Trust Attorney in Oyster Bay Cove, NY
Protect Your Family's Future Today
Skip probate delays and keep your estate private with professionally crafted trusts that work for your Long Island family.
Living Trust Benefits Oyster Bay Cove
Your Assets Transfer Immediately
When you set up a properly funded trust, your family gets immediate access to your assets without waiting months for probate court. No $1,250 filing fees. No public records. No family arguments over who gets what. Your beneficiaries receive exactly what you intended, when you intended, without court interference. Whether that’s college tuition at 18, a house down payment at 25, or full inheritance at 30 – you decide the terms. The peace of mind is immediate too. You know your family won’t face the stress of probate delays when they’re already dealing with loss.
Experienced Trust Lawyers Nassau County
We Know Long Island Families
We’ve been serving Long Island families for years, understanding exactly what Oyster Bay Cove residents face – high property values, complex family dynamics, and the need for privacy in estate matters. We’ve helped hundreds of families avoid probate entirely while protecting their assets from creditors and long-term care costs. Our clients appreciate that we speak Spanish and Italian, making complex legal concepts accessible to everyone in the family. You’ll find us different from other law firms. We come to you – whether that’s your home, hospital, or nursing facility – because we understand that estate planning happens during life’s most challenging moments.
Trust Creation Process Long Island
Simple Steps to Complete Protection
First, we meet with you to understand your family situation, assets, and goals. This consultation is always free, and we can meet wherever you’re comfortable – our office, your home, or virtually. Next, we draft your trust documents with specific instructions for how your assets should be managed and distributed. We explain everything in plain language so you understand exactly how your trust works. Finally, we help you fund the trust by transferring your assets into it. This is the crucial step that actually avoids probate. We handle the paperwork for real estate, bank accounts, and investments so nothing gets missed.
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Trust Types Available Oyster Bay
Every Trust Serves a Purpose
Revocable living trusts give you complete control during your lifetime while avoiding probate for your family. You can change beneficiaries, add assets, or even dissolve the trust if your situation changes. Irrevocable trusts protect your assets from creditors and potential lawsuits – particularly valuable for Long Island professionals in high-liability careers. These trusts also provide Medicaid planning benefits if you need long-term care. Special needs trusts ensure disabled family members receive inheritance without losing government benefits. With Long Island’s high cost of living, these trusts are essential for maintaining quality of life while preserving eligibility for crucial programs.
How much does it cost to avoid probate with a trust in New York?
Creating a trust typically costs a fraction of what your family would spend on probate. While probate can cost 6% of your estate value in combined attorney and executor fees, plus court costs up to $1,250, a trust is a one-time investment that saves thousands. For most Oyster Bay Cove families, trust creation pays for itself by avoiding just the probate filing fees and first few months of attorney costs. When you consider that probate takes 7-9 months and costs $350-600 per hour in legal fees, the math is clear. The real value isn’t just financial – it’s the peace of mind knowing your family won’t face delays, public scrutiny, or potential conflicts when they’re already grieving.
What's the difference between revocable and irrevocable trusts?
Revocable trusts let you maintain complete control during your lifetime. You can change beneficiaries, add or remove assets, and even dissolve the trust entirely. You remain the trustee, managing everything as you always have, but your family avoids probate when you pass away. Irrevocable trusts require giving up control in exchange for stronger protection. Once you transfer assets into an irrevocable trust, they’re protected from creditors, lawsuits, and Medicaid spend-down requirements. This is particularly valuable for Long Island residents with substantial assets or professional liability concerns. Many families use both types – a revocable trust for immediate probate avoidance and flexibility, plus an irrevocable trust for asset protection and Medicaid planning. We help you determine which combination serves your family’s specific needs.
Can I still use my assets after putting them in a trust?
With a revocable living trust, absolutely nothing changes in your daily life. You remain the trustee, so you have complete control over all trust assets. You can buy, sell, spend, or invest exactly as you always have. The only difference is the legal title – instead of assets being in your individual name, they’re held by the trust. But since you control the trust, you control the assets. You’ll still receive all income, make all decisions, and use everything normally. This is why revocable trusts are so popular with Long Island families. You get all the probate avoidance benefits without sacrificing any control or flexibility during your lifetime.
How does a trust protect assets from nursing home costs?
Irrevocable trusts can protect assets from Medicaid spend-down requirements, but timing is crucial. New York has a five-year look-back period, meaning any assets transferred to an irrevocable trust must remain there for five years before they’re protected from Medicaid calculations. If you transfer your home and savings to an irrevocable trust today, and need nursing home care six years from now, those assets won’t count against Medicaid eligibility. This can save hundreds of thousands in long-term care costs for Long Island families. The key is planning early, before you need care. We help families structure these trusts to maintain some benefits (like continued residence in the family home) while achieving maximum protection. It’s complex planning that requires experienced guidance to do correctly.
What happens if I become incapacitated without a trust?
Without a trust, your family would need to petition the court for guardianship to manage your affairs. This process is public, expensive, and time-consuming – exactly what families want to avoid during medical crises. The court would appoint someone to make financial and healthcare decisions for you, but they’d need court approval for many actions. This creates delays when quick decisions are needed, and ongoing court supervision adds costs and complications. A properly funded trust eliminates this problem entirely. Your successor trustee can immediately step in to manage trust assets and pay bills without court involvement. Combined with powers of attorney for non-trust assets, you ensure seamless management during incapacity.
How long does it take to set up a trust?
The trust documents themselves typically take 2-3 weeks to prepare after our initial meeting. However, the most important step – funding the trust – can take several additional weeks depending on how many assets need to be transferred. Real estate transfers require new deeds, which we prepare and record for you. Bank and investment accounts need retitling, which we coordinate with your financial institutions. The goal is to transfer everything that would otherwise go through probate. We handle the entire process, keeping you informed at each step. Most families have fully funded trusts within 4-6 weeks of our first meeting. The key is working with attorneys who understand the funding process – an unfunded trust doesn’t avoid probate, so this step is crucial.
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