption as the estate grows. At 105% of the exclusion — $7,717,500 — the exemption disappears entirely. An estate over the cliff is taxed from dollar one, not just on the excess. The difference between landing just under and just over can be a tax bill in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Rates are progressive, ranging from 3% to 16%.
• No state gift tax — but gifts made within three years of death are added back to the taxable estate.

For an individual, this matters in a specific way: you do not have a spouse to absorb assets through the unlimited marital deduction, so more of your estate may be exposed. Careful use of irrevocable trusts and lifetime gifting (mindful of the three-year add-back) can keep an estate under the cliff. This is planning, not guesswork — and it is the kind of work that pays for itself many times over.

A fuller treatment lives on our NY Estate Tax Guide.

Why Coordination Matters for the Individual

Each document is powerful, but the value comes from coordination. A will that leaves assets to a trust that was never funded does nothing. A health care proxy that names one person while your POA names another can create conflict at the worst possible moment. An irrevocable trust that ignores the estate-tax cliff can miss a six-figure savings.

For someone planning as an individual, coordination is even more important, because there is no second adult quietly catching the gaps. The plan has to stand on its own. That is exactly what an experienced New York estate-planning attorney delivers — a set of documents drafted to work as one system.

If you are planning across NYC, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, or Upstate, our statewide guide explains how we serve clients throughout New York.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m single with no children. Do I really need an estate plan?

Yes — arguably more than most. Without a spouse or adult children to step in, you must name your own financial agent (POA), medical agent (health care proxy), and beneficiaries (will or trust). If you do nothing, New York’s intestacy rules under EPTL Article 4 decide who inherits, and a court may have to appoint someone to manage your affairs. Planning keeps those choices in your hands.

What is the difference between a Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy?

They cover different decisions. The durable Power of Attorney (GOL §5-1513) lets your agent handle financial matters. The Health Care Proxy (Public Health Law Article 29-C) lets your agent make medical decisions. They are separate documents and you should have both — neither one substitutes for the other.

Will a living trust save me on New York estate tax?

No. A revocable living trust avoids probate but provides no estate-tax savings — the assets are still treated as yours. To reduce estate tax you generally need an irrevocable trust and/or lifetime gifting, planned with the 2026 exclusion and the cliff in mind.

How does the New York estate-tax “cliff” work in 2026?

The 2026 basic exclusion is $7,350,000. If your estate exceeds 105% of that — $7,717,500 — you lose the entire exemption and the estate is taxed from the first dollar at rates of 3% to 16%. Staying under the cliff through planning can save an enormous amount, which is why estates near the threshold should plan carefully.

Can I just download a will online instead of seeing an attorney?

You can, but New York’s execution rules under EPTL §3-2.1 (two witnesses, signature at the end, publication) must be followed exactly, or the will fails. More importantly, a form will is not coordinated with your trust, POA, proxy, or the estate tax. An individual plan that actually works is built as a coordinated whole.

Start Your Individual Estate Plan

Your plan should be built around your life — your people, your assets, your wishes. Attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. and Morgan Legal Group help individuals across New York State design coordinated wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care proxies.

Schedule your consultation with Russel Morgan, Esq.