Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples in Long Island

If you and your partner have built a life together in Nassau or Suffolk County but never married, here is the single most surprising fact about estate planning for unmarried couples in Long Island: under New York law, your partner of twenty years is a legal stranger to you. New York abolished common-law marriage in 1933, and the state’s intestacy statute, EPTL 4-1.1, distributes the assets of someone who dies without a will only to a surviving spouse, children, parents, and other blood relatives. An unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically, cannot make your medical decisions by default, and may have no right to remain in the home you shared. Without deliberate planning, the people you are closest to are the people New York law ignores.

Why Unmarried Couples Face a Legal Gap in New York

Marriage is, in many respects, a bundle of default legal protections. When you are not married, none of those defaults apply to your partner, no matter how long you have been together or how much you have intertwined your finances. This is not a Long Island quirk; it is the structure of New York’s estate, health, and property laws. The result is that unmarried couples must build by contract and by document what married couples receive automatically.

No Intestate Inheritance Rights

Under EPTL 4-1.1, if you die without a will, your estate passes through a fixed hierarchy that begins with a legal spouse and descends through children and other relatives. An unmarried partner appears nowhere in that statute. If you have no living relatives at all, your assets could ultimately escheat to the State of New York before your partner ever sees a dollar. The Surrogate’s Court does not recognize devotion; it recognizes documents and statutory relationships.

No Automatic Healthcare Authority

If you are hospitalized at a facility like NYU Langone Long Island in Mineola or Stony Brook University Hospital and become unable to speak for yourself, New York’s surrogate decision-making law, the Family Health Care Decisions Act (Public Health Law Article 29-CC), establishes a priority list of who may decide for you. That list starts with a spouse or domestic partner and moves to adult children, parents, and siblings. An unmarried partner who has not been formally designated can be outranked, second-guessed, or excluded entirely by your relatives.

No Default Property Succession

Long Island real estate is often a couple’s largest asset, and how the deed is titled controls everything. Two unmarried people who own a Levittown or Huntington home as tenants in common each own a separate share that passes through their own estate, not automatically to the other. Only a true joint tenancy with right of survivorship moves the property to the survivor outside of probate. Many couples discover the difference only after a death, when it is too late to fix.

The Core Documents Every Unmarried Couple Needs

The good news is that nearly every protection marriage provides can be recreated through proper documents. For unmarried couples, these instruments are not optional add-ons; they are the entire foundation of your legal relationship. Below is the core framework we build for Long Island clients.

The Power of Beneficiary Designations

One of the most efficient tools for unmarried couples is the beneficiary designation. Life insurance policies, 401(k)s, IRAs, and certain bank and brokerage accounts (through a Payable-on-Death or Transfer-on-Death registration) pass directly to the named person and bypass both your will and probate entirely. Naming your partner on these accounts is a simple, powerful step. Just remember to keep the designations current after any major life change, because an outdated beneficiary form is one of the most common and costly mistakes we see.

Concrete Long Island Scenarios

Abstract law becomes real when you picture it playing out in a Long Island living room. Here are situations we encounter regularly across Nassau and Suffolk.

1. The unprotected home. Maria and Joan have lived in their Garden City home for fifteen years, but the deed is in Maria’s name alone. Maria dies without a will. Under EPTL 4-1.1, the house passes to Maria’s estranged brother in Florida, who is free to evict Joan. A simple deed change and a will would have prevented this entirely.
2. The hospital standoff. Tom collapses and is taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip. His partner David is told by staff that, without a health care proxy, Tom’s adult son from a prior relationship has decision-making authority under the Family Health Care Decisions Act. David is left in the waiting room during the most important decisions of Tom’s life.
3. The frozen accounts. Priya suffers a stroke. Her partner Sam cannot access her bank account to pay their shared Suffolk County mortgage because there is no durable power of attorney. The only remedy is an expensive Article 81 guardianship proceeding in Suffolk County Supreme Court, costing thousands and taking months.
4. The blended-family contest. An unmarried couple leaves everything to each other by will, but one partner’s children challenge it in Surrogate’s Court. A revocable living trust would have kept the transfer private and far harder to contest.

Common Mistakes Unmarried Long Island Couples Make

Even thoughtful couples fall into predictable traps. Avoiding them is half the battle.

• Assuming time together creates rights. New York has no common-law marriage. Two decades together grants your partner zero statutory inheritance or decision-making authority.
• Relying on a verbal promise. “Everything is yours if anything happens to me” has no legal force. Surrogate’s Court enforces signed, witnessed documents, not intentions.
• Mis-titling the deed. Owning property as tenants in common instead of joint tenants with right of survivorship sends a partner’s share into probate rather than to the survivor.
• Forgetting beneficiary updates. An old 401(k) still naming a former partner or a parent overrides whatever your will says.
• Ignoring the New York estate tax cliff. New York imposes its own estate tax, and unmarried partners do not get the unlimited marital deduction that married couples enjoy. Larger estates can face significant tax exposure that planning can reduce.
• Doing nothing at all. The most common mistake is procrastination, which simply hands every decision to EPTL 4-1.1 and the default rules.

For unmarried couples, a complete set of estate documents is not a luxury reserved for the wealthy. It is the only thing standing between your partner and a legal system that treats them as a stranger.

When to Call an Attorney

Some legal matters can wait. Estate planning for unmarried partners is not one of them, because incapacity and death do not schedule themselves. You should speak with counsel promptly if you own a home together, share significant accounts, have children from prior relationships, or simply want the certainty that your partner will be protected. An experienced estate planning attorney NYC can coordinate your will, trust, powers of attorney, health care proxy, deed titling, and beneficiary forms into a single plan that actually works under New York law.

Working with a Long Island firm matters because the documents must be executed to New York’s exacting standards and, if probate becomes necessary, administered through the correct county Surrogate’s Court (the 10th Judicial District covers both Nassau and Suffolk). To learn more about how we work and who we serve, visit our about page, review answers to common questions on our estate planning FAQ, or reach out directly through our contact page to begin protecting the person who matters most.

In 2026, there is no excuse for leaving your partner unprotected. The law will not bend for love, but a well-drafted plan can do everything the law refuses to do on its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my unmarried partner inherit my property automatically in New York?

No. Under EPTL 4-1.1, New York’s intestacy law gives inheritance rights only to a legal spouse and blood relatives. An unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically, which is why a will or trust is essential.

Is there common-law marriage in Long Island or anywhere in New York?

No. New York abolished common-law marriage in 1933. Living together for years, no matter how long, does not create any spousal inheritance or decision-making rights for an unmarried partner.

Can my partner make medical decisions for me if I am unmarried?

Only if you sign a New York health care proxy naming them. Without it, the Family Health Care Decisions Act (Public Health Law Article 29-CC) ranks relatives ahead of an undesignated partner, who can be excluded entirely.

How should an unmarried couple title their Long Island home?

To pass the home automatically to the survivor, title it as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Tenancy in common sends each partner’s share into probate instead of to the other partner.

Will my unmarried partner owe New York estate tax?

Possibly. Unmarried partners do not receive the unlimited marital deduction that married couples get, so larger estates can face New York estate tax. Planning with a trust and lifetime gifting can reduce this exposure.

Which Surrogate's Court handles estates for unmarried couples on Long Island?

Estates are handled by the Surrogate’s Court of the county where the person lived, either Nassau County or Suffolk County, both within New York’s 10th Judicial District. Proper planning can help your partner avoid probate altogether.

What is the single most important document for an unmarried couple?

There is no single document; you need a coordinated set. At minimum, that means a will or trust, a durable power of attorney, a health care proxy, and updated beneficiary designations naming your partner.

Can my relatives challenge a will that leaves everything to my partner?

Yes, wills can be contested in Surrogate’s Court. A properly funded revocable living trust transfers assets privately and is generally much harder for disgruntled relatives to challenge than a will alone.