Estate Planning for Eastchester Families
Eastchester residents have built something worth protecting
and a well-structured estate plan is how that protection holds across generations.
What Eastchester Families
Are Planning For
Eastchester residents have built something worth protecting — and a well-structured estate plan is how that protection holds across generations.
At Cerrato McGoey, we work with Eastchester families to create wills, trusts, and probate plans that reflect their actual lives: blended households, aging parents, children with special needs, properties, and businesses that don't fit neatly into a one-size template. Our office serves the Eastchester community as part of a broader Lower Westchester practice rooted in estate planning, real estate law, and personal injury.
Why EastChester Families Choose Us
Customer testimonials on Google
The Core Documents Every Eastchester Resident Should Have in Place
Last Will and Testament
A will names your beneficiaries, appoints an executor to carry out your wishes, and designates guardians for any minor children. Without one, New York's intestacy laws make those decisions for you — and the outcome may not reflect what you would have chosen.
Revocable Living Trust
A revocable trust allows your estate to transfer to heirs without going through probate, which can be a significant time and cost savings. It also gives you continued control over your assets during your lifetime and can be amended as your circumstances change.
Healthcare Proxy and Power of Attorney
These documents authorize someone you trust to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Without them, your family may need to petition a court for guardianship — an avoidable and often expensive process.
Special Needs Trust
Families with a child or dependent who receives Medicaid, SSI, or other means-tested benefits need a trust structure that provides for that person without triggering a loss of eligibility. This requires careful drafting — the wrong language can disqualify a beneficiary from the benefits they depend on.
How Probate Works in New York
and How to Reduce Your Family's Exposure to It
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will and distributing an estate. In New York, it runs through Surrogate's Court and can take anywhere from several months to well over a year, depending on the estate's complexity and whether the will is contested.
Assets held in a trust, jointly titled property, and accounts with named beneficiaries generally pass outside of probate. Thoughtful planning — done before it's needed — can significantly reduce how much of your estate is subject to the process.
For families already navigating a loss, we also handle probate and estate administration directly, guiding executors and administrators through the filing requirements, creditor notices, asset inventory, and final distributions that the process requires.
Why Eastchester Residents Work With Cerrato McGoey
We are a Westchester County firm. Eastchester is part of the community we serve — not a market we're targeting from a distance. Our estate planning practice is grounded in New York law, built around the specific asset profiles and family structures common to this part of the county, and supported by attorneys who handle real estate closings, probate filings, and trust administration alongside the drafting work.
That breadth matters. An estate plan that involves real property, a business interest, or a family member with a disability requires more than a document template. It requires attorneys who understand how those pieces interact — and who can handle the legal work when those pieces move.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Estate Planning in Eastchester
Do I need an attorney to create a will in New York, or can I use an online service?
New York does not require an attorney to draft a will, but the execution requirements — two witnesses, specific signing formalities — are strict, and errors can render the document invalid. An attorney also ensures the will works alongside your other documents and accounts for assets that pass outside the will entirely.
How often should I update my estate plan?
A good rule of thumb is to review your plan every three to five years, or sooner after a major life event: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a significant change in assets, or the death of a named beneficiary or executor. Documents that made sense ten years ago may no longer reflect your wishes or your family's structure.
What happens to my estate if I die without a will in New York?
New York's intestacy laws determine how your assets are distributed. The outcome depends on which relatives survive you — and it may not align with your intentions. A surviving spouse receives a defined share, but children, parents, and other relatives inherit according to a fixed formula rather than your preferences.
Is a trust only for wealthy families?
Trusts serve a range of purposes that have nothing to do with estate size. Avoiding probate, providing for a child with a disability, controlling how and when an inheritance is distributed, and protecting assets from a beneficiary's creditors are all reasons families at many income levels use trusts. The right structure depends on your goals, not your net worth.
Can Cerrato McGoey help with both estate planning and a real estate closing?
Yes. We handle residential closings and commercial transactions as part of our Westchester practice. Many of our estate planning clients work with us on real estate matters as well, particularly when a property needs to be transferred into a trust or addressed as part of an estate.
