Elder Law Attorney in Queens
Speak Directly with an Attorney from Your First Call
At Kirshblum Taber PC, your first call connects you with an attorney rather than intake staff, allowing you to discuss the legal concerns affecting you or an older relative from day one.
We provide elder law, estate planning, and family law services for Queens residents making sensitive decisions about care, property, and future decision-making. On-site interpreters are available for Spanish, Hebrew, and Russian speakers when language support is needed.
Speak directly with an attorney about your concerns by calling (516) 908-8842.
Judicial Perspective Grounded in Queens Family Matters
David A. Kirshblum is a former Queens County Judge and retired Family Court Judge who served more than 24 years on the bench. His judicial background brings a seasoned perspective to family dynamics, court proceedings, and decisions affecting vulnerable people.
His judicial service was rooted in family law, not elder law practice. David has lectured at New York State Bar Association functions on family law and trained judges serving in Supreme Court Matrimonial Parts and New York City Family Courts. We draw on that perspective alongside the elder law and estate planning guidance our attorneys provide.
Elder Law Services for Queens Families
A family’s legal needs may span several connected areas, particularly when care, incapacity, finances, and estate documents affect one another.
Our elder law services include:
- Long-term care planning, asset management, and asset protection
- Advance directives, health care proxies, and powers of attorney
- Guardianships
- Special needs trusts and supplemental needs trusts
- Last wills and testaments
- Veterans’ benefits matters
- Probate and estate administration
- Property or inheritance disputes
Orly Taber focuses her practice on estate planning and elder law. Her work includes care planning, asset management, and disputes involving property or an inheritance. She helps families consider how immediate care concerns may affect estate documents and preparations for future incapacity.
Planning Built Around Your Family’s Circumstances
An elder law strategy starts with the circumstances of the person who needs care or protection. We consider current care needs, asset ownership, and existing legal documents that identify who may make future financial or health care decisions.
Direct attorney communication continues throughout our representation. We provide personalized strategy and transparent guidance, explaining how available legal tools relate to the family’s priorities.
Some matters require immediate action, such as a guardianship petition or an approaching need for extended care. Others involve preparing advance directives, a health care proxy, a power of attorney, or estate documents before incapacity occurs. We tailor our guidance to the legal needs presented rather than applying one plan to every family.
Guardianship & Estate Proceedings in Queens
Guardianship and estate matters follow different court pathways. The appropriate proceeding depends on whether a family needs authority to act for a living adult, probate of a will, authority to administer an estate, or another form of court relief.
Article 81 Adult Guardianship
An Article 81 guardianship is a court proceeding used to determine whether an adult is incapacitated and needs a guardian for personal or financial decisions. Proceedings involving Queens residents are filed in Queens County Supreme Court.
The petitioner must establish incapacity by clear and convincing evidence, a demanding evidentiary standard. The court must limit the guardian’s powers to those it finds necessary, reflecting the requirement to use the least restrictive form of intervention.
After the court signs an Article 81 order to show cause, the hearing must be held within 28 days. The court must issue its decision within seven days after the hearing unless good cause supports an extension. An appointed guardian must file an initial report and annual reports and visit the incapacitated person at least four times each year.
Probate & Estate Administration
Queens County Surrogate’s Court handles probate, estate administration, trust accountings, and certain guardianship matters involving Queens residents. Probate generally concerns proving a valid will and authorizing the named fiduciary, while administration applies when court authority is otherwise required. Trust accounting proceedings examine a fiduciary’s management and distribution of trust property.
Medicaid Planning for Long-Term Care
Medicaid planning requires an individualized review of the care setting, asset ownership, and transfer history, including the timing of an application. Nursing home care and home-based long-term care involve different planning considerations, so rules relevant to one shouldn’t automatically be applied to the other.
For nursing home institutional care, New York applies a 60-month transfer-of-assets look-back period. This is the period Medicaid reviews for certain asset transfers, and the 60 months immediately precede the point when a person is both institutionalized and applying for Medicaid. Because ownership, transfer history, and timing can affect the analysis, we review each person’s circumstances before recommending a planning approach.
Get Clear Guidance for the Decisions Ahead
For older adults and families seeking an elder law lawyer in Queens, our online contact form provides a way to describe concerns involving care planning, guardianship, estates, or asset protection.
We provide clear, personalized guidance for the legal decisions ahead. Interpreter access can support communication throughout the process.
Call (516) 908-8842 to speak with Kirshblum Taber PC about your elder law matter.
-
“David and Orly are the definition of a DREAM TEAM!!”
Dedicated and Experienced Legal Professionals
Our lawyers serving Nassau County bring a unique background of experience. Attorney David A. Kirshblum, Esq. is a retired judge who has spent over 24 years on the family court bench, including presiding over cases involving Sean “Puffy” Combs, Al Pacino, and Mick Jagger.
He has also written decisions that have been affirmed by the NYS Appellate Division. Having been on the judicial side of the law, Attorney Kirshblum has a unique perspective that can prove advantageous to strategizing against the other side.
Further, while Attorney Kirshblum handles the family law side, Attorney Orly Taber, Esq. has significant experience with estate planning and helps clients, particularly the elderly, with estate matters and ex-spouse property disputes.
She is an energetic and client-focused lawyer who helps build estate plans that safeguard your personal and material interests.
Both Nassau County lawyers at Kirshblum Taber PC are experienced and professional advocates who treat their clients with respect.
Schedule an initial consultation with our attorneys by calling (516) 908-8842 today to get started on your case.
Contact Us For a Consultation
Speak To An Attorney Today About Your Legal Matter. Call 516-908-8842 Or Fill Out the Form Below.