When a Brooklyn family sits down to read a parent’s will, they frequently spot two distinct titles named in the document: the executor and the
A client came to me last year with a difficult problem. Her father, a successful Brooklyn real estate developer, had passed away with a simple
I once worked with the surviving spouse of a Brooklyn business owner. He passed away suddenly, without a will. He always assumed his wife would
Imagine a client of ours from Brooklyn suffers a sudden stroke. She’s in the hospital, unable to speak or sign her name. Her mortgage payment
When a Manhattan business owner dies without a trust, their family’s life can be put on hold for a year or more. I have seen
An executor I worked with recently was settling her father’s estate in Brooklyn. The largest asset was the family brownstone, owned for over fifty years.
A client came into my office last week with a plan. He owned a home in Brooklyn, free and clear, and had read online about
A client sat in my Manhattan office last week, holding a page of notes. “Russel,” he said, “I’ve read about living trusts and revocable trusts
When a Brooklyn family discovers their late father’s fifty-dollar online will lacks the proper witness signatures, the true cost of that document becomes painfully clear.
I once had a client, a brilliant artist from Manhattan with a very specific vision for her legacy, ask if her will could require she
When a parent passes away, the family is left to manage both grief and a list of practical duties. One of the most common is
A jury in Manhattan has just delivered a verdict. After a grueling civil trial, your family member has been awarded a substantial judgment for a
A client once came into my Manhattan office with a will he was quite proud of. It was professionally drafted, signed, and witnessed. The problem?
I recently met with a family whose patriarch, a successful Manhattan business owner, had passed away. His children brought me the will he had signed
Imagine a Brooklyn family who purchased a brownstone in 1988 for $300,000. Today, that property appraises north of $4 million. If the parents pass away
When a prominent figure passes away in Manhattan with an outdated estate plan, the details leak to the tabloids within days. We read about estranged
A family in Queens receives a seven-figure settlement after a devastating traffic accident. The money arrives, a result of a long and painful legal fight.
A client recently came to our Manhattan office with his late father’s original will. He had been named the executor, and he felt the weight
When a Manhattan family loses a parent who named all three children as co-executors to be “fair,” the next two years rarely go as planned.
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
A few years ago, a new client came into our Manhattan office with a stack of papers she’d downloaded from the internet. She believed she
When a Brooklyn family discovers a deceased parent’s will, their first assumption is usually that this single document controls everything the parent owned. They prepare
A client came to our Manhattan office last week with a question I’ve heard many times. He is happily remarried, with two adult children from
A Manhattan business owner passes away unexpectedly. He had a simple will from twenty years ago, but his business has since grown tenfold and now
A client in Manhattan once asked me, in all seriousness, if his will could legally require his family to cryonically preserve his brain. It’s not
A family in Manhattan breathes a sigh of relief. They’ve found their father’s Last Will and Testament, signed and witnessed, tucked into his desk drawer.
When a Manhattan executive dies unexpectedly, leaving behind a second wife and two adult children from a first marriage, the aftermath is rarely simple. If
A few years ago, the daughter of a new client called me in a panic. Her father, a successful restaurant owner in Manhattan, had suffered
A few weeks ago, I took a call from a man whose mother had just passed away in her Brooklyn home. He was certain she
A client sat in my Manhattan office last week, looking at a draft of their will. “Russel,” he said, “what exactly is a fiduciary? And
