I once sat with a client, a retired ferry captain who spent forty years on the waters around New York Harbor. After he signed the last page of his will, he leaned back and said, “Well, Godspeed to them.” He wasn’t talking about a long voyage. He was talking about his children after he was gone. He understood that his passing would set them on a new, difficult journey, and his estate plan was his way of wishing them a safe passage.
That phrase stuck with me. In our work, we deal with legal instruments—wills, trusts, powers of attorney. But the purpose behind them is deeply human. It is a final act of stewardship. It’s a way to say, “I have done everything I can to make your path forward clear, to remove obstacles, and to prevent chaos in your time of grief.”
A poorly planned estate—or no plan at all—is the opposite of godspeed. It is a wish for a difficult journey, one filled with ambiguity, unnecessary court appearances, and family friction. It’s a journey I see families forced to take far too often.
The Journey Through Surrogate’s Court
When a person dies with only a will, their designated executor must begin a formal journey through Surrogate’s Court. This process, known as probate, is the court’s way of validating the will, appointing the executor, and overseeing the settlement of the estate. While necessary, it is rarely swift.
The executor you name is your chosen captain for this voyage. Their job is to marshal your assets, pay your final debts, and distribute what remains according to your wishes. A well-drafted will is their map and compass. It gives them clear authority and direction. An ambiguous or poorly executed will, however, is like a torn map in a storm. It invites challenges and can mire your executor in disputes for months, sometimes years.
In New York, the rules for this process are laid out in the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA). For example, SCPA Article 14 dictates the formal steps for probating a will. It requires notifying all interested parties—next of kin who might have inherited if there were no will—giving them an opportunity to object. This notice requirement is a statutory hurdle, and it is only the first of many. Your final “godspeed” to your executor is a plan so clear and defensible that it anticipates these hurdles and makes their passage through the court system as smooth as the law allows.
Bypassing the Journey with a Trust
While a will is a map for the court-supervised journey, a trust can provide a different route entirely. A properly structured and funded revocable living trust allows your family to bypass the probate process altogether. Think of it as the difference between taking a local road with traffic lights and tolls versus a direct, private passage.
When you create a trust, you retitle your assets—your home, your investment accounts—into the name of the trust. You still control them entirely during your lifetime. Upon your death, the person you named as your successor trustee can step in and manage or distribute those assets according to your instructions, without needing permission from a court. There are no public filings, no statutory waiting periods, and no formal invitations for challenges in the same way as probate.
This is perhaps the most powerful way to wish your family godspeed. You are not just giving them a good map; you are giving them a vessel that can carry them past the roughest waters. It is a deliberate act of making their journey simpler, private, and more secure. It’s a final gesture of protection.
Is a Will Enough?
For some families with very modest and simple assets, a will can be sufficient. But for many homeowners or individuals with investments, a will alone sets the stage for a process that is more costly and time-consuming than necessary. It leaves your family’s inheritance in a public, court-managed process that can be an open invitation for conflict.
The question is not simply about where your assets go, but how they get there. What will that journey look like for the people you love? Will it be fraught with legal procedure and delay, or will it be a straightforward path guided by your clear, private instructions?
Planning your estate is your last opportunity to act as a custodian for your family’s well-being. It is your final message, one that can provide either clarity and comfort or confusion and conflict.
Before you consider your plan complete, I encourage you to review it through this lens. Ask yourself if your documents provide a clear path forward for the people you’ll leave behind. If you are unsure, the next step is to conduct a fiduciary review, where we can analyze the duties you are placing on your executor or trustee and assess whether your plan truly paves the way for a safe journey.
