Estate & Trust Settlement

A typical estate settlement includes the probate of the decedent's Will, appointment of the executor, assistance in transferring the assets in accordance with the Will, closing the estate with Surrogate's Court, and preparing and filing fiduciary income tax returns and estate tax returns, if necessary.  Additionally, the settlement may involve court appearances, which our attorneys will handle for you. We provide the Executor with detailed directions on how to complete each step of the estate administration.

We have experience handling all phases of trust administration, including drafting new trusts, assisting with the funding of new trusts and guiding a new trustee with detailed directions on their responsibilities as Trustee.  We also have extensive experience in administering Trusts, including the preparation of Court pleadings to appoint a successor Trustee, the preparation and filing of annual fiduciary income tax returns, the preparation of intermediate and final Accountings and the final settlement and distribution of Trusts.

Our estates and trusts paralegal, Karen Mandarano, has more than 25 years of experience in settling estates and trusts and she works directly with our attorneys on all estate and trust administration matters.  We guide our clients through every stage of the settlement process with detailed instructions and explanations.  We keep in touch with our clients and answer all calls and e-mails within one day, whenever possible.

We are experienced in handling all types of estate and trust issues, including transfers of real property, retirement plans, annuities, life insurance and investments and also personal issues such as non-responsive, missing or unhappy family members, guardianship and trust beneficiary issues.  We also work regularly with out-of-state executors and trustees to make the settlement process easy for them.

Whether the estate is large or small, our staff has the experience to handle it efficiently for you.