Trusts and Estates

Trusted Long Island advisors

Our trust and estate planning attorneys advise and help anticipate the needs of individuals, families, and businesses on Long Island. We appreciate how important it is to provide security for family when business assets and other property are transferred due to retirement, disability, or death. From drawing up a simple will through more complex estate planning that may include various kinds of trusts and business organization, we can help smooth the transition of your estate. We also assist in administration, probate, and execution of wills and estate plans and related matters, including—

Asset protection planning
Business succession planning
Charitable trusts and foundations
Estate administration
Estate and gift tax controversies
Estate planning

Family limited partnerships
Gift and inheritance taxes
Guardianships and conservatorships
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

Probate and trust administration
Probate and trust litigation
Retirement benefit planning
Trusts
Wills
Will contests

The Long Island attorneys of the Law Offices of Kyle Norton, P.C. are here to help you at every step along the way.

Types of trusts

A trust is a legal arrangement established by a person who wishes to provide assets to a beneficiary. These assets are managed by a person called a trustee. When a trust is appropriate for you, there are a number of different types you can choose:

Living trust—set up and in effect while you are living
Testamentary trust—set up as part of a will and in effect upon your death
Revocable trust—can be altered after it is in effect to terminate the trust, add or remove assets, change the beneficiary, and more
Irrevocable trust—cannot be altered or revoked after it is in effect; generally used for gifting purposes
Life insurance trust—established to own a life insurance policy, generally used to transfer life insurance proceeds to a beneficiary free of estate tax and irrevocable
Credit shelter trust—used by a married couple to take advantage of both spouses' credits against the federal estate tax
Special needs trust—enables a person under a physical or mental disability, or an individual with a chronic or acquired illness, to have held in trust for his or her benefit an unlimited amount of assets. Those assets are not countable for purposes of qualification for certain governmental benefits.

Probate Lawyers in Long Island

What is Probate? After a person dies, ownership (the legal title) of his or her property, assets and personal effects must be passed on (legally transferred) to the beneficiaries (heirs) listed in the Will. "Probate" is the legal name given to this process.

First, the Will must be verified as the valid, final dispositive statement of the decedent (the official record of the deceased person's final wishes). The Will names the person or institution appointed to administer (manage) the probate estate process.

The term "probate" is also used in the larger sense of "probating the estate".
In this sense, probate means the process by which the decendent's property and assets are gathered and accounted; debts, creditors and estate taxes are paid, and how the remaining property, assets and cash are distributed to the beneficiaries.

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For effective, professional help with trusts and estate planning and administration issues, you need an experienced lawyer who is knowledgeable about all of the provisions of the law and genuinely wants to help. Request our free newsletter and/or sign up for our seminars using the message field on our contact form. Call our legal hotline at 877-871-6179 or contact the Law Offices of Kyle Norton, P.C. online for a free consultation about your future.

Your initial, in-person consultation is free.