Estate Planning for Individuals in New York: A Complete 2026 Statewide Guide

If you are planning for yourself alone — a single professional, a divorced or widowed New Yorker, a retiree without a spouse, or simply someone who has not married — most of the estate planning advice you will find online does not quite fit. It assumes a spouse who inherits automatically, a co-owner on the deeds, and a partner who can step in if you become ill. As an individual, you carry none of those built-in defaults. That makes a deliberate, well-drafted plan not optional but essential.

This guide is written for the individual. It applies statewide — whether you live in Manhattan or Brooklyn, on Long Island, in Westchester or the Hudson Valley, or anywhere Upstate — and it walks through the four documents that make a New York plan complete, the 2026 estate-tax rules that can quietly cost a single person their entire exemption, and the questions individuals ask most. Attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. and the team at Morgan Legal Group prepare these plans for New Yorkers across the state.

Why an Individual Needs a Plan More — Not Less

When a married person dies in New York without a will, EPTL Article 4 (intestacy) routes a large share of the estate to the surviving spouse. As an individual, you have no spouse to catch the assets. Instead, intestacy hands your estate to a fixed statutory line — children, then parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives — in shares the law chooses, not you. A close friend, an unmarried partner, a chosen charity, or a favorite niece receives nothing unless you name them.

The same gap appears while you are alive. A married New Yorker who becomes incapacitated often has a spouse who can manage the household and speak with doctors. An individual who has signed no documents has no one with legal authority. The result is a court-supervised guardianship proceeding — expensive, public, and slow — to appoint someone a judge selects. A complete estate plan replaces all of that with people you chose, in advance.

The Four Documents of a Complete New York Plan

A comprehensive New York estate plan is not a single piece of paper. It is four instruments, drafted to work together:

Document	New York Law	What It Does for an Individual
Last Will and Testament	EPTL §3-2.1	Directs who inherits and names your executor; without it, EPTL Article 4 intestacy decides for you
Trust(s)	EPTL Article 7	A revocable living trust avoids probate; an irrevocable trust can reduce tax and protect assets
Durable Power of Attorney	GOL §5-1513	Names an agent to handle your finances if you cannot — critical when there is no spouse
Health Care Proxy	Public Health Law Article 29-C	Names an agent for your medical decisions, separate from your financial agent

Each is explained below. For a broader walkthrough, see our estate planning overview.

Your Will — EPTL §3-2.1

Your will is the document that names who inherits and who administers your estate. New York’s execution rules are strict and unforgiving: under EPTL §3-2.1, you must sign (or acknowledge your signature) at the end of the document, you must have two attesting witnesses, and you must publish the will — that is, declare to the witnesses that the document is your will. A will that fails these formalities can be thrown out, and the estate falls back into intestacy.

For an individual, the will is also where you can leave specific gifts to people the law would otherwise ignore entirely — a partner, a godchild, a longtime friend, or a cause you care about. If you die without a valid will, EPTL Article 4 controls, and none of those people receive anything. Learn more on our wills page.

Trusts — EPTL Article 7

Trusts (governed by EPTL Article 7) solve problems a will alone cannot. They come in two broad families:

• Revocable living trust. You keep full control during your lifetime and can change it at any time. Its main benefit is that assets titled in the trust avoid probate — they pass privately and without court delay. For an individual whose heirs are scattered or distant, skipping probate spares them a drawn-out court process. A revocable trust offers no estate-tax savings, however.
• Irrevocable trust. By giving up control, you move assets out of your taxable estate. Irrevocable trusts are the workhorses of tax reduction, asset protection, and Medicaid planning — and Medicaid carries a five-year look-back, so the timing matters. A Supplemental Needs Trust under EPTL 7-1.12 lets you provide for a loved one with a disability without disqualifying them from public benefits.

Our trusts page goes deeper on choosing between them.

Durable Power of Attorney — GOL §5-1513

The power of attorney is the single most important lifetime document for an individual. Under GOL §5-1513, a New York power of attorney is durable by default — it remains effective even if you become incapacitated. New York adopted a 2021 statutory short form that is now the standard; properly executed, it lets your chosen agent pay your bills, manage accounts, and handle property when you cannot.

Because you have no spouse to step in by default, without this document your loved ones may have to petition a court for guardianship to do something as routine as paying your rent. See our power of attorney page for details.

Health Care Proxy — Public Health Law Article 29-C

Your financial agent is not automatically your medical agent. New York keeps these powers separate. Under Public Health Law Article 29-C, a health care proxy appoints an agent to make medical decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself. Naming this person in advance — and discussing your wishes with them — means that if you are ever hospitalized, the people you trust have a clear voice. Read more on our healthcare proxy page.

The 2026 New York Estate Tax — and the Cliff Every Individual Should Know

New York imposes its own estate tax, entirely separate from the federal one, and its rules can punish the unprepared. For deaths on or after January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, the basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000. An estate under that figure owes no New York estate tax.

The danger for individuals is the New York estate tax “cliff.” New York phases out the exemption as the estate grows, and once an estate exceeds 105% of the exclusion — $7,717,500 — the exemption vanishes entirely. The estate is then taxed from the first dollar, not just the amount above the threshold. The marginal jump for an estate just over the cliff can be staggering.

2026 New York Estate Tax Figure	Amount
Basic exclusion amount	$7,350,000
Cliff (105% of exclusion)	$7,717,500
Tax rate range	3% – 16% (progressive)
New York gift tax	None
Three-year gift add-back	Gifts within 3 years of death added back to the taxable estate

Two points matter especially for individuals. First, New York has no gift tax, so lifetime giving is a real planning tool. But gifts made within three years of death are added back to your taxable estate — meaning a late, deathbed gift will not help you clear the cliff. Second, because an individual cannot use a spouse’s exemption or marital deduction, planning around the cliff — often through irrevocable trusts or a structured gifting strategy — is something to address early, while you are healthy. Our New York estate tax guide covers the mechanics in full.

Building Your Plan: A Practical Order for Individuals

1. Take inventory. List your accounts, property, retirement plans, and life insurance, and note how each is titled and who the beneficiaries are.
2. Decide your people. Choose your executor, your financial agent under the POA, your health care agent, and — if you use a trust — your trustee. As an individual, name backups; you have no spouse as a built-in fallback.
3. Sign all four documents together. A will without a POA, or a POA without a health care proxy, leaves a hole. The documents are designed to be coordinated.
4. Title and fund any trust. A revocable trust only avoids probate for the assets actually transferred into it.
5. Review after major life changes — a move, a new asset, a falling-out, or a change in the tax law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really need a trust if I’m single, or is a will enough?
It depends on your goals. A will alone passes your estate through probate. A revocable living trust under EPTL Article 7 lets your assets avoid probate entirely, which is often valuable for an individual whose heirs are distant or who values privacy. If estate tax or Medicaid is a concern, an irrevocable trust may be appropriate. Many individuals use both a will and a trust together.

Who makes decisions for me if I become incapacitated and have no spouse?
Whoever you named. Your agent under a durable power of attorney (GOL §5-1513) handles your finances, and your agent under a health care proxy (Public Health Law Article 29-C) handles medical decisions. If you have signed neither, your family would generally have to ask a court to appoint a guardian — a costly proceeding that an estate plan is designed to avoid.

What happens if I die in New York without a will?
Your estate passes by intestacy under EPTL Article 4, which distributes to your closest relatives in shares the statute fixes — children, then parents, then siblings, and onward. An unmarried partner, a friend, or a charity receives nothing. A valid will under EPTL §3-2.1 is the only way to direct your assets to the people and causes you actually choose.

How does the 2026 New York estate tax cliff affect a single person?
For 2026 the exclusion is $7,350,000, but at 105% — $7,717,500 — the exemption disappears and the entire estate is taxed from the first dollar. Because an individual cannot share a spouse’s exemption, an estate near that line should plan early. Note that New York has no gift tax, but gifts within three years of death are added back to the taxable estate.

Is a health care proxy the same as a power of attorney?
No. They are separate New York documents covering different powers. A durable power of attorney under GOL §5-1513 governs your finances; a health care proxy under Public Health Law Article 29-C governs your medical decisions. A complete plan includes both, and they may name different people.

Talk to a New York Estate Planning Attorney

Planning as an individual means there are no defaults to fall back on — which is exactly why a deliberate plan gives you so much control. Morgan Legal Group and attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. prepare coordinated wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care proxies for individuals across New York State.

Schedule your consultation with Russel Morgan, Esq. »

You can also review the official New York sources directly: the New York State Senate for the EPTL and General Obligations Law, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for estate-tax figures, and the New York State Department of Health for the health care proxy.