Fill Out the Form
Step #1: Download our online WILL INTAKE FORM or call us at (585) 484-7432 to request that a form be mailed or emailed to you.
Rochester Estate Planning Lawyers
Experienced Rochester estate planning lawyers providing the highest level of representation throughout Western New York.
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Let Our 69 Years of Experience Work For You
Are you or a loved one in need of help regarding Estate Planning legal issues? Our experienced Rochester lawyers have been dedicated to serving the Western New York community we know and love. Allow us to help you the same way we’ve been helping our community for decades. We’re here for you.
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How to Have Your NY Will Prepared in 8 Easy Steps
We have been preparing wills and other estate planning documents for our clients for over sixty-six years. We make estate planning easy, affordable, safe, quick, and convenient for you by offering offices throughout New York ; Zoom and telephone consultations; home, hospital and nursing home visits; and an online WILL INTAKE FORM.
These are the Eight (8) Easy Steps to have your will and other estate planning documents prepared:
Return the Form
Step #2: Email, fax (716-542-4090), mail or submit to our website the completed WILL INTAKE FORM. This video shows you how to complete the WILL INTAKE FORM .
Schedule an Appointment
Step #3: We will call you to schedule a consultation.
Consult with Us
Step #4: You will consult with an experienced estate planning attorney by Facetime, Zoom, telephone or in-person to discuss your will, power of attorney, health care proxy/living will, living trust, and other estate planning needs and questions. Payment can be made by check, credit card online or cash.
Review Documents
Step #5: We will mail or email you the drafts of your estate planning documents for your review and approval.
Approve or Revise
Step #6: Call or email us to approve or revise your documents, and schedule an appointment for signing.
Sign Documents
Step #7: Sign your documents in our office, your home, or in the hospital or nursing home.
Will Storage
Step #8: Depending on your directions, we will keep your original will in safekeeping at no additional charge, give it to you to store for yourself, or deliver it to the New York Surrogate’s Court.
Benjamin Franklin said that there are only two certain things in life – death and taxes – both of which form the basis of Estate Planning. If you died tomorrow, are you sure that your loved ones would receive everything you own? How would you feel if ungrateful relatives or the government received most of your estate?
If you think this doesn’t happen – think again. Every year billions of dollars flow into probate courts across the U.S. and if this happens to you, everything you’ve worked for is put at risk.
You see there is an inherent unfairness in estate taxing. We pay income tax all our lives, and sometimes, as with dividends and bank interest, the same amount gets taxed twice or even three times. Then when we die without an estate plan in place, our loved ones are asked to pay again. The good news is that there are ways around this and they all center on advanced planning.
The Rochester estate planning lawyers at Friedman & Ranzenhofer have helped residents deal with estate planning issues for over 34 years. The goal of our Rochester estate planning lawyers when providing services for clients is to ensure that their wishes are met, while also ensuring their estate pays as little tax as possible upon their death.
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Some things to bear in mind when you’re planning your future – and the inevitable end of your life.
- Have a will drawn up – and when you do make sure that you get a competent estate lawyer to draft it as the smallest mistake can make the will invalid. If you need to have a will drafted, we offer a basic will for $79.
- Trusts are a very effective way to ensure that your property is held on your behalf, but not directly by you.
- There are many types of trusts – Express Trusts, Incentive Trusts and Discretionary Trusts.
- The law concerning estate planning and tax exemptions is constantly changing. There are also local variations between individual states which make local representation very important.
- Most of us will become incapacitated at some stage in our lives. And should this happen, you may want to think about having one of our attorneys handle your financial affairs.
We ensure that your golden years are as prosperous as possible – and if you wish to take care of your heirs, we’ll make that happen as well.
Recent NY Probate & Estates Blogs
Our Rochester Estate Planning Lawyers can help you or a loved one in the following:
- Administering estates and trusts
- Advanced Directives
- Annuities
- Article 81 Guardianships
- Assisted Living
- Contested Accountings
- Contesting a Will
- Court Representation for Executors, Trustees, Creditors or Beneficiaries
- Elder Abuse
- Estate & Trust accountings
- Estate Administration & Settlement
- Estate Litigation – Contested Estates & Trusts
- Estate Tax Issues
- Estate Sales of Real Estate
- Estate Tax Returns and Audits
- Government Benefits
- Guardianships for Disabled Children
- Health Care Proxies
- Intestacy (dying without a will)
- Invalidating trusts
- Kinship proceedings (Establishing Heirs)
- Life Estates
- Life Insurance Trusts
- Living Trusts
- Living Wills
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Medicaid Planning
- Medicare
- Nursing Home Care
- Power of Attorney
- Family Partnerships, LLCs and Business Succession Planning
- Probating wills – simple to complex
- Representation of executors & trustees
- Representation of Out-of-State Beneficiaries
- Retirement Planning
- Reverse Mortgages
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Social Security Disability
- Special Needs Trusts
- Supplemental Needs Trusts
- Spousal inheritance disputes
- SSI
- Surrogate’s Court Litigation
- VA Aid and Attendance
- Wills
- Wrongful Death Proceedings
Our Rochester Estate Planning Lawyers also represent Estates in the following manner:
- Legal Guidance for Administrators
- Legal Guidance for Executors
- Serve as Executor for your Estate
- Serve as Trustee for your Estate
Effective Rochester Estate Planning Lawyers
The main goal of estate planning is to ensure that your assets are transferred to your loved-ones with the least amount of legal fees, taxes, and court costs as possible. With several decades of combined experience, our attorneys know how to make this happen.
If you or a loved one needs to start planning what to do with their estate, contact Friedman & Ranzenhofer for dedicated representation. Let our experience work for you.
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Client Reviews
“Friedman & Ranzenhofer provided prompt, courteous and professional assistance regarding a current legal issue. We have used the services of this firm repeatedly because of their consistent high quality service levels.”
– Ed Berowski