Protect Your Wealth Plan Your Future

A Living Trust is a legal arrangement established during your lifetime where assets are transferred into the trust and managed by a trustee. The main benefits include:

1. Avoid Probate: Assets in the trust do not need to go through the lengthy court probate process and can be transferred to beneficiaries more quickly.
2. Privacy Protection: Probate is public record, while trusts remain private.
3. Tax Planning: A properly designed trust can help reduce estate taxes.
4. Asset Protection: In certain situations, assets can be protected from creditors.

Wills and trusts are two different estate planning tools:

Will: Only takes effect after death, requires probate process, is public record, typically lower cost but less efficient.

Trust: Can be effective during life and after death, avoids probate, maintains privacy, provides more flexible asset distribution, but higher initial setup cost.

The choice depends on your specific situation. Our attorneys can provide professional advice based on your asset size, family structure, and planning goals.

New York State imposes estate tax on estates exceeding a certain threshold:

2026 Exemption: $7.35 million (NY State), $15 million (Federal)
Tax Rate: For amounts exceeding the exemption, rates range from 3.06% to 16%
Important Note: New York has a "Cliff Rule" - if the estate exceeds 105% of the exemption, the entire estate is taxed, not just the excess.

Through proper estate planning and trust establishment, you can legally reduce or even eliminate estate tax burden.

To make your first consultation more efficient, we recommend preparing the following:

Estate Planning Cases: Asset list (real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts), family member information, existing wills or trust documents (if any)

Immigration Cases: Passport, visa, I-94, existing immigration documents

Criminal Cases: Case-related documents, summons, police reports

Civil Cases: Contracts, correspondence, relevant evidence

Even without these documents, we can conduct a preliminary consultation and provide advice.

Our fee structure depends on the case type:

Estate Planning/Trusts: Usually flat fee, varies by complexity
Immigration Cases: Flat fee plus government filing fees
Criminal/Civil Litigation: Hourly rate or flat fee, depending on case complexity
Personal Injury Cases: Contingency fee

Initial consultation is free. We will explain all fees in detail before taking your case with no hidden charges.

Our service coverage includes:

Primary Service Areas: All five boroughs of NYC (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island), Long Island, Westchester County

Statewide Service: Throughout New York State

Federal Cases: Can represent clients nationwide in federal court

We have three offices in Manhattan, Queens (Flushing), and New Jersey for your convenience. We also offer video consultation services.