Three years after a parent passes away in Brooklyn, a surviving child decides to run a random search on the State Comptroller’s website. They type
I often meet families who believe their affairs are in perfect order. A few years ago, a couple from Brooklyn sat in my office, proud
A couple buys a home in Brooklyn in their twenties. Twenty years and a divorce later, one name must come off the deed. In another
A client recently came to our Manhattan office with a binder containing a revocable living trust. He had spent a significant sum with another firm
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
A few years ago, I met with three adult siblings from Brooklyn. Their father had recently passed away, leaving behind a brownstone, a small investment
I received a call last month from the daughter of a former client. Her father, a successful architect with property in Manhattan, had just passed
A client recently came to our Manhattan office with a simple plan: gift the family’s West Village townhouse to her adult son. “Can’t I just
When a family in Brooklyn finds their mother’s will tucked away in a safe deposit box, the initial feeling is often relief. Here, in writing,
An estranged uncle in Brooklyn stops answering his phone for three weeks. Neighbors notice mail piling up in the vestibule and contact the police for
A client from Manhattan recently came to my office. He had established a significant trust for his children years ago, intending for the assets to
A Manhattan widow in her late seventies recently sat across from my desk, terrified that the future cost of long-term care might wipe out the
A client sat in my Madison Avenue office last week, pointed to a line in his financial advisor’s report, and asked, “Russel, it says here
A family in Manhattan receives a formal notice from the New York County Surrogate’s Court—a document called a “Citation.” It informs them that a will
I often meet with families on Long Island whose greatest asset—a family business, a collection of properties, a lifetime of investments—is also their greatest source
I often get a call from a client standing in the doorway of a parent’s home for the first time after their death. They are
A family in Brooklyn recently came to me after their father’s death. They had his will, a straightforward document leaving everything to his three children.
A few months ago, I met with three siblings who had just lost their mother. While going through her safe deposit box in Brooklyn, they
When a Brooklyn family prepares to sell a late parent’s home, the first hurdle often happens at the dining room table. They flip through decades
The trust document sits on the kitchen table. You’ve just been named successor trustee for your parents’ estate, and your siblings are already asking when
When a Brooklyn family reads their father’s will and sees the eldest daughter named as executor, the immediate reaction is often pride. It feels like
A client came to our Manhattan office with her late father’s trust, a document he had prepared a decade ago. She believed his affairs were
I often sit with clients who have spent a lifetime building a business or growing a portfolio. They’re not worried about themselves—they’re worried about their
When a Brooklyn homeowner passes away, their children often spend the following weeks sorting through dusty file cabinets and overstuffed safe deposit boxes. Frequently, they
A client recently came to our Manhattan office after her mother’s passing. She was the only child, named in the will as both the executor
The call usually comes on a Monday morning. An adult child, now the executor of their parent’s estate, is sitting in a Manhattan apartment surrounded
When a family clears out a parent’s Brooklyn apartment, the most daunting task is often the paperwork. Amid the bank statements and utility bills, you
A grandfather in Brooklyn leaves $100,000 in his will directly to his 12-year-old granddaughter. His intentions were pure—he wanted to provide for her future education.
When a family patriarch passes away in his Todt Hill home, his children often believe his signed will is the final word. They expect a
I once worked with a family in Brooklyn where a father named his eldest son as trustee for his two younger siblings. The son, an
