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I once met with a couple from Manhattan who had just signed their first wills. They were relieved, believing their planning was complete. They had

A client from Queens recently came into my office, looking overwhelmed. His father had just passed away, and on the kitchen table was a stack

I once met with a surgeon from Manhattan who believed he had his affairs in perfect order. He had meticulously named his son, a bright

A few years ago, a family from Long Island came to my office. Their father, a passionate amateur photographer, had just passed away. He left

I once worked with the family of a successful Manhattan restaurant owner. He had built a beloved neighborhood institution from the ground up over 30

A client once came into my Manhattan office with a document they’d downloaded from the internet. It was a template for a revocable living trust,

I recently met with a client, a retired technology executive, who wanted to give his daughter a significant sum to buy her first apartment in

A client sat in my Manhattan office last week with a goal I hear often. “Russel,” he said, “I want my daughter to have our

The deed to a home in Staten Island looks simple. That single piece of paper represents what is likely a family’s most significant asset. But

I often meet with families who believed a Last Will and Testament was all they needed. A client from Brooklyn recently shared his story. His

A client came to my Manhattan office with a question that gets to the heart of what a legacy means. He had three adult children.

A client came to me years ago after his father passed away in Brooklyn with a will from 1985. The document was valid, but everything

A client from Brooklyn called me last week. Her aunt had passed away, naming her as the sole beneficiary of a sizable estate. After the

The casseroles arrive for a week. The sympathy cards fill a basket on the counter. But for your neighbor in the apartment down the hall,

When a widowed father in Brooklyn passes away leaving his family home and a basic will, his children immediately hit a procedural wall. Before they

A family in Brooklyn receives the worst possible news. A loved one has died during an encounter with law enforcement, and in the shadow of

The phone rings. It’s a collection agency asking for your recently deceased father, calling about an overdue credit card balance from a Manhattan department store.

A client recently came to our Manhattan office with what he thought was a simple request. He and his wife wanted to add their adult

A new client recently sat in my Manhattan office, notebook open, ready to discuss his estate plan. “Russel,” he said, “I’ve been reading online, and

An executor for a Brooklyn estate is preparing the final accounting. Everything seems to be in order—the brownstone is sold, the investment accounts are settled,

An executor for a Westchester County estate recently called me, distressed. He had just received the first legal bill for his late mother’s probate, and

A client from Brooklyn recently sat in my office with a delicate question. Her father had named her as the agent under his Power of

When a parent dies owning a home in Brooklyn, the deed doesn’t just change hands. It freezes. The family often assumes they can sell the

A client—a tech executive in Manhattan with a family home in the city and a weekend place on Long Island—recently asked me, “Russel, my will

In December 1966, two days after his death, Walt Disney was cremated. His ashes were interred in a private family plot at Forest Lawn Memorial