We are an estate-focused law firm in New York, NY. We have been helping people receive and preserve their rightful inheritance since 2008. We consistently achieve superior results, are widely praised by our clients and are respected in the legal community.

We are involved in determining what happens with a person’s property after they die. We perform a variety of functions, depending on the stage of the estate process, who we represent, what legal documents are involved and the relationship between the person who died and their family and friends.

Our law firm has helped hundreds of people just like you. We have secured millions of dollars for our clients. We help people recover and protect what is rightfully theirs.

During a person’s lifetime, we help them make sure that their estate is left to the people they want in the most efficient and tax-effective manner.

After a person dies, we help their loved ones deal with their estate. Most of the time this process is uncontested and we call it probate. Sometimes this process is contested, which is estate litigation.

Estate Litigation

Our attorneys have a wide range of experience in high-stakes inheritance litigation involving high net-worth estates.

Whether you are a beneficiary and you feel that you are being short-changed or you are a fiduciary and you feel that you are being wrongly accused, we have the experience to help you win. We represent clients in high-stakes contested estate litigation matters such as:

• prosecuting will contests
• defending will contests
• prosecuting trust contests
• defending trust contests
• preparing estate accountings
• challenging estate accountings
• establishing kinship
• kinship disputes
• proceedings to disqualify or remove an executor or trustee
• spousal elective share
• omitted spouse
• omitted child
• non-marital child
• claims against an estate
• contested joint accounts
• disagreements over difficult to valuate assets
• disputes between siblings over estate matters
• disputes over ownership and control of inherited companies and real estate

Will Contests

When someone is left out of a will, our work is to either defend the will or help the left-out person to contest the will. If defending a will, our job is to prove to the court that the will was made correctly and the person making the will had the mental capacity to make one. If contesting a will, our job is to prove to the court that the person who died either did not have the mental capacity to make a will, was unduly influenced into making a will, or the will was not made correctly.

Contested Accountings

If a beneficiary of an estate suspects that the executor is mismanaging assets of the estate or stole something from the estate, even before the death of the decedent, our task is to either defend the actions of the executor or contest the actions of the executor, depending on who is our client. If we are contesting an accounting, we first help the executor to file an accounting and then claim that items are missing or expenses are unnecessary.  If we represent the executor, our job is to help them prepare an accounting and to defend the contents of the accounting and actions of the executor.

Kinship

Sometimes there is a need to prove to the court that a person is related to the person who died. This typically happens when a person died without a will and their nearest surviving relatives are cousins. It also happens when someone is questioning a person’s relationship to the person who died.

Estate Planning

When we act as an estate planning law firm, we write up the documents that determine what happens to a person’s property after their death. An estate planning lawyer’s function is to set up what is referred to an estate planning package, which may include a will, a trust, a power of attorney, what we refer to in New York as a health care proxy, and a living will.

We would talk to the client and see what they want to happen to their estate after their death, and will then draft the appropriate documents and make sure that the person making the plan signs the estate planning documents correctly, all the formalities required for the documents are followed, and all of the documents that need to be filed are filed in the appropriate government agency.

Probate of an Estate

When we act as an estate planning law firm, we represent the people involved in the probate process. The probate process is a court proceeding to determine if a deceased person’s will is valid. Most probate proceedings are uncontested, meaning that the estate lawyer would simply submit an application to admit the will to probate and notify everyone involved, the judge would review the petition and the will gets admitted to probate, meaning that the executor nominated by the will gets appointed to be the executor. We would then counsel the executor on carrying out their duties correctly and timely.

Administration of an Estate

If an estate lawyer was not involved until a person died, and the person died without a will, the court proceeding where it gets decided what happens to their assets after their death is called “estate administration.” In estate administration cases, we help one of the relatives of the person who died become the administrator of the estate. We put together the estate administration petition and other appropriate documents and submit the documents to court. After the relative gets appointed as the estate administrator, we counsel the administrator in carrying out their duties in accordance with the law.

Guardianship

As guardianship attorneys in New York City, we get involved when there is a question of an older person not being able to make life decisions. Whether you are considering guardianship for a loved one who is no longer able to manage their own affairs, or if you need to oppose a guardianship that doesn’t seem right, we are here to offer caring and effective legal support.

Medicaid Planning

We set up Medicaid plans to help people qualify for Medicaid.

Welfare Fraud Defense

We’ve helped many families being accused of Medicaid fraud and SNAP fraud. Our clients are typically accused of not reporting income or not reporting the man of the household on their application and recertification for welfare benefits.