A Manhattan physician recently sat across my desk and handed over a malpractice summons. He wanted to know if he could quickly move his Upper
When a legendary musician dies leaving behind an $80 million estate and no written instructions, the next decade belongs to the probate courts. We saw
A Brooklyn couple recently married and decided to add the new husband to the deed of a brownstone the wife had purchased years earlier. Assuming
Three siblings inherit a paid-off brownstone in Brooklyn. The eldest sibling has lived on the ground floor for a decade and expects to stay. The
When a family in Queens loses a widowed parent who held title to the family home in their sole name, the next nine months belong
When a Brooklyn family recently brought me a will their father had downloaded for fifty dollars, they expected a straightforward estate administration. Instead, we spent
When a Manhattan family loses a parent, the immediate instinct is to start clearing out the apartment. Siblings arrive, sort through furniture, box up clothing,
When a Manhattan executive sits across my desk and asks to move their $1.5 million Roth IRA into their revocable living trust, I have to
When a Brooklyn family loses a parent, the first few weeks are a blur of floral deliveries, quiet conversations in the living room, and a
A widowed father in Brooklyn decides he wants to keep the family brownstone out of Surrogate’s Court. He finds a generic quitclaim deed form online,
When an elderly parent passes away in a Manhattan apartment, the grieving family often assumes the lease dies with them. They pack up the family
Three siblings inherit a two-family home in Brooklyn after their surviving parent passes away. The estate closes, the deed is transferred, and they now own
When a Brooklyn family sets up a trust to protect a disabled relative or preserve a multi-generational business, they place blind faith in the person
The funeral is over, the house is finally quiet, and a widow in Brooklyn sits at the kitchen table sorting through the mail. Among the
A Brooklyn family recently discovered a two-page document in their late father’s desk drawer. It was clearly labeled “Last Will and Testament.” The language was
When a Brooklyn father passes away leaving a signed, handwritten letter in his desk drawer directing how his brokerage accounts should be divided, his family
When a Brooklyn family gathers to read a parent’s will, the eldest child named as executor often feels a fleeting sense of honor. They assume
When a family unlocks the door to a parents’ Brooklyn brownstone a month after the funeral, the immediate reality of estate administration sets in. Fifty
When a parent passes away in their Brooklyn brownstone, the family’s grief is immediate. Weeks later, a different kind of burden arrives—the daily stack of
When a Long Island family loses a parent whose only estate planning document was a simple will, the next nine to twelve months belong to
When a Brooklyn family brought their father’s will into our office last winter, they assumed the probate process would take only a few weeks. The
When a family loses a parent who owned a brownstone in Brooklyn, they often assume the instructions written in the will are enough to hand
A father in Brooklyn adds his eldest daughter to the deed of his two-family home, assuming this casual maneuver will help the family bypass Surrogate’s
A son in Brooklyn loses his mother. A week after the funeral, he finds her will in a desk drawer, naming him as the executor.
When an elderly parent goes into cardiac arrest in a Manhattan intensive care unit, the immediate instinct of the family is to demand doctors do
When a Manhattan family unlocks a deceased parent’s safe deposit box and finds a neatly folded Last Will and Testament, they often assume the hard
When a family clears out a parent’s home in Brooklyn, they eventually find the original property deed tucked inside a metal filing cabinet. The paper
Three siblings inherit a Brooklyn brownstone. Their parents purchased the building in 1978 for $65,000, and for decades, it served as the anchor of the
A widowed father in Brooklyn pays off the final installment of his 30-year mortgage. Looking to the future, he decides to add his adult daughter
When a Manhattan family funds a $3 million trust for their children, they often assume the money will simply sit in a brokerage account and
