If you have built up a multimillion-dollar estate in Suffolk County, deciding how to leave assets to your children is just one part of the process. It is also important to consider whether your children should have immediate and full control over those assets. A large inheritance can bring risks, such as exposure to creditors, divorce, lawsuits, poor financial choices, or a beneficiary who is not ready to handle significant wealth. We often tell clients that you do not have to choose between providing for your children and protecting those assets. With the right trust structure, your children can benefit from their inheritance without receiving all the money at once.
For families in New York, this kind of planning matters even more because large estates may face New York estate taxes. If you split your time between New York and Florida, factors like where you live, property ownership, trust management, and state tax rules make things more complex. The best approach depends on your estate’s size, what it includes, each beneficiary’s situation, and how much flexibility you want to give future trustees.
Leaving Assets In Trust Can Separate Beneficial Ownership From Immediate Control
A good way to pass on significant wealth without giving your child full control right away is to leave the inheritance in a trust instead of giving it all at once.
Rather than having your child receive several million dollars right after your death, your estate plan can keep those assets in a trust. A trustee manages and invests the assets and makes distributions based on the rules you set in the trust. This way, your child benefits from the inheritance but cannot take out all the money at once.
New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 7-1.17 establishes execution requirements for lifetime trusts, including that the trust generally be in writing and properly executed. EPTL § 7-1.18 also underscores the importance of funding, as a lifetime trust is effective only with respect to assets actually transferred to it. These provisions illustrate why merely signing a trust agreement is not enough. Asset ownership and funding must be coordinated with the overall plan.
For larger estates, we can also set up separate trusts for each child. This lets each inheritance be managed based on the individual needs and situations of your children, instead of using the same plan for everyone.
You Can Give A Trustee Discretion Over When Money Is Distributed
A trust does not have to require your child to get a third of the estate at age 30, another third at 35, and the rest at 40. While this works for some families, in others, giving out large sums at set ages can go against the main purpose of the trust.
A discretionary trust can give a trustee authority to determine when distributions should be made and for what purposes. For example, the trust may authorize distributions for health, education, maintenance, support, housing, business opportunities, or other purposes identified by the person creating the trust.
This creates an important distinction between access and control. A child may receive substantial financial support throughout life without having the unilateral right to demand the entire trust principal.
The trustee selection therefore becomes critically important. You may choose a trusted family member, an independent individual, a professional fiduciary, or in some situations a corporate trustee. We generally want the decision to reflect the complexity of the assets, family dynamics, tax considerations, and the amount of discretion the trustee will exercise.
Trust Restrictions May Also Provide Creditor And Divorce Protection
Keeping an inheritance in trust may offer another significant advantage: greater separation between inherited assets and the beneficiary’s personal financial affairs.
New York EPTL § 7-1.5 restricts the transfer of certain beneficiary interests unless the governing trust instrument provides otherwise. Carefully drafted trust provisions can therefore play an important role in protecting inherited wealth from voluntary transfers and certain creditor claims. The degree of protection depends heavily on the trust terms and circumstances, so this should never be treated as an absolute shield.
This can become especially important when a child is involved in litigation, owns a business with significant liability exposure, or goes through a divorce. Keeping inherited wealth inside an appropriately structured trust may provide considerably more protection than simply writing the beneficiary a multimillion-dollar check.
Florida also expressly recognizes spendthrift provisions under Fla. Stat. § 736.0502. A valid Florida spendthrift provision generally restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfers of the beneficiary’s interest, subject to statutory exceptions. That can be particularly relevant for snowbird families whose trusts, beneficiaries, trustees, or property have connections to both New York and Florida.
A Multimillion-Dollar Estate Requires Tax Planning Before Assets Are Transferred
Control is only one part of the planning process. Taxes must also be considered before deciding how and when substantial wealth should pass to the next generation.
For deaths occurring in 2026, New York’s basic estate tax exclusion amount is $7.35 million. That means families with substantial estates should not assume that federal estate tax planning is the only tax issue that matters.
At the federal level, the basic estate and gift tax exclusion amount is $15 million per individual for 2026, while the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient. Those numbers make lifetime gifting and trust planning potentially valuable for some families, but transferring assets simply to reduce estate size can create other income tax, basis, liquidity, and control consequences that must be analyzed first.
For married couples, the analysis may include lifetime gifting, irrevocable trusts, marital planning, generation-skipping strategies, life insurance planning, and the timing of asset transfers. There is no single structure that is appropriate for every multimillion-dollar estate.
Snowbirds Should Coordinate New York And Florida Planning
Families with significant assets in both New York and Florida should be especially careful about using documents created for one state without considering the other.
Florida currently has no separate state estate tax comparable to New York’s estate tax, but changing residence does not automatically eliminate New York estate tax concerns. Domicile, asset location, ownership structure, and the nature of property retained in New York can all matter.
Trust planning can also help address real estate in multiple states. Holding property through a properly structured trust may reduce the possibility that beneficiaries will have to deal with separate probate proceedings involving real estate located outside the decedent’s home state.
For snowbirds with multimillion-dollar estates, we typically look at the entire structure rather than one document in isolation. The objective is to coordinate the trust, will, beneficiary designations, property ownership, tax planning, and state residency considerations so that they work together.
You Can Transfer Wealth Without Handing Over The Keys
A large inheritance does not have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. You can provide generously for your children while still creating reasonable safeguards around the assets.
A properly structured trust may allow your children to benefit from investment income, receive distributions for important needs, and eventually participate in managing the trust without receiving unrestricted control immediately. Some trusts can even give beneficiaries increasing responsibility as they become older or demonstrate financial maturity.
For multimillion-dollar estates, the most important question is not simply who will inherit. We also want to determine how the inheritance should be held, who should control it, what protections should continue after your death, and how the transfer can be structured efficiently from a tax perspective.
Contact Our Hauppauge Estate Planning Lawyer To Discuss Your Options
Transferring a multimillion-dollar estate requires more than deciding who receives your assets. We help families consider how wealth should be held, when children should gain control, how inheritances may be protected, and how New York estate tax and federal transfer tax rules affect the overall plan. For clients with homes, businesses, or other assets in both New York and Florida, we can also address the additional issues created by multistate ownership and snowbird residency.
At Bernard Law P.C., our goal is to create an estate plan based on your family, your assets, and the legacy you want to leave rather than forcing a substantial estate into a standardized structure.
If you have accumulated significant wealth and want to transfer assets to your children without giving them immediate unrestricted control, we can help you evaluate trust structures and other planning strategies appropriate for your circumstances.
Bernard Law P.C. is located in Hauppauge, New York, and serves clients throughout Suffolk County. Call our Suffolk County estate planning attorney at Bernard Law P.C. at (631) 378-2500 to schedule a free consultation and discuss how you can protect, manage, and transfer your family’s wealth.
