Comprehensive Trust & Will Planning for LGBTQ+ Individuals, Couples & Families
At the Law Office of Inna Fershteyn, we proudly provide compassionate, inclusive, and highly personalized estate planning services for the LGBTQ+ community in New York. Whether you're creating a will, setting up a trust, securing parental rights, or protecting your partner, we make sure your wishes are fully enforceable and recognized under New York law — giving you control, clarity, and peace of mind.
Why LGBTQ+ Estate Planning Matters
LGBTQ+ families often rely on nontraditional or chosen family relationships. However, without a legally sound estate plan, New York’s default intestacy laws favor biological relatives rather than partners, chosen family, or non-biological parents. This can create serious complications and undermine your intentions.
Risks Without LGBTQ+ Focused Legal Planning
Without an LGBTQ+ focused plan, unmarried partners may not inherit anything automatically, leaving them financially vulnerable. Biological relatives can step in and challenge your estate wishes, even if they were not involved in your life. Additionally, partners may have no authority to make medical or financial decisions without the appropriate documents in place. Non-biological parents may lack essential guardianship or custody rights for children. Finally, your estate may be forced into probate, a public, lengthy, and stressful process that can expose private information and create opportunities for conflict. A customized LGBTQ+ estate plan gives you full control over your partner, children, medical care, assets, and legacy.
Core Components of LGBTQ+ Estate Planning
1. Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust is one of the most powerful estate planning tools available for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. It provides privacy, flexibility, and protection in ways that a simple will cannot. A living trust completely avoids probate, ensuring that your assets transfer privately and efficiently. It keeps your affairs confidential, as the trust does not become part of the public record the way a will does. It also prevents challenges from estranged or unsupportive family members by clearly outlining your wishes in a legally enforceable way. A trust protects unmarried partners by ensuring they receive the assets you intend for them. It also ensures seamless management of your assets if you become incapacitated and allows you to leave detailed, flexible instructions for your legacy.
2. Last Will & Testament
A Last Will & Testament remains an essential component of LGBTQ+ estate planning. Through a will, you can designate exactly who will inherit your assets, ensuring that your chosen beneficiaries, not the state, determine the outcome. You can also name guardians for minor or future children, designate an executor you trust to manage your estate, and specify your funeral or memorial preferences. Even if you have a trust, a pour-over will play a crucial role by ensuring that any remaining assets transfer legally into the trust.
3. Powers of Attorney & Medical Directives
A complete LGBTQ+ estate plan includes essential documents that protect you during your lifetime, not only after your passing. A Power of Attorney authorizes your partner or another trusted individual to manage your financial matters if you are unable to do so yourself. A Health Care Proxy ensures that the person you choose, not an unsupportive or estranged relative, can make critical medical decisions on your behalf. A Living Will outlines your preferences regarding life support, end-of-life care, and medical interventions.
LGBTQ+ Family & Parenting Protections
LGBTQ+ parents often need additional legal protections, especially in families involving non-biological, blended, or chosen family structures. Our firm helps clients secure these rights by naming legal guardians in their estate documents, creating trusts to provide financial stability for minor children, and safeguarding the rights of non-biological parents. We assist with legal documentation that secures parenting rights, ensures continuity in caregiving, and protects the long term well being of children within LGBTQ+ families.
Trust Planning to Avoid Probate in New York
Probate in New York is notoriously slow, expensive, and fully public. For LGBTQ+ families, probate may also invite disputes or interference from biological relatives who do not support or recognize your relationships. A properly drafted and fully funded trust protects you from these complications by keeping all estate matters private, reducing or eliminating the potential for family conflict, and allowing your beneficiaries faster access to funds. Trusts also prevent unnecessary litigation and ensure that both your identity and your relationships remain confidential. Because of these important benefits, more than 80% of our LGBTQ+ clients choose to incorporate a living trust into their estate plan.
Why Choose the Law Office of Inna Fershteyn
Clients choose our firm because we offer an LGBTQ +affirming, inclusive, and sensitive environment dedicated to protecting diverse family structures. We have extensive experience working with nontraditional families and are licensed New York estate planning professionals with deep expertise in trusts, probate avoidance, and incapacity planning. With offices in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, we offer convenience and accessibility. Our pricing is transparent, and we take the time to thoroughly explain every document. Importantly, we also assist with funding your trust, a critical step that many firms overlook but is essential for ensuring probate avoidance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do unmarried LGBTQ+ partners have inheritance rights in New York?
No. If you pass away without a will or trust, your unmarried partner has no automatic inheritance rights under New York law. A tailored estate plan is the only way to legally protect your partner.
Can biological family members challenge my estate plan?
Yes. Family members can and sometimes do challenge wills that leave assets to partners or chosen family. A living trust significantly reduces this risk because it operates outside the court system and is harder to dispute.
Is a trust better than a will for LGBTQ+ families?
In most cases, yes. A trust avoids probate, provides privacy, and helps prevent interference from unsupportive relatives. It also offers more flexibility and stronger protections for unmarried partners and non-biological parents.
Do both partners need a health care proxy?
Absolutely. Without a Health Care Proxy, your partner may be prevented from making medical decisions or even accessing health information during an emergency.
Do LGBTQ+ parents need additional documents to protect non-biological parents?
Yes. A will, trust, guardianship designations, and supplemental parenting documents are essential to ensure that non-biological parents maintain custody and decision-making authority.
Can a trust protect my identity or relationship details from becoming public?
Yes. Trusts remain private documents, unlike wills, which become part of the public record during probate.
How often should we update our estate plan?
We recommend updating your plan after major life events, such as marriage, new children, transition, change of partner, relocation, or new assets or at least every 3–5 years.
Case Studies
Case Study 1
Two successful women from Latin America, both building careers in New York, realized their assets and relationship were unprotected. Concerned about medical emergencies and potential claims from biological relatives abroad, they came to our firm for help. We created a living trust, wills, and medical directives that ensured seamless inheritance, full decision making rights, and complete privacy. They left with peace of mind knowing their partnership and future plans were legally protected.
Case Study 2
A Brooklyn couple in a long term relationship had no legal documents in place. When one partner experienced a sudden medical emergency, the hospital refused to recognize the surviving partner’s authority to make decisions. After working with us, they created a trust, wills, and medical directives that ensured the surviving partner would be legally protected and inherit their shared home. When one partner later passed away unexpectedly, the trust allowed the survivor to avoid probate entirely and prevented unsupportive relatives from interfering.
Case Study 3
A same-sex couple with two young children wanted to ensure that the non-biological parent had full guardianship rights. We created a will naming guardians, established a children’s trust, and prepared additional parental authorization documents. When the biological parent later faced a serious health diagnosis, the legal protections we implemented gave the family peace of mind and ensured the children would remain with the second parent under all circumstances.
Next Steps: Begin Your LGBTQ+ Estate Plan Today
Schedule a Consultation
Call (718) 333-2394 or visit our Contact Page.
Brooklyn Office:
1517 Voorhies Ave, Suite 4
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Manhattan Office:
310 East 2nd St, #9A
New York, NY 10009
