Forest Hills (Queens County) firm with offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, handling probate matters for residents of Manhattan, Forest Hills and Brooklyn. Walks executors through validating the will, inventorying and appraising estate property and distributing it to beneficiaries, and administers trusts after the trustor's death — reviewing the trust documents, identifying and valuing trust assets and completing the legal, administrative and tax duties. Also covers wills and trusts, Medicaid and elder-law planning, special-needs planning and IRA inheritance planning.

Solo PracticeServes 3 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawSpecial Needs Planning+2

Bay Ridge (Brooklyn) estate and elder law firm with four further offices in Manhattan, Bayside, Middle Village and Staten Island. For executors it files the original will, contacts next of kin, collects assets and prepares income and estate tax returns, and it litigates will contests, contested accountings and contested deed transfers in Surrogate's Court. Also handles wills and trusts, special needs trusts, estate tax and capital-gains planning, and Medicaid and long-term-care planning; the initial consultation is complimentary.

Serves 4 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder LawTax Planning+3

Bayside solo practice on Bell Boulevard, filing probate and administration proceedings in the Queens County Surrogate's Court since 1993. Dippel settles the will-or-no-will question, gets the executor or administrator appointed, and then handles the real-estate work an estate usually needs — selling the decedent's house, co-op or condo and transferring deeds and co-op shares. Initial consultations are free.

Solo PracticeSince 1993Serves 6 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateBusiness LawReal Estate

Forest Hills firm handling probate and intestate administration for Queens and Nassau families through the Queens County Surrogate's Court. Its two attorneys take executors through the petition for probate, contested objections to a will, trustee removal and accounting challenges, and Article 81 guardianships for a parent who can no longer manage their own affairs.

Serves 2 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrust LitigationGuardianship+2

Astoria solo practice on Broadway handling Queens County estates through the Queens County Surrogate's Court. Furey gets executors and administrators appointed as fiduciary — filing the Surrogate's Court papers whether or not there was a will — then works the collection of assets, payment of bills and distribution to beneficiaries, and petitions the court for a guardian when an elderly or disabled relative needs one.

Solo PracticeServes 1 countyEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianshipSpecial Needs PlanningMedicaid Planning

Kew Gardens firm whose attorneys appear in the Queens Surrogate's Court on probate, administration and Surrogate's Court disputes — will contests brought on fraud, capacity or undue influence, beneficiary disputes and ambiguous will provisions. Also assists trustees with managing a trust, including tax returns and distributions, and brings partition actions when heirs inherit a co-owned property. Consultations are complimentary and conducted virtually.

Since 2014Serves 1 countyFree consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+2