Resources
Guides for people trying to work this out themselves
Written for families in Queens and across New York who need to understand a process rather than be sold a service. Everything here is general information, and every article says so.
- Articles
- 19 guides
- Subjects
- Criminal defence, Elder law, Estate planning, Guardianship, Probate
- Written by
- The practice, from the Forest Hills office
Subject
Browse by area
Latest
Start here
- Probate3 min readA Queens Probate Lawyer in Forest Hills: Wills, Probate and Health Care ProxiesI am Richard Cary Spivack. My office is at 118-21 Queens Boulevard, Suite 504 in Forest Hills, and I have practised from there since 1985. I handle probate and estate administration, wills aRead the guide
- Probate2 min readProbate in Queens Surrogate’s Court: What to Bring and What Happens NextMost people arrive at a first probate conversation holding two folders and a problem. One has what they think the court needs. The other is the question they are actually worried about. BothRead the guide
- Probate3 min readUnderstanding Surrogate’s Court Paperwork and DeadlinesSurrogate’s Court problems rarely begin with a family argument or a complicated legal issue. They begin with a missed date, an incomplete document, or papers filed without something requiredRead the guide
- Probate3 min readExecutor vs Administrator in New York Probate: The Real DifferencesThe words sound like a distinction without a difference. It is not. The title tells you how the person was appointed, which decides what proof of authority they can produce, who is likely toRead the guide
- Probate4 min readDistributing Assets: Beneficiary Rights and Family PreferencesDistributing an estate is often assumed to be the easy part. The will is found, the executor writes cheques, everyone goes home. In practice it is where a surprising amount of conflict beginRead the guide
- Probate4 min readHow to Choose a Probate Attorney in Queens, New YorkChoosing a probate lawyer is awkward. You are doing it during a period of grief or family stress, you probably do not know anyone who has just gone through it, and the market for legal help Read the guide
All guides
Everything published
- Guardianship3 min readGuardianship and Estate Plans: Clear Steps for Families Near Forest HillsGuardianship and estate planning are usually presented as separate services. They should not be. One is the answer to a person who is here now and cannot manage their affairs; the other is tRead the guide
- Guardianship2 min readQueens Guardianship Lawyer: Protecting a Loved One With Care and ClarityThe request that reaches me most often is not “we need a guardianship lawyer.” It is “my mother is not safe and nobody is in charge.” That is a family in trouble, not a legal matter with a nRead the guide
- Guardianship3 min readQueens Emergency Guardianship: What To Do When You Need Help NowMost of this page is for a situation that is not quite an emergency. This part is for the ones that are. When someone is at genuine risk — unable to manage, being evicted, being discharged sRead the guide
- Guardianship3 min readArticle 81 vs. Article 17-A Guardianship in Queens: A Plain-English GuideFamilies call me confused about Article 81 and Article 17-A. The names sound interchangeable and they are not. They cover different people, run in different courts, and give the guardian difRead the guide
- Guardianship3 min readFiling for Guardianship in Queens County: From Petition to CourtHere is the sequence, in the order it happens. It looks bureaucratic because it is, and that is genuinely part of the point — a guardianship strips decision-making power from a person, so thRead the guide
- Guardianship2 min readContesting a Queens Guardianship: Your OptionsGuardianship petitions are contested more often than people expect, usually because a family has divided rather than because anyone has done anything wrong. That does not make it less seriouRead the guide
- Guardianship3 min readAfter the Order: Your First 90 Days as Guardian in QueensThe order is the visible part. The first ninety days are the part that determines whether the guardianship goes well, and they are more administrative than anyone expects.Read the guide
- Estate planning3 min readWills & Trusts in Forest Hills: A Simple Plan That Protects Your FamilyEstate planning is one of the few things everyone agrees they should do and almost nobody gets around to. The reasons are usually the same: it feels morbid, it feels expensive, and it feels Read the guide
- Elder law3 min readWills, Trusts and Medicaid Planning for Queens and Nassau FamiliesPeople often plan their estates and their long-term care separately, and it is the single most common mistake in this area. The documents conflict. The language drafted with the best intentiRead the guide
- Elder law3 min readMedicaid Planning in Queens: Protecting a Home and Setting Up a Health Care ProxyTwo separate things get bundled together in the phrase “Medicaid planning,” and both matter. One is the property question — will you lose the house? The other is the documents question — whoRead the guide
- Criminal defence3 min readCriminal Defence in Queens and Nassau County: What to Know After an ArrestThis article is written for someone who has just been arrested, or whose family member has. It is deliberately plain, because the hours after an arrest are confusing and there is very littleRead the guide
- Criminal defence3 min readArrested in Queens? Immediate Defence and the Questions to Ask NowIf you have just been arrested in Queens, the sequence below is what I would want a family to do. It takes ten minutes and it matters.Read the guide
- Criminal defence3 min readNeed a Queens Criminal Defence Lawyer Now? What Fast Help Looks LikeThe office is at 118-21 Queens Boulevard, Suite 504 in Forest Hills — a short distance from the Queens criminal courthouse at Kew Gardens, and near the Forest Hills–71st Avenue station on thRead the guide
Next step
Reading is useful. Talking it through is faster.
These guides exist because most of what people need to know about a probate, a guardianship or a long-term care decision is not secret — it is just usually written down badly.
If you have read what you need and still do not know where you stand, that is a good reason to call rather than a bad one.