Asset protection turns on your specific facts. A free role check shows you where you stand — and these questions belong with a New York attorney.
Start the free role checkWhat asset protection means — and what it doesn't
Asset protection is lawful planning, done in advance, to reduce exposure to future creditors. It is not a way to hide assets, defeat existing claims, or guarantee a result. Whether any protection applies depends on facts, timing, titling, the type of claim, and New York and federal law — which is why it's an attorney's call, not a do-it-yourself project.
New York features people ask about
The homestead exemption
New York exempts a principal residence the owner occupies — a house, cooperative shares, a condominium unit or a mobile home — from money judgments up to $150,000, $125,000 or $75,000 of equity depending on the county (CPLR 5206). It does not protect against a judgment for the purchase price or against taxes, and it continues after the owner's death for the surviving spouse and children. Whether it applies to your situation is a question for an attorney.
Tenancy by the entirety
A deed of real property to spouses creates a tenancy by the entirety unless it says otherwise (EPTL 6-2.2), and the survivor takes the whole. How far it keeps one spouse's creditors away turns on the debt and the case law — it is a form of title, not a guaranteed shield, and an attorney can assess it.
Exempt assets (insurance, annuities, retirement)
New York law gives certain life insurance proceeds, annuities, and retirement accounts special treatment under statutes like Ins. Law §3212(b), Ins. Law §3212(d), and CPLR 5205(c)(2) — subject to conditions and exceptions. Treat these as “may have special rules — confirm with an attorney,” never as a guarantee.
A revocable living Trust is not asset protection
Because you keep full control of a revocable living Trust, its assets are still reachable by your creditors during your life — a disposition in trust for the use of the creator is void as against the creator's existing and subsequent creditors (EPTL 7-3.1). A revocable Trust is an administration and probate-avoidance tool. Strategies that may offer protection are different, fact-specific, and an attorney's domain.
The timing trap: voidable transfers
Timing is everything. Moving, retitling, converting, or giving away assets after a creditor, lawsuit, divorce, bankruptcy, lien, collection, or tax issue has arisen can be set aside as a voidable transfer under New York's Debtor and Creditor Law (§§273–274) — and can make things worse. Moving assets in the face of a claim is the kind of step trustees commonly bring to a licensed New York attorney first.
Where to start in New York
Asset protection is one of the most fact-specific areas of the law — the right approach depends entirely on your assets, your family, your risks, and timing. This page is general information only. A free role check can show you where you stand, and these decisions belong with a New York attorney.
Asset protection depends on facts, timing, documents, creditor claims, beneficiary circumstances, tax issues, and applicable law. TrusteeClear does not guarantee that any asset is protected, and nothing here is legal advice.
General information about New York law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a revocable trust protect assets in New York?
- No. A disposition in trust for the use of the creator is void as against the creator's existing and subsequent creditors (EPTL 7-3.1), and a revocable trust is a trust for the creator's own use.
- How much of a home is protected from creditors in New York?
- A principal residence the owner occupies is exempt from money judgments up to $150,000, $125,000 or $75,000 of equity depending on the county, except against a judgment for the purchase price and against taxes; the exemption continues after death for the surviving spouse and children (CPLR 5206).
- Are life insurance and retirement accounts protected in New York?
- Largely, with exceptions. Life insurance proceeds payable to someone other than the insured are protected against the insured's creditors (Ins. Law §3212), and qualified retirement accounts are exempt from money judgments and presumed spendthrift (CPLR 5205(c); EPTL 7-3.1(b)) — but transfers made to hinder creditors can be set aside (Debt. & Cred. Law §273).
General information about New York law, not legal advice.