Best Lawyers in New York, United States for Trusts and Estates
Select a city from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Cities
John F. Leone has practiced almost 30 years in the areas of wills, estate planning, estate and trust administration, qualified retirement plans and residential and commercial real estate. He received both his J.D. and B.S. degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo.In connection with his wills and estates practice, John has successfully defended proponents of wills subject to will contests, contested wills on behalf of beneficiaries, and has filed claims relating to breaches of ...
Michael Markhoff is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Michael, who practices law in White Plains, New York, has been recognized since 2008. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bernard A. Krooks is a founding partner of the law firm Littman Krooks LLP with offices in New York City, White Plains and Fishkill. Mr. Krooks is the President of the Special Needs Alliance ( www.specialneedsalliance.org ), a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting families with special needs planning. Mr. Krooks is past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a Fellow of NAELA, founding member and past president of the NY Chapter of NAELA. He is...
Edward A. Vergara is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Edward A., who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Edward A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Elizabeth H.W. Fry is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Elizabeth H.W., who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2003. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Elizabeth H.W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jay Waxenberg has been with the Personal Planning Department of Proskauer Rose LLP since 1984 and is now Chair of the Department. A former member of the firm’s Executive Committee, he focuses his practice on estate and tax planning and estate and trust administration. Jay primarily represents individuals and their estates. He represents many families with significant multigenerational wealth, and has assisted them in the structuring of their estate plans so as to minimize gift, estate a...
Stephen Ferszt guides businesses and high-net-worth individuals through the complexities of employee benefits, ERISA and executive compensation issues. He also advises on tax, estate and family and business succession planning. Steve chairs Olshan’s Employee Benefits Practice and is a member of the Employment and Tax & Personal Planning Practices . With a nuanced understanding of ERISA and employee benefits matters, Steve advises on the design, implementation and administration of q...
Laurie Ruckel concentrates her practice on estate planning, succession planning, estate and trust administration and estate taxation. Her experience encompasses wills and trust agreements, estate and gift tax audits, succession planning for closely held businesses and prenuptial agreements. Laurie's principal clients are high net worth individuals, closely held businesses, real estate clients and executives of publicly held companies. Laurie also lectures on the subject of estate planning and...
Amy Erenrich Heller is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Amy Erenrich, who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Amy Erenrich is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ms. Steckler focuses on providing counsel to families concerning all aspects of estate planning, estate administration and elder law. She helps clients transfer family wealth to minimize or eliminate federal and state tax liability. Clients seek her guidance in creating sophisticated estate plans, disability planning to help individuals with special needs preserve their eligibility for public benefits, charitable giving, LGBTQ+ planning, will and trust preparation, advanced directives, powers...
Richard A. Kroll, Esq. has an active practice in the area of Estate Planning, Trusts, and Probate. He is past or current member of the Special Needs Alliance, the Trusts and Estates sections of the New York State Bar Association, Monroe County Bar Associations, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and the Estate Planning Council of Rochester. A graduate of Brighton High School, Hobart College, Suffolk University Law School (where he was editor-in-chief of its Law Review) and Harvard L...
My practice is concentrated on trust and estate planning and administration and business succession planning for principles and shareholders of closely held businesses. My practice also includes addressing clients' philanthropic goals, including providing counsel to clients on all aspects of nonprofit corporate governance, and structuring charitable trusts and private foundations.
Christina Baltz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Christina, who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christina is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.