A grieving widow in Manhattan sits at her dining table, staring at a stack of mail. Mixed in with the condolence cards are three aggressive
When a client’s father—a successful restaurateur in Manhattan—passed away, he left behind a simple will. He was brilliant with a balance sheet and assumed that
When a Manhattan business owner passes away leaving behind nothing but a two-page document downloaded from the internet, the next eighteen months belong to Surrogate’s
In the realm of property ownership, disputes over occupancy can arise, necessitating the removal of an unwanted individual from a premises. This delicate legal matter
A prospective client called me last week. “I can get a will online for a hundred dollars,” he said. “Why is working with a law
When a Will Is More Than Just a Piece of Paper A client once came into my Manhattan office with his mother’s will. It was
A father in Brooklyn wants to add his daughter to the deed of the family home. He downloads a quitclaim deed form, fills it out,
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 new client, a retired executive from Manhattan, recently sat in my office, confident he had his affairs in order. “I’ve put POD designations on
When an aging parent in Brooklyn passes away leaving behind a cluttered apartment and ten years of unopened mail, the surviving children inherit a chaotic
A few years ago, a client’s son called me from his late father’s apartment in Manhattan. He was holding two items—a beautifully bound last will
I once worked with a a family whose patriarch, the founder of a successful Brooklyn-based manufacturing firm, passed away suddenly without a will. He assumed
An adult son sits in my office, holding his mother’s original will. She lived in the same Brooklyn brownstone for fifty years, and he’s just
A few months after her uncle passed away in Brooklyn, a client called our office. She knew she was named in his will—he’d told her
A family in Westchester receives a thick envelope from an unfamiliar law firm. Inside is a formal document—a “Notice of Probate”—and a copy of their
A few months after her father’s passing, a client from Brooklyn called me. She had just located his original will, tucked away in a safe
A client recently came to my Manhattan office with a common family dilemma. Her father’s will named her brother as executor, but he lives in
A client called me last week. His wife had been in a serious accident involving a commercial truck in Brooklyn, and his focus was entirely
I recently met with a couple from Brooklyn who have spent two decades building a life for their son, who has a developmental disability. They’ve
I often sit with families in our Manhattan office who are worried about the future of what they’ve built. They ask, “Can someone really challenge
A mother in Brooklyn passes away, leaving her brownstone to her two children. They find her will and assume ownership is simple. But they soon
When a family patriarch in Brooklyn passes away, his loved ones expect a period of private grief. What they do not expect are unsolicited calls
When a Brooklyn family loses a parent who lived alone, the immediate aftermath is often a chaotic search for paperwork. I regularly meet with adult
I often sit with clients who come to me after the fact. A recent case involved a family from Brooklyn. An elderly mother, wanting to
In the realm of estate planning, the 7-year rule stands as a pillar of significance and consideration. As seasoned practitioners in the field of law,
When a Manhattan business owner dies unexpectedly, his family is often faced with one of two starkly different realities. In the first, he left behind
When a Brooklyn family loses a parent who never wrote a will, their grief is quickly compounded by a harsh legal reality. They may have
When a Manhattan business owner dies suddenly without leaving a will, the next nine months belong to Surrogate’s Court. I have seen this scenario play
An executor receives a box of papers from their late father’s apartment in Brooklyn. Inside, among old photos and bank statements, is the original Last
When a family in Brooklyn loses a parent, the discovery of a will can bring a moment of relief. But that document is not the
