A Queens Probate Lawyer in Forest Hills: Wills, Probate and Health Care Proxies

I 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 and trusts, guardianship, and powers of attorney and health care proxies — and criminal defence, which is a separate part of the practice.

This is written for someone in Queens trying to work out what they need, rather than for someone already sure. If you are the second kind, skip to the end and call.

What I work on

• Probate petitions and estate administration in Queens County Surrogate’s Court
• Wills and revocable trusts, including updating documents that already exist
• Powers of attorney and New York health care proxies, so banks and doctors deal with the person you chose
• Guardianships for adults who cannot manage their own affairs
• Elder law and long-term care planning
• Criminal defence in Queens and Nassau County

How the work actually goes

What families tell me helps most is not the legal argument. It is being told what happens next, in what order, and roughly how long it takes. A probate matter normally runs like this:

1. 1We review the will. If there is no valid will, I explain what intestacy means for your family specifically.
2. 2I prepare and file the court papers, arrange service on the people who must be notified, and track what follows.
3. 3We identify and value the estate’s assets, deal with creditor claims and tax filings, and distribute what is left, with a proper accounting at the end.

New York requires a waiting period after a death before most probate petitions can be filed, so none of this begins tomorrow. And I will not give you a completion date before I know what the estate contains and whether anyone objects.

Planning ahead is cheaper and calmer

The documents worth having in place before anything goes wrong are unglamorous: a will naming your executor and any guardian for minor children, a power of attorney so someone can handle a bank account if you cannot, and a health care proxy signed on the state’s own form so your medical wishes are actually followed. Each takes minutes once the conversation has happened, and each removes a decision from the middle of a difficult week.

One common failure is worth naming. A well-drafted trust that holds nothing does nothing. If the house and the bank accounts are still in your name, they do not pass under the trust and they go through probate regardless. The titling has to match the plan.

Getting here

The office is a short walk from the Forest Hills–71st Avenue station on the E, F, M and R lines, near Austin Street, MacDonald Park and Queens Boulevard. Coming from Rego Park, Kew Gardens or Flushing Meadows, it is an easy trip. Call (718) 544-1000 and we can arrange a time that works.

What to bring to a first meeting

• The will, if you have located it
• The death certificate, if there has been a death
• Photo identification
• A rough list of assets: accounts, property, policies, debts
• Any papers a hospital, bank or previous lawyer has already sent you

If you cannot find the will, or you have no list, that is normal and the appointment is not wasted. Bring what you have and we will work it out together.