An entrepreneur I represent recently closed on a commercial building in Manhattan. As we reviewed the closing documents, she pointed to the deed. “It says
A client came to our Manhattan office last month with a common, and dangerous, assumption. She was a successful executive, a single mother, and had
When a Manhattan business owner suffers a severe stroke without a valid statutory Power of Attorney in place, the family cannot simply step in to
A few years ago, we worked with the family of a man severely injured in a construction site fall. After a long fight, he received
A son calls my office from Brooklyn. His 85-year-old mother, a widow living alone, suddenly has a new “best friend”—a neighbor who now manages her
An executor stands in a recently deceased parent’s Manhattan apartment, looking at a lifetime of belongings. The will is clear about the real estate and
When a Brooklyn family loses a parent whose only estate planning document was a will, the next nine to fourteen months belong to Surrogate’s Court.
The most important conversations I have don’t start with numbers. They don’t begin with a list of properties, brokerage accounts, or business valuations. They begin
When a Manhattan widow passes away, her children from her first marriage usually expect to inherit the family home. Instead, they discover their mother and
When a New Yorker dies without a will, the State of New York and a Surrogate’s Court judge—strangers to the family—make the most personal decisions
A client came to me last month, proud he had simplified his estate plan. He walked into his local bank branch in Manhattan, filled out
I once met with a family in our office, three adult siblings from Cobble Hill. Their late father, a successful small business owner, had spent
A client once brought me his father’s will, a straightforward document leaving a valuable Brooklyn brownstone to him and his brother. On its face, it
When a parent passes away, the person named as executor in the will is handed a new, demanding role—often while still grieving. You receive your
What Happens When a Will Does Not Exist I have seen it happen more times than I can count. A successful small business owner from
When a surviving spouse walks into Surrogate’s Court in Brooklyn to file a petition for probate, they are usually carrying a folder of death certificates,
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
I often meet with business owners who have spent 30 years building a company from the ground up. They’ve accumulated significant personal assets, but one
A couple I know from Manhattan were on a flight to London when their seven-year-old daughter, back home with a sitter, had an acute appendicitis
When a Manhattan executive passes away unexpectedly, the immediate financial shock often has nothing to do with traditional bank accounts or real estate. It hits
I once took a call from a client—a successful executive—who wasn’t asking about his will. He was calling after being arrested. After a client dinner
When a grieving Manhattan family sits across from my desk holding a fifteen-page document drafted by a lawyer who “mostly does real estate,” I usually
When a Brooklyn family loses a spouse or child to suicide, the emotional devastation is immediately compounded by harsh bureaucratic realities. Before the family has
A new client sat in my Manhattan office last month, stunned. His mother had passed away with a valid will, but she never created a
A client of ours, a retired executive from Manhattan, passed away with over two million frequent flyer miles in his account. His children, acting as
When a Queens father passes away unexpectedly, the first crisis usually hits within twenty-four hours. Two adult children sit in a funeral director’s office, exhausted
The Urban Legend and the Real-World Problem The story of Walt Disney being cryogenically frozen is a persistent urban legend. It’s a compelling narrative, but
When a family in Brooklyn receives a formal document from Surrogate’s Court called a “Citation,” their first reaction is often confusion, followed by anxiety. The
A new client, recently retired to New York after a career in Florida, sat in my office last week. He had just purchased a condominium
I often meet founders after they’ve already launched. They come to my Manhattan office with a brilliant product, a detailed pitch deck, and a five-year
