New York Legal Documents and Forms


This section of our website will serve you as an online legal help desk where you can find all the core information on basic legal documents in New York assembled in one place.

Below are the clear and concise explanations of the most popular and commonly required legal forms in the state of New York covering a wide range of topics such as last will and testament, lease and rental agreements, bills of sales, purchase agreements, landlord-tenant contracts, marital forms, and many more. You can visit the legal topics pages of the website by clicking the form you're interested in and use them as your brief guidelines.

New York Last Will and Testament Form

According to the NY Est Pow & Trusts L § 1-2.19, a will is a statement in written or, in exceptional cases, oral form that comes into effect after a person's death, whereby the individual disposes of the assets and defines the ways they cannot be distributed, disposes of his body, selects a trustee, provides for administering the assets and values gained during his life. This New York Last Will and Testament Form serves to secure the testator’s real estate and personal values and belongings, from bank accounts, funds, and other types of digital property to houses, vehicles, and so on.

Testators can appoint the beneficiaries of their choice and give detailed guidelines concerning the inheritance shares that each of the persons mentioned in the will qualifies for. New York is one of several states in which oral wills can be binding under a very limited set of circumstances. For the last will's confirmation, New York laws require the presence of at least two witnesses who must certify the signature of the testator within a month (30 days) since the signing of the will and write down their residential address at the end of the paper.

New York Bill of Sale Templates

A New York Bill of Sale Form is a document required for the transfer of the owner's rights to a valuable individual asset, including various vehicles. In the state of New York, a bill of sale is compulsory when selling a boat or motor vehicle. A bill of sale not only entails the transfer of responsibility but ensures crucial legal protections for an item and its owners.

Compiling such a form properly implies adding a detailed description of an item, its model, serial numbers, the condition, minor defects, if any, and so on. In the "terms and conditions" section, both parties are expected to specify mutual sale-related arrangements such as the warranties and prerequisites for the buyer to receive the asset as-is.

New York Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale

This is a more particular case of the Bill of Sale form providing evidence that a motor vehicle's ownership was transferred in a legal way in New York. The signatures of both buyer and seller are not sufficient for the form to take effect - all vehicles are subject to notarization, titling, and registration

Another important detail is that in New York, an Odometer Disclosure Statement (Form MV-103) is a compulsory document to attach to the form: this paper must be present in case the vehicle is no more than ten years old or 16,000 pounds.

New York Power of Attorney Forms

This New York Power of Attorney Form serves as an authorization of a person to make legal and financial decisions for another person. The authority can be granted to an individual as well as a business or financial organization. The one who grants authority is known as the principal, while the recipient of the authority is called the agent. There are several power of attorney types in the US depending on the particular needs (including durable and non-durable, medical, limited, and so on), and New York State is not an exception.

1. New York Durable Power of Attorney Form (or DPA)

This form empowers a trustworthy acting attorney to manage a person's financial affairs and properties indefinitely due to the person's disability or other grave conditions. The appointed attorney is assigned with the responsibilities for proper management of the assets and can be either a relative or a close friend specifically appointed as an agent. The DPA form implies the change of the authority related primarily to handling financial matters in the event of the person's incapability due to mostly medical reasons.

2. New York Medical Power of Attorney

Also known as POA form, it is an authorization for an individual (the appointed health care agent) to make medical decisions for a person in case he becomes seriously ill, disabled, or incapable of performing these actions himself. This may include providing medical service, make medical decisions on your behalf, care about physical and mental health treatment, and so on. In New York State, a health care/medical power of attorney form is known as a New York health care proxy. Such a form must comply with the prerequisites and conditions given in PHB §2980-2994. To validate the form, the presence of two witnesses of sound mind and adult age is required apart from the health care agent's.

New York Living Will Form

A New York Living Will Form, also known as an advance directive serving to fulfill a person's medical care wishes and requirements on behalf of that person due to his long-term physical conditions and the overall state of health not allowing him to make such decisions himself.

Not to be confounded with the POA form or durable power of attorney document, this form provides for attesting an individual's medical wishes such as mechanical respiration, artificial feeding, life-sustaining measures, blood transfusion options, resuscitation, and others. While the former two documents do not allow an agent to make the final end-of-life decision, this legal form may imply it.

In New York State, this form is also required to appoint a health care representative (agent) and an alternate one (alternate agent). A person must comply with the New York State will-related laws and fill in a Health Care Proxy Form before proceeding to make decisions. Similarly, the presence of two witnesses of adult age is an obligatory condition to validate the form.

New York Rental Lease Agreement Forms

A New York Rental Lease Agreement Form is a binding agreement granting the landowner the opportunity to rent a particular residential or commercial territory to a tenant. Before signing the lease, a compulsory component of the procedure is collecting a special fee to cover the costs of preparing a credit report for the applicant. Upon approval, a lease contract is typically signed between the parties indicating the rent sum for the first month and a security deposit before arrival.

There are several core subtypes of legal forms of rent, including those for an apartment, condominium, room rent, monthly rent, and many others. A Lease Statement is a crucial document required for the procedure and compiled by homeowners to verify the tenant's key personal data, status, references, and other key features.

New York Lease Termination Form (30-day Notice)

A binding document serving to confirm the end of rental relationships between the landowner and the tenant regulated by the New York Residential Lease Agreement (2018). A 30-day notice is a prescribed term to move out and vacate the rented property. The reasons for the agreement termination can be versatile: from violation of the lease provisions and breaching the prerequisites, to the late payment, expired terms, or other harmful or illegal actions performed at the rented estate. New York Real Property Law conducts all the necessary subjects and requirements related to various property types in the state of New York.

New York Rental Application Template

A New York rental application document is a document serving to find potential tenants for New York landowners and property holders. It is aimed at collecting contact data, estimate the candidature, and filter the optimal tenants since in new York, there are typically several applicants per one property. The key details to include in such a form comprise the candidate's background check and biography details, credits, employment history, sources of income and employment evidence, rental history, and other references. Before proceeding to the New York state rental lease agreement, it is highly advisable to fill in this document. A rental application form should be in compliance with both federal fair housing laws and New York landlord-tenant regulations.

New York Eviction Notice Forms

A New York Eviction Notice Form is a legal document allowing for an official eviction of a dweller defined by the New York state law, including the response time provided for the dweller before dislodging him out of the premises. In New York, all forms of evictions are explained in Article 7, Real Property Actions & Proceedings of the Consolidated Laws of New York. The set of conditions allowing for eviction of the tenant include the "non-compliance" option, lease termination, violation of the lease prerequisites, and are justified in several types of eviction forms depending on the eviction term: 10-day, 30-day, 14-day notices. In most cases, the tenant is given a 10-day or 14-day term to make up for the violation, pay the rent, or simply move out. In the state of New York, there is a five-day grace period and particular late fee conditions strongly recommended to get acquainted with.

New York Promissory Note Template

A New York Promissory Note Form is a loan-related agreement made between the two parties of the contract - the bestower and the recipient.

According to New York laws, such a form does not necessarily have to be secured. If it is, however, the lender gains the legal right to gather collateral in case the borrower does not abide by the agreement conditions. To compile an unsecured promissory note, signatures of both parties may suffice, and no collateral is expected to be paid in case the recipient ignores his responsibilities. The New York laws specify that for individual loans under $250,000, the maximum amount of interest rate accounts for 16%.

Thus, it is important to bear in mind that if bestower charges or collects an interest rate of 25% or more, such an action may be considered a criminal act. Be it an unsecured or secured promissory note, it basically should contain the following key points: allocation of payment conditions, warranties, default interest rates, conflicted terms, acceleration and prepayment options, valid signatures, and so on.

New York Non-compete Agreement Template

A New York Non-compete Agreement Form is an employment-related document based on contrary covenants referring to a business’s consideration that its former employees might disclose any vulnerable or secret data contravening the company's legitimate concerns.

To mitigate these deliberations, business entities tend to refer to a non-compete agreement, which in its essence is a written promise made by a former worker or freelance contractor that they will refrain from competitive behavior as soon as their employment relationship with the company is over. Such a contract, being a complex and compound form, mostly serves to secure the legal interests of the employer rather than an employee and often requires official notary advice from an employment lawyer organization.

The options implied may include the official refusal to work for the competitive company for a stated period of time or apply to the companies alike situated in certain geographic regions. Non-competitive clauses can be their own contracts as well as substantial parts of employment agreements often containing a non-extortion clause. New York law ensures the protection of the entities' trade data and at the same time verifies that the government policy in no way was breached by the terms and provisions stated in the contract.

New York Prenuptial Agreement Form

Commonly known as "prenups" is a pre-marriage contract specifying and stipulating rights and obligations during the marriage, which aims to prevent potential financial disputes in the future. There is a wide range of issues envisaged in such a contract: it can be the division of property in case of death or divorce, debts distribution, material support, prerequisites for running a family business, and other options, excluding education, support, and care of the future kids.

A New York Prenuptial Agreement Form is made in written form and takes effect once the couple gets married. The contract is considered valid after it is countersigned by both parties of sound minds in the presence of a notary. An oral premarital agreement is not legally binding as well as an unsigned one. Whatever self-serving such a form may seem, it serves to secure an individual's assets and facilitates the potential sharing of belongings in the event of divorce.

New York LLC Operating Agreement

Also known as a membership agreement, it is an operating agreement that is a legally binding form for a New York LLC defining the governing regulations and operating terms of an enterprise as well as the accountabilities of its members.

Contrary to the Articles of Organization, which are basic documents for the establishment of a business enterprise with the New York Division of Corporations, the LLC operating agreement is a core part of the company's internal documentation defining the management terms and operating conditions of the entity and distributing the main accountabilities.

According to the New York Statutes, § 417, each New York LLC is obliged to compile an operating agreement. This New York LLC Operating Agreement Form brings about a considerable number of profits: it mainly serves to outline the responsibilities of the members, reduce potential conflicts between parties, facilitate further communication with the potential investors and partners, and so on. Besides, in case of legal disputes, an LLC without an operating agreement would most probably be negatively impacted, and the member’s property protection would not be secured to the same extent.

New York Marital Settlement (Divorce) Agreement and Legal Separation

This is a form meant to provide legal grounds and further terms and conditions upon the termination of the marriage. The New York Marital Settlement Agreement Form is a legally binding one considered absolutely necessary to set up specific provisions to follow after divorce and is performed by filing a document to the New York supreme court. The most common terms such a contract comprises are property distribution, spousal maintenance, and child upbringing and support conditions.

The following key details are to be included in the marital settlement contract:

  • the grounds and reasons for divorce,
  • assets distribution terms and regulations,
  • child custody and visitation clauses,
  • child support and alimony details, and other required information for the process of legal separation.

Unlike states without guilt clause, the New York legislature considers specific circumstances when divorce is considered reasonable, including adultery, imprisonment for a period of three years or more, any type of violence or mistreatment, irrevocable disintegration of relations, separation for a one year term, leaving the family without warning, and others. All of the above-mentioned situations are considered solid legal grounds to start a divorce procedure. Yet before that, sufficient evidence must be provided to the court and be legally confirmed.

New York Quitclaim Deed

A type of deed-related paper that transfers the legal ownership to the property from the grantor (an individual conveying the property) to the grantee (the one acquiring the assets). A New York Quitclaim Deed Form is far from being the most reliable one since there are no guarantees or warranties that could serve as proof that the grantor was the owner of the property mentioned in the contract.

A personal item's ownership rights transferred by sale, as a gift, or by court order require compiling a written agreement complying with the law regulating such deeds in your state. There are typically several types of such documents: bargain and sale deed, a warranty deed, or a quitclaim deed. In New York, as well as in other states, the quitclaim deed implies that all the legal rights to the particular item are transferred without sufficient warranties for the grantor himself, so it is generally recommended to compile such a form only if the recipient is a proven and trustworthy ownership candidate (optimally - a relative, a close friend, a family member, or an old colleague).

As for the state-specific particularities, the property fees for filing a quitclaim deed differ from state to state, yet in New York, the basic fee for filing a quitclaim deed of residential or farm property was $125 as of the year 2018, while the rate for all other assets accounted for $250.

New York Real Estate Purchase Agreements

The New York Real Estate Purchase Form is a binding paper when it comes to selling a residence for a particular financial sum determined in advance. The essential commitment conditions specify the circumstances connected to the transaction process and handling the potential difficulties. The core data to be mentioned in such an agreement comprises the buyer and seller full names, residential addresses, contact specifics, along with the premise's purchase price, closing terms, earnest money, and the actual date, plus the extra number of sale-related terms.

As soon as both parties countersign the purchase agreement, provided that all the prerequisites are fulfilled, the deal can begin on the stated closing date. Anyone wishing to compile such a form has to bear in mind the certain disclosures required as the core components of the related paperwork.

First of all, in the state of New York, it is a Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (according to the 42 U.S. Code § 4852d) which is not to be disregarded. The long-term contact with lead-based paints within the acquired property is legally binding to be disclosed to the potential seller, as follows from the law for houses constructed in 1978 or earlier. The compulsory brochure and disclosure statement are expected to be presented within the agreement itself and be validated through the signatures from the purchaser(s).

Another crucial document required in New York as part of the purchase procedure is the so-called Property Condition Disclosure Statement (§14-462). As the state law imposes a duty on the seller to make it known to the buyer if any structural, environmental, or other consistent defects associated with the property are present, one should account for this form beforehand to facilitate the communication with the buyer. It is a requirement that the standard document provided by the State of New York be applied for disclosure with careful, fair, and detailed completion, and all the accurate data be transferred to the client.