Guardianship Attorney

What Court Supervision Actually Looks Like

Most parents assume that if something happens to them, the surviving parent or a trusted relative simply steps in and manages the money. That is not how New York works. A parent has no automatic authority to collect or spend a child's inherited assets. Absent planning, the road runs through the Surrogate's Court in the county with jurisdiction, and it comes with real friction:

• A guardianship petition. A proceeding under Article 17 of the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, with notice to interested parties and court review of the proposed guardian.
• A bond. The guardian of the property is typically required to file security before receiving the funds.
• Permission to spend. Withdrawals generally require a court order. Paying for a tutor, a car, or a summer program means an application, not a decision.
• Annual accountings. The guardian reports income, expenses, and asset values to the court every year, usually with counsel involved.
• A hard stop at 18. Whatever is left is delivered to your child outright at the age of majority, with no conditions and no oversight.

Small amounts are handled more simply — under SCPA § 2220, a decree may direct property worth $10,000 or less to be paid to a parent or another competent adult for the child's benefit. Above that threshold, the full guardianship machinery engages. If you are already dealing with an inheritance that landed on a minor with no plan attached, the companion piece we published on what happens when a minor inherits money in New York walks through the position you are in, and our overview of guardian of the property proceedings explains the appointment process itself.

The Tools That Avoid It

Every one of these keeps a minor's inheritance out of a guardianship proceeding. Which combination is right depends on the size of the estate, the age gap between your children, and how much control you want to keep over the timing.

A trust for the child's benefit

The strongest option. A trust names a trustee you choose, states exactly what the money can be used for, and sets the ages at which principal is released — often in stages, such as a third at 25, a third at 30, and the balance at 35. A trust created inside your will (a testamentary trust) avoids guardianship but still passes through probate. A revocable living trust avoids both. If a child has a disability and receives or may receive means-tested benefits, the trust must instead be structured as a supplemental needs trust so the inheritance does not disqualify them.

A custodian under New York's Uniform Transfers to Minors Act

New York's UTMA, at EPTL §§ 7-6.1 through 7-6.26, lets you nominate an adult to hold property as custodian for your child. When the custodian is named in your will or trust, the custodianship runs to age 21. It is simple, cheap, and appropriate for modest sums — but the custodian's discretion is broad, and the money is delivered outright at 21 with no ability to extend.

Beneficiary designations pointed at the right recipient

Life insurance and retirement accounts pass by designation form, not by will, so a beautifully drafted trust does nothing if the policy still names a 9-year-old directly. We review every designation and redirect it — to the trust, to a named custodian, or to a contingent adult beneficiary — so the paperwork matches the plan.

Lifetime gifts made the right way

Gifts and 529 plan contributions made during your lifetime can be structured so they are already held by a custodian or trustee rather than sitting in the child's name.

How We Help

1. We map who would inherit and at what age. Before drafting anything, we identify every minor or young adult who could take under your current documents, by intestacy, or as a contingent beneficiary.
2. We audit your beneficiary designations. We pull the life insurance, IRA, 401(k), annuity, and payable-on-death forms and flag every one that names a minor, an estate, or a person who has died.
3. We recommend the structure that fits the number. A $75,000 policy and a $2 million estate call for different answers. We tell you plainly which of the tools above we would use and why, including when a straightforward custodianship is enough and a trust would be overkill.
4. We draft the documents. Wills with testamentary trusts, revocable living trusts with separate share provisions for each child, supplemental needs language where a beneficiary has a disability, and custodian nominations that comply with the UTMA statute.
5. We name the people and the backups. Trustee, successor trustee, custodian, successor custodian, and guardian of the person for your minor children — each with an alternate, so a single declination does not send the matter to court.
6. We put the plan into effect. We supervise signing and witnessing, then follow through on the funding and the designation changes with the carriers and custodians, because an unfunded trust protects no one.

Custodianship or Trust: Where Families Get This Wrong

The decision that trips people up is not whether to plan — it is choosing between a UTMA custodianship and a trust, and the difference comes down to age and control.

A custodianship named in your will or trust ends at 21 under EPTL § 7-6.20. On that birthday the custodian must hand over everything remaining, no matter what is going on in your child's life. A trust has no such ceiling. You can hold funds to 30, tie distributions to education or a home purchase, give the trustee discretion to withhold from a beneficiary in crisis, and protect the inheritance from a beneficiary's future creditors or a divorce.

There is a second trap. New York law does allow a fiduciary to move property into a custodianship after a death — an executor or trustee can do so under EPTL § 7-6.6, and someone holding property owed to a minor can under § 7-6.7 — but those routes carry a $50,000 ceiling and court-authorization requirements, and a custodianship created that way terminates at 18 rather than 21. It is a repair, not a plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I just leave money to my minor child in my will?

You can, but a minor cannot receive or manage it, so the bequest triggers a guardianship of the property proceeding in Surrogate's Court. Naming a trustee or a UTMA custodian in the same will avoids that entirely.

What happens if my life insurance names my minor child as beneficiary?

The carrier will not pay a minor directly. Unless a custodian was nominated on the form, someone must be appointed guardian of the property before the proceeds are released, and the balance goes to your child outright at 18.

Is naming a guardian in my will enough to protect the money?

No. A guardian of the person named in your will handles where your child lives and their schooling and medical care. Managing an inheritance is a separate role, and without a trustee or custodian in place it still requires court appointment.

At what age does a New York UTMA custodianship end?

A custodianship created by will or trust ends at 21. One created afterward by an executor, trustee, or someone holding property owed to the minor ends at 18, which is one reason we prefer to name the custodian in the documents themselves.

Does a trust for my children also avoid probate?

A revocable living trust avoids both probate and guardianship. A trust written inside your will avoids the guardianship proceeding but the will itself still goes through probate and estate administration.

Put a Plan in Place Before It Is Needed

Every family we help with this comes to the same conclusion once they see the alternative: the version where a court decides how your child's inheritance is spent is not the version you would have chosen. Setting up a trust or a properly drafted custodian nomination is a fraction of the cost and none of the delay of a guardianship proceeding. We handle estate planning for families across New York and are glad to walk through your situation at no charge.

Law Offices of Roman Aminov

147-17 Union Turnpike
Flushing, NY 11367
Phone: (347) 766-2685
Fax: (347) 474-7344