Your Trusted Attorneys in New York City

We are a law firm in New York City. We have been in practice since 2008. We consistently achieve superior results, are widely praised by our clients and are respected in the legal community.

We focus on estates, guardianship and public benefits.

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.

Here is more information about our practice areas:

PROBATE

We represent 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.

If 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.

ESTATE PLANNING

When we act as estate planning attorneys, 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 also set up Medicaid plans to help people qualify for Medicaid.

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.

Most people need an estate plan. For example, if you are planning to leave your property to your wife and kids, you may not even need a will because they would get your property anyway – half to the wife and half to the kids. But what if you want all of your property to go to your wife? Then you need a will. And what if you want your wife to use the property during her lifetime and then the property to go to your kids? Then, you need a trust. Here is what an estate planning lawyer can help you achieve:

• Make a virtually contest-proof will
• Minimize or avoid estate taxes
• Plan for your own disability
• Protect your assets
• Provide for minors or the disabled
• Avoid probate
• Avoid disputes between current and past spouse

If you would like to qualify for Medicaid, you will need a Medicaid Plan. We may be able to help you by using the following techniques:

• Medicaid Trusts can protect your assets from being counted as for Medicaid eligibility.
• Special Needs Trusts if you are or your loved one is disabled.
• Gift and Loan allows an applicant to transfer half of their assets to a loved one without incurring a penalty.

GUARDIANSHIP

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.

Albert Goodwin, Esq. is a New York guardianship lawyer who can help you establish a guardianship for a loved one or defend against a guardianship that you feel is being forced on your loved one.

• How do you tell if it’s time to start a guardianship
• What type of guardianship is right for your situation?
• Using a guardianship to prevent financial abuse of seniors
• Defending against a guardianship being forced upon a person

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.

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:

Will Contests

When someone is left out of a will, a will contest typically ensues. 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.

• prosecuting will contests
• defending will contests

Trust Contests

• prosecuting trust contests
• defending trust contests

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, a contested accounting ensues. 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.

• preparing estate accountings
• challenging estate accountings

Kinship

Sometimes there is a need to prove to the court that a person is related to the person who died. This process requires a kinship attorney. 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.

• establishing kinship
• kinship disputes

Protecting the Rights of Beneficiaries

Do you suspect that you are getting short-changed on your rightful inheritance? Have a feeling that the Executor or Trustee is not fulfilling their duties? You may need New York City trust and estate litigation attorney if you feel any of the following:

• You have grounds to prove that the will is a fraud. The person who made the will was tricked into making it.
• You believe the executor is stealing from the estate, and you want to get the money back.
• You have basis to remove the executor due to misconduct.
• You are a spouse who was cut out of the will, and you want to receive my portion of the inheritance to which I am entitled by law.
• The executor is claiming that you are not a relative, and you a relative and you have proof.
• proceedings to disqualify or remove an executor or trustee

Executor and Trustee Defense

Being a fiduciary can feel like there’s a target on your back. We are estate and trust litigation lawyers who can help you get your peace of mind back. We are attorneys who defend executors and trustees.

Are the beneficiaries accusing you of cheating them? Are they trying to contest the will or trust? As experienced estate and trust lawyers in New York City, we can help you fight back.

• You need to defend a will contest. The will is executed correctly and made without any undue influence and the person who made the will had the capacity to make the will.
• Beneficiaries are unjustly accusing you of taking advantage of the estate. I did not do anything wrong.
• You have to provide a compulsory accounting because the beneficiaries are compelling me to do so through the court.

Spousal Issues

• spousal elective share
• omitted spouse

Children Issues

• omitted child
• non-marital child

Other Estate Litigation

• 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