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Practice Areas
Estate law, and only estate law.
I don't handle divorces, closings, or accident claims. Narrowing the practice to estates is what keeps a straightforward plan from turning into a six-week project.
01
Wills & Trusts
The foundation of every plan. A will directs who receives what and names the person who carries it out. A revocable living trust does the same but holds assets during your lifetime, which keeps them out of probate and out of the public record.
Which one you need depends on what you own and who you're leaving it to — not on which one sounds more sophisticated. Plenty of Connecticut families are well served by a will and correctly titled accounts, and I'll say so.
- Simple and testamentary-trust wills
- Revocable living trusts and pour-over wills
- Special needs trusts that protect a beneficiary's benefits eligibility
- Trusts for minor children with staged distributions
- Reviews and amendments to plans drafted elsewhere
02
Probate & Estate Administration
If you've been named executor and you're not sure what that means, you're in the same position as almost everyone who takes the job. Connecticut probate has fixed deadlines, a statutory creditor claim period, and filings that have to be made in a particular order — and you're navigating it while grieving.
I take executors through it from the first filing to the final accounting, and I tell you which of the many things you're worrying about actually matter.
- Opening the estate and admitting the will to probate
- Inventory, appraisals, and the Connecticut estate tax return
- Creditor notice and claim resolution
- Selling or transferring real property held by the estate
- Final accounting and distribution to beneficiaries
- Small estate and affidavit procedures where they apply
A straightforward estate generally takes six to twelve months. That timeline is driven by the statutory claim period and the court's calendar, not by how quickly either of us works.
03
Powers of Attorney & Health Directives
These are the documents that matter while you're still alive, and they're the ones people most often skip. Without them, a family facing a sudden stroke or accident has to petition the probate court for conservatorship — an expensive, public, and slow process at the worst possible moment.
- Durable power of attorney for financial matters
- Health care representative appointment
- Living will and end-of-life directives
- HIPAA authorizations so your family can actually get information
- Conservatorship petitions where no directive exists
These are usually included in a full plan at no additional cost. If all you need is this set, it's a short and inexpensive engagement — and worth doing this month rather than next year.
04
Elder Law & Long-Term Care Planning
Nursing home care in Connecticut regularly runs past $15,000 a month. Families who plan for it years ahead have options; families who call after a parent has already been admitted have far fewer, though rarely none.
- Connecticut Medicaid (Title 19) eligibility planning
- Asset protection strategies and the five-year lookback
- Spousal protections when one spouse enters care
- Irrevocable trusts for long-term care planning
- Crisis planning when care is already needed
The honest version: the earlier you start, the more can be done. If you're reading this because something has already happened, call anyway — there is usually more room than families assume.
Not sure which of these you need?
Most people aren't. Describe your situation in thirty minutes and I'll tell you plainly — including when the answer is that you need less than you thought.