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Living Trusts for Unmarried Couples in New York - Davies Law Firm · BSPE Legal Marketing Podcast

• 0:00
  Living Trusts for Unmarried Couples in New York Millions of unmarried couples across New York share their lives, their homes, and their futures, yet the law treats them as legal strangers when one partner dies.
• 0:11
  Under New York's intestacy statute, EPTL Section 4-1.1, an unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit anything from a deceased partner's estate.
• 0:22
  New York has not recognized new common-law marriages formed within the state since 1933, meaning that years of living together, sharing finances, and building a life provide no inheritance protection on their own.
• 0:34
  A revocable living trust is one of the most powerful tools available to unmarried couples because assets properly transferred into the trust can pass directly to a named partner without going through Surrogate's Court probate.
• 0:46
  Probate filings become public court records, and the process requires the court to admit the will and issue letters testamentary before an executor can act on behalf of the estate.
• 0:57
  A living trust bypasses that process entirely, allowing the trustor to name a partner as successor trustee, as beneficiary, or as both, so the partner can manage and receive trust assets according to the trust's own terms.
• 1:10
  Married spouses enjoy legal protections that no trust can fully replicate, including elective share rights under EPTL Section 5-1.1-A, the ability to hold real property as tenants by the entirety, spousal survivor rights in employer retirement plans, and federal gift and estate tax marital deductions for qualifying transfers.
• 1:31
  Estate planning can address many of these gaps, even if it cannot recreate every right that comes with marriage, and companion documents like beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, and health care proxies fill in where a trust alone cannot reach.
• 1:45
  Property titling is especially important for unmarried couples because under EPTL Section 6-2.2, a disposition to two or more people creates a tenancy in common by default unless the deed expressly creates a joint tenancy.
• 2:00
  A tenancy in common means the deceased partner's fractional share passes under the will or, if there is no will, under intestacy rules, potentially landing in the hands of a family member who then becomes a co-owner with the surviving partner.
• 2:13
  A joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes the deceased partner's interest to the surviving co-owner by operation of law, though creating one can carry gift tax consequences and expose that interest to the owner's creditors.
• 2:26
  When a partner's family challenges an estate plan, having a properly drafted and funded trust, supported by consistent asset titling and updated beneficiary designations, creates a much stronger legal foundation than a will alone.
• 2:39
  The attorney you work with matters enormously, because each couple's situation involves unique combinations of real property, retirement accounts, bank accounts, and personal goals that require careful review of how every asset is owned and designated.
• 2:53
  At Davies Law Firm, Frederick P Davies and William P Davies work with unmarried couples to build estate plans that reflect how each partner wants property managed, protected, and ultimately passed on, making sure the living trust fits within the broader picture of the couple's financial life.
• 3:09
  Call Davies Law Firm at 315, 472, 6511, located at 210 E Fayette St, Syracuse, NY 13202, United States, to schedule your consultation with a lawyer who understands what is at stake for unmarried couples in New York.