A revocable living trust is only as good as the paperwork that follows the signing. In New York, that paperwork includes deeds recorded through ACRIS or the County Clerk, stock and lease assignments approved by co-op boards, retitled brokerage accounts, and trust certifications that banks will accept. This page explains how our firm drafts, signs and funds revocable trusts for New York clients. It also covers the limits of these trusts, so you can decide whether one belongs in your plan.
If you are still weighing the general case for a trust, start with our overview of the benefits of a living trust and our guide to avoiding probate in New York. The rest of this page assumes you want to know what the work involves and what it will and will not accomplish.
What a Revocable Living Trust Is Under New York Law
A revocable living trust is a written agreement you sign during your lifetime. You transfer assets into it, and you keep the power to amend or revoke it while you are competent. New York's Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) governs how the trust is created and administered.
In most New York revocable trusts, you are the grantor, the initial trustee and the lifetime beneficiary. You name a successor trustee to take over if you become incapacitated or die, and you name the beneficiaries who receive the assets afterward. "Living trust" and "revocable trust" usually describe the same document. The distinction that matters legally is revocable versus irrevocable.
The Short Version of the Benefits
Assets titled in the trust pass to your beneficiaries without a Surrogate's Court proceeding, the trust terms stay out of the public court file, and your successor trustee can manage trust assets if you become incapacitated without an Article 81 guardianship under the Mental Hygiene Law. Real estate outside New York held in the trust also avoids ancillary probate in the other state. Each of these points is covered in more depth on our living trust benefits page and our page on whether trusts are public record.
For a side-by-side comparison with a will, see living trust vs. will. Most of our trust clients also sign a pour-over will that directs any assets left outside the trust into it at death.
What Probate Actually Costs in New York
People often overstate New York's court fees. Under SCPA 2402, the Surrogate's Court filing fee for probate is set on a sliding scale and tops out at $1,250 for estates of $500,000 or more. That fee is rarely the main expense.
The larger costs of probate are:
- Legal fees: for the petition, citations to distributees, and any objections or contested proceedings.
- Executor commissions: under SCPA 2307, an executor may claim statutory commissions of 5% on the first $100,000, 4% on the next $200,000, 3% on the next $700,000, 2.5% on the next $4 million, and 2% above $5 million.
- Delay: assets can be frozen until letters testamentary issue, which can take months in busy counties. Our sample NYC probate timeline shows typical stages.
A trust does not make these costs disappear entirely. A successor trustee may be entitled to commissions under SCPA 2309 unless the trust says otherwise, and administration still requires legal and accounting work. What a funded trust removes is the court filing, the wait for letters, and the risk that a contest freezes the estate.
Our Process, Step by Step
Consultation
We review your family situation, a list of your assets and how each is currently titled, existing wills and beneficiary designations, and any property you own outside New York. Bring recent account statements and copies of deeds or co-op stock certificates if you have them.
Plan design
We decide whether a revocable trust is the right tool, or whether a simpler will-based plan or an irrevocable trust fits better. The trust is coordinated with a pour-over will, a durable power of attorney, a health care proxy and a living will. See our advance directive page for those documents.
Drafting
We prepare the trust agreement, the pour-over will, and a certification of trust that you can give to banks and co-op boards without disclosing the full trust terms. You review drafts and we revise them before signing.
Signing under EPTL 7-1.17
We supervise execution so the trust meets New York's formal requirements, described below.
Funding
We prepare and record deeds, assemble co-op board packages, and send transfer instructions to financial institutions. Funding is where most of the work happens after signing.
Review
We recommend reviewing the plan after a marriage, divorce, death, move, sale of real estate, or a change in New York estate tax law.
How long it takes
Drafting and signing commonly take a few weeks, depending on how quickly you return comments. Funding takes longer. Bank and brokerage retitling often finishes within weeks. Deed recording depends on the county's processing time. Co-op transfers depend entirely on the board and managing agent and can run from several weeks to a few months.
Fees
We discuss fees at the consultation and tell you in writing, before work begins, what the drafting, signing and funding work will cost. Third parties charge separately: county or City Register recording fees, co-op managing agent and transfer fees, and any title insurance endorsements. We identify those charges in advance so they are not a surprise.
Signing Requirements Under EPTL 7-1.17
A New York lifetime trust is valid only if it is in writing and either:
- executed and acknowledged by the grantor, and by at least one trustee unless the grantor is the sole trustee, in the manner required for recording a deed; or
- signed by the grantor and at least one trustee in the presence of two witnesses who also sign.
Amendments and revocations must generally meet the same formalities under EPTL 7-1.17(b). Online templates often miss the trustee signature or the acknowledgment, which can leave a trust open to challenge. We conduct the signing ourselves for that reason.
Funding New York Real Estate and Co-ops
A trust controls only what has been transferred into it. Our page on which assets can and cannot go into a revocable trust covers the full list. The New York real estate issues deserve separate attention.
Houses, condos and brownstones
Transferring a house or condominium unit requires a new deed from you to yourself as trustee. In Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the deed is recorded with the City Register through ACRIS. In Staten Island and counties outside New York City, it is recorded with the County Clerk. The transfer tax returns, including the state TP-584 and, in the city, the NYC RPT, must still be filed, although a transfer into your own revocable trust for no consideration is typically not taxable.
Points we check on every deed:
- Mortgage: federal law (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(8)) bars a lender from calling a residential loan on a property with fewer than five units because the borrower transfers it into an inter vivos trust in which the borrower remains a beneficiary and occupant.
- Title insurance: we confirm whether your existing owner's policy continues to cover the trust or whether an endorsement is advisable.
- Tax exemptions: STAR and similar exemptions can generally continue when the beneficiary still lives in the home, but the assessor may need to be notified.
Co-op apartments
Co-op shares are personal property, not real property, so there is no deed. The transfer requires assignment of the stock and the proprietary lease to you as trustee, and the board must consent. Boards commonly ask for a certification of trust, confirmation that you will continue to occupy the apartment, and sometimes a personal guaranty of the lease obligations. Some boards have their own trust transfer forms or require review by the building's counsel.
Assembling the board package correctly the first time saves weeks. We ask the managing agent for the building's requirements before drafting so the trust language and certification match what the board expects.
Illustrative examples
The following are hypothetical scenarios based on common New York situations. They are not descriptions of specific clients or results.
- Manhattan co-op, board resistance: a board declines a transfer because the trust names a successor trustee the board has not vetted. A common solution is to provide a certification of trust, a personal guaranty, and confirmation that any later transfer to a beneficiary will go through the board's ordinary approval. If the board still refuses, the shares can stay in the owner's name with a transfer-on-death approach evaluated where available, or with the pour-over will as a backstop.
- Florida condo held by a New York resident: without a trust, the family would likely need a New York probate and a separate ancillary administration in Florida. Recording a deed transferring the condo into the New York revocable trust avoids the Florida proceeding, provided the deed is prepared to Florida recording standards.
- Unfunded trust: an owner signs a trust but never retitles a Queens house. At death, the house passes under the pour-over will and must go through probate before it reaches the trust.
When a Revocable Trust Is Not the Right Tool
A revocable trust is a probate and incapacity tool. It is not an asset protection tool, and many New Yorkers confuse it with the irrevocable trusts used for Medicaid planning.
- No Medicaid protection: because you can revoke the trust and take the assets back, they remain countable for New York Medicaid eligibility. If nursing home or home care costs are your concern, look at an irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. Transfers to such a trust are subject to a five-year look-back for nursing home Medicaid. A look-back for community-based home care Medicaid was enacted in 2020 but its implementation has been repeatedly delayed, so the current rule must be confirmed before you transfer assets.
- No creditor protection: under EPTL 7-3.1, a trust created for your own benefit is void against your creditors. Assets in your revocable trust remain reachable by your creditors while you are alive and can remain exposed after death.
- No estate tax savings by itself: trust assets are included in your taxable estate. Tax savings come from specific provisions, discussed below.
- Higher upfront cost and effort: a trust plan costs more to set up than a simple will, and funding requires your cooperation with banks, boards and county recorders.
- Probate is still possible: anything you forget to fund passes through your pour-over will and needs probate.
- Some assets stay outside: IRAs and 401(k)s are not retitled to a trust. You name beneficiaries directly, and you still need a durable power of attorney to manage those accounts if you become incapacitated.
For a smaller estate with no real estate, a will may be enough. New York's voluntary administration procedure under SCPA Article 13 allows a simplified process for estates with personal property of $50,000 or less. We will tell you if a trust is more than you need.
Income Tax Treatment
During your life, a revocable trust is a grantor trust under IRC 676 because you hold the power to revoke. Under Treasury regulations, you can use your own Social Security number, report all income on your Form 1040, and skip a separate trust return.
At your death, the trust becomes irrevocable and a separate taxpayer. The successor trustee obtains an EIN and files federal Form 1041 and, where required, New York Form IT-205. The trustee may elect under IRC 645 to treat the trust as part of the estate for income tax purposes, which can offer a fiscal year and other advantages.
Trust income tax brackets are compressed. For 2025, a trust reaches the top 37% federal bracket at $15,650 of retained taxable income; for 2024 the threshold was $15,200. An individual filer does not reach that bracket until income is many times higher. Trustees therefore often distribute income to beneficiaries, who then report it at their own rates.
Step-Up in Basis
Under IRC 1014, assets included in your gross estate receive a basis equal to fair market value at death. Because revocable trust assets stay in your estate, your beneficiaries get that step-up and can often sell appreciated real estate or stock with little or no capital gain. Lifetime gifts, by contrast, carry over your original basis under IRC 1015.
New York Estate Tax and the Cliff
New York has its own estate tax with a much lower threshold than the federal tax. The New York basic exclusion amount is $7,160,000 for deaths in 2025. It is adjusted for inflation each year. An estate that exceeds the exclusion by more than 5% loses the exclusion entirely and is taxed on its full value. An estate only slightly over the line can owe a large tax.
A revocable trust can include credit shelter or disclaimer provisions that let married couples manage exposure to the cliff. New York also adds back certain gifts made within three years of death when computing the estate tax, under a provision the legislature has extended several times. Our estate tax cliff calculator shows the math, and our page on advanced New York estate planning techniques covers larger estates.
What the Successor Trustee Does
When the grantor dies, the successor trustee takes control without letters from the Surrogate's Court. For trust-owned real estate, the trustee records proof of the trustee change, typically with a certified death certificate, through ACRIS or the County Clerk. The trustee then:
- collects and inventories trust assets and obtains date-of-death values;
- invests prudently under New York's Prudent Investor Act, EPTL 11-2.3;
- pays debts, expenses and taxes;
- keeps beneficiaries informed; see beneficiaries' rights to trust information; and
- distributes assets under the trust terms and accounts for the administration.
Trustees who mismanage assets can face claims for breach of trust. If you are choosing a successor, you can name a family member, a professional, or a bank as trustee. We advise successor trustees on administration as well as drafting new trusts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put my co-op into a revocable trust?
Usually yes, but the board must consent. Expect to provide a certification of trust and possibly a personal guaranty. Requirements vary by building.
Will a revocable trust protect my home from Medicaid?
No. Assets in a revocable trust are countable for Medicaid. Protection requires an irrevocable trust and, for nursing home Medicaid, five years from the transfer.
Can I be my own trustee?
Yes. Most grantors serve as their own trustee during their lifetime and name a successor to take over on incapacity or death.
Does the trust itself have to be recorded?
No. The trust agreement stays private. Deeds transferring real property into the trust are recorded, and they name you as trustee.
Do I still need a will?
Yes. A pour-over will catches assets left outside the trust and lets you name a guardian for minor children, which a trust cannot do.
Should my trust include special needs provisions?
If a beneficiary receives or may need means-tested benefits, the trust should hold that share in a supplemental needs trust. See benefits of a special needs trust.
Talk With a New York Trust Attorney
If you want to know whether a revocable trust fits your situation, or you are a successor trustee who needs help with administration, call 212-233-1233 or email [email protected]. Clients in Brooklyn can also see our Brooklyn estate lawyer page.
This page provides general information about New York law and is not legal advice. Tax thresholds and Medicaid rules change; confirm current figures before acting.
