About Morgan Legal Group: New York’s Trust & Estate Planning Team

Most people put off estate planning because it sounds complicated. Our goal at Morgan Legal Group is to make it straightforward. Attorney Russel Morgan, Esq. has spent his career translating New York’s dense statutory framework — primarily the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) — into plain-English plans that actually protect families across New York State: from New York City and Long Island to Westchester, the Hudson Valley, and Upstate communities.

What We Do

We focus on the instruments that give you the most control over your legacy and your care:

Planning Tool	Core Purpose	NY Law Anchor
Revocable Living Trust	Avoids probate, protects privacy, manages assets during incapacity	EPTL Article 7
Irrevocable Trust	Estate-tax reduction, asset protection, Medicaid planning	EPTL Article 7; 5-year look-back
Special Needs Trust (SNT)	Preserves Medicaid/SSI benefits for a disabled beneficiary	EPTL § 7-1.12
Trust Administration	Guiding trustees through fiduciary duties after a death	EPTL Article 11-A
Trust vs. Will Analysis	Choosing the right document — or combining both	EPTL & Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act

A broader look at every trust type available to New York families is on our trusts overview page.

Why a Trust Is Often Worth It

A will is a legally sound document, but it is public record and must pass through the Surrogate’s Court before your family receives a dollar. A trust, by contrast, is a private agreement that transfers assets without court involvement — saving both time and probate costs.

That said, the right choice depends on your situation:

• A revocable living trust keeps you in full control. You can amend or revoke it at any time. It streamlines the handoff at death and can authorize a successor trustee to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated. One important caveat: because you still own the assets, a revocable trust offers no estate-tax savings.
• An irrevocable trust permanently moves assets out of your taxable estate. For 2026, New York’s basic exclusion is $7,350,000 — but New York has a hard “cliff” rule: estates valued above 105% of that figure ($7,717,500) lose the entire exemption, not just the overage. Strategic irrevocable trust planning can keep an estate below that line.
• A Special Needs Trust under EPTL § 7-1.12 lets a family member leave assets to a disabled loved one without disqualifying that person from Medicaid or SSI.

Every trustee we work with understands their fiduciary obligations: the prudent-investor standard under EPTL Article 11-A, undivided loyalty to beneficiaries, and the duty to account. We help trustees meet those obligations from day one.

Serving All of New York

Whether your estate is in Manhattan, Nassau County, White Plains, Poughkeepsie, or Albany, New York law is the same — and so is our approach. We meet clients where they are and build plans that hold up statewide.

Ready to start? Schedule a consultation with Russel Morgan, Esq. — no obligation, plain answers.

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