Cairo (Greene County) two-lawyer practice serving the Catskills — Coxsackie, Catskill, Windham, Hudson, Ravena and Kingston. Guides estate administrators and executors through probate, and drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies alongside Medicaid asset protection. Michael Esslie and Denise Frenia Esslie, a husband-and-wife team each with more than 16 years in practice, handle matters personally and offer free consultations, home visits and after-hours appointments.

Serves 4 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateElder LawMedicaid Planning

Goshen solo practice a few minutes from the Orange County Surrogate's Court, also serving Ulster, Sullivan and Rockland. Walks a surviving spouse or child through being appointed executor or administrator, marshaling scattered accounts, filing the inventory, paying creditors and taxes, filing the decedent's final return and the estate return, and filing the final account with the court. Former chairman of the Orange County Bar Association Elder Law Committee.

Solo PracticeServes 4 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax PlanningSpecial Needs PlanningMedicaid Planning

Lake Success (Nassau County) firm guiding executors, administrators, trustees and beneficiaries through New York Surrogate's Court — probate, estate and trust administration, and contested estates and objections to a will or to fiduciary conduct. Also handles estate planning, retirement-distribution planning, Medicaid and elder law. Absorbed the Berwitz & DiTata estate practice.

Since 2000Serves 9 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+4

Bronx firm on East Tremont Avenue with an appointment-only New Rochelle office, serving Bronx, Westchester, Manhattan and Queens families since 1989. Walks executors and administrators through filing the will and petition with the Surrogate's Court, getting appointed, notifying heirs, beneficiaries and creditors, collecting and valuing assets, paying debts, taxes and expenses, and distributing what remains. Also takes contested probate - will contests, undue-influence claims, disputes over asset ownership and challenges to executor authority - plus trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, and Medicaid and special-needs planning. Consultations are free and the firm practices in Spanish.

Since 1989Serves 4 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationElder Law+6

Staten Island (Richmond County) firm with eight offices across the New York City metro area, from Wall Street to Melville. Brings the probate proceeding in the Surrogate's Court of the decedent's own county - Manhattan, Westchester, Long Island, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn or Staten Island - to get the named executor appointed and secure Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, then marshals the estate assets and distributes them to the beneficiaries. Also handles will contests and estate litigation, elder law, Medicaid and nursing-home planning, guardianships and special-needs planning; initial consultations are free.

Serves 8 countiesFree consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder LawGuardianship+3

Bronx firm with two Bronx offices and one in White Plains, running probate and estate administration alongside a larger personal injury practice. For a family settling an estate it verifies the will, identifies and values the assets, pays the debts and distributes to the heirs, and it handles Medicaid asset protection and long-term-care trusts. The first estate planning consultation is free.

Since 1984Serves 2 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateElder LawAsset ProtectionMedicaid Planning