Respected Counsel For Diverse Legal Matters

Protecting Your Family And Legacy

Your life is unique. Your needs are also unique. End-of-life issues are easy to put off, but are essential to address for the sake of your own well-being and that of your family. That is why it is important to obtain experienced legal advice as you face the challenges of planning for your family’s future, settling an estate, securing long-term care and establishing powers of attorney.

At Russo, Karl, Widmaier & Cordano PLLC, our attorneys look forward to assisting you as you establish all of the documents necessary to put your financial affairs in order, preserve your legacy and make certain that your end-of-life wishes are carried out.

Estate Planning

When you’ve worked a lifetime to build your legacy, you want to make sure that legacy moves forward into the future in a manner of your choosing. Our law firm can help you preserve your estate by helping you minimize probate and tax liabilities after your death. We also help our clients draft important documents that help establish guidelines for property and asset distribution, as well as identifying key decision-makers for legal, financial and health care decisions. A comprehensive estate plan includes the following elements:

  • A will: This essential document specifies instructions for who will take care of any children left behind, as well as instructions for paying outstanding debts and distributing assets.
  • Trusts: A trust can shield money from taxes and help ease the transition of assets to named beneficiaries.
  • Powers of attorney: Whether for financial, legal or health care purposes, powers of attorney identify specific individuals who are empowered to make important decisions on behalf of a person who no longer has the capacity to make those decisions for themselves.
  • Living will: This document outlines your wishes for the type and extent of health care you are willing to accept in the event that you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself.

Probate And Estate Administration

Experiencing the death of a loved one is challenging enough. But if you are the fiduciary, trustee, beneficiary or heir to an estate, you have additional concerns to attend to. These include paying the debts of the estate, paying any applicable taxes, and ensuring that property and other assets are distributed according to any will or through the probate process. Our experienced and detail-focused law firm can help ensure that this process goes as smoothly and efficiently as possible. We are here to ensure that you do not overlook anything in this often complicated process, because once mistakes have been made in the administration process, they can be difficult or impossible to remedy. Our knowledgeable attorneys can help ensure that all parties are acting responsibly to fully meet their obligations around a variety of issues, including:

  • Notification of heirs and other interested parties
  • Paying debts
  • Distributing assets
  • Ensuring payment of relevant estate and inheritance taxes
  • Overseeing the work of fiduciaries

Litigation

In some cases there may be reason for an heir or beneficiary to contest a will or otherwise challenge elements of an estate’s administration. Our firm is prepared to step in to ensure that your rights are protected in a variety of situations. We provide strong representation for:

  • Disputed wills, trusts, powers of attorney or other elements of an estate plan
  • Breach of fiduciary duty
  • Beneficiary disputes
  • Disputes over property allocation

With over 30 years of experience in simple and complex estate issues, a New York estate litigation lawyer from Russo, Karl, Widmaier & Cordano PLLC can assist you with an accounting of an estate, trust or will. The most important goal of ours is to protect the rights of the beneficiaries. If you believe there has been wrongdoing or breach of fiduciary duty with respect to your inheritance, you should seek the necessary legal representation in order to get these issues resolved. In some cases, this wrongdoing or breach of fiduciary duty can diminish the estate and significantly affect the amount that is ultimately distributed to you as a beneficiary.

When a loved one passes away with an estate plan in place, it can often make things much simpler. However, even if there is an estate plan in place, there still may be individuals who will overstep their powers and infringe on the wishes of the individual who left the estate plan behind. Over stepping these powers are considered a breach of fiduciary duty.

It Is Never Too Early To Protect Your Future

It is important to remember that estate planning, asset distribution and elder law are not just focused around what happens after your death. They also help prepare you for any period in the future where you are unable to care for yourself or your children due to an accident or illness.

Without adequate planning, family members could end up fighting each other over your property, assets or business. Your legacy could be destroyed by probate fees and litigation costs. Even your health care decisions could end up being left in the hands of strangers.

Planning is all about security. The more clearly your wishes are defined, the easier it will be to withstand the uncertainties of life.

Get Effective Legal Advice And Efficient Service

At Russo, Karl, Widmaier & Cordano PLLC, we believe in building relationships with clients that will last for decades. That is the best possible way to prepare an effective estate plan.

For a free consultation with a lawyer, call our office at 631-265-7200 or contact us online. We are located in Long Island, New York. We look forward to assisting you.