A client once came into my office with a will he’d drafted himself. He was proud of its detail, especially the clause leaving a specific
An elderly mother in Brooklyn starts making unusual withdrawals from her bank account. A brother, after a serious car accident, can no longer communicate his
When a Brooklyn family sits down to review a recently deceased parent’s estate, the last thing they expect to find is a flaw in the
When a Brooklyn father decides to “take his name off the house” and hand it over to his daughter, he usually assumes he is doing
When a parent passes away in Brooklyn, the family often faces a highly practical problem parked right in the driveway. The registration is expiring, the
When a Manhattan family loses a parent who relied entirely on a simple will, they often expect a quiet, immediate transition of the family brownstone
I once met with the adult children of a successful software engineer from Manhattan. Their father had passed away suddenly, and while they knew he
I once worked with a family from Long Island whose matriarch passed away, leaving a significant inheritance directly to her 25-year-old grandson. She had a
A client once brought me a will his father had downloaded from the internet and signed at his kitchen table in Brooklyn. On its face,
A client came to my office last month with what he thought was a simple plan. His mother, living in her paid-off Brooklyn home for
The call comes at 2 a.m. There’s been an accident on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Your spouse is in the hospital, unresponsive. In an instant, the
When a Manhattan family establishes a revocable living trust, the creator typically serves as their own trustee. They continue buying, selling, and managing their property
I once had a client—a surgeon with a growing practice in Manhattan—who invested in a small apartment building in Brooklyn. He saw it as a
When a family in Nassau County loses a parent who only had a will, the next nine to twelve months of their lives often belong
A client’s father passes away in his Manhattan apartment. Tucked in his desk drawer is a neatly signed last will and testament, complete with witness
A client sat across from me in my Manhattan office a few years ago. He had built a significant business from the ground up and
A client’s father passed away in his Brooklyn brownstone, leaving behind a clear, professionally drafted will. The family felt prepared. They assumed the will was
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
I’ve seen it happen more than once. A family matriarch passes away in her beloved Park Slope brownstone, leaving behind three adult children and a
I often meet with families in our Manhattan office who have owned their home for generations. A common story is the Brooklyn brownstone, bought for
When a Manhattan family submits their mother’s will to Surrogate’s Court, they often expect a quiet transition of assets. Then the clerk asks for the
A family often arrives at my office with a will signed by their late mother. It names one of the adult children as the executor.
When a Brooklyn family recently reviewed their late father’s $2.5 million estate, they were stunned to learn the appointed executor—an estranged uncle—demanded $125,000 for his
After a parent passes away in their Manhattan apartment, the family is often left with more than just grief. They are left with a lifetime
I once met with the widow of a successful Manhattan restaurant owner. He had died suddenly, without a will. She assumed that as his wife,
A client recently sat in my office, the original copy of her mother’s will on the table between us. She had been named the executor,
I once met with a family from Queens whose patriarch had recently passed away. He had remarried years earlier and meticulously updated his will, leaving
An official-looking envelope arrives from the New York County Surrogate’s Court. Inside is a citation naming you as the executor of your mother’s estate. You
A client recently brought in her late father’s will, a document he’d signed twenty years ago in his Brooklyn home. “He has a will, so
When a family in Queens spends three weeks clearing out their late parent’s attic, the most frantic phone call we receive is usually about a
