Best Lawyers Near You in Buffalo, New York for Trusts and Estates
New York City is one of the most active and complex legal markets in the world. With a dense network of courts, regulations and high-stakes legal matters across every industry, navigating the legal system here requires more than just any attorney—it requires the right one.
Whether you're dealing with a corporate dispute, a criminal charge, or a personal legal issue, experience matters. So does reputation. That’s why this directory exists.
The Best Lawyers New York directory offers a streamlined, trustworthy way to start your search. Every attorney in New York listed has been recognized by their peers for professional excellence and the platform is designed to help you filter by legal need, review credentials and take the next step with confidence.
How the Directory Works
This page serves as a targeted directory for users looking to find a lawyer in New York. Each attorney listed has been recognized in the most recent edition of Best Lawyers—a distinction based entirely on peer nominations and evaluations.
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Each attorney profile includes a clear summary of their experience, focus areas and credentials—giving you the information you need to make a confident decision.
Legal Help by Practice Area
New York City residents’ and visitors’ legal needs are wide-ranging and so are the attorneys listed in this directory. You can quickly narrow your search by legal focus. This directory includes attorneys who concentrate on some of the most in-demand areas of law in New York, such as:
- Business and commercial law
- Criminal defense and investigations
- Employment and labor disputes
- Real estate and construction law
- Divorce, custody and family matters
- Immigration issues
- Personal injury and malpractice
- Estate planning and probate
Why These Attorneys Are Listed
Every attorney on this page has earned a place through Best Lawyers’ rigorous annual peer-review process—one of the most trusted selection methods in the legal profession.
It’s recognition by fellow attorneys who know the work and understand what excellence looks like. Attorneys are nominated by peers and then evaluated on legal skill, professional conduct and client outcomes. Thousands of lawyers participate each year, providing confidential assessments within their specific practice areas.
To be listed, an attorney must:
- Be nominated by another legal professional
- Receive consistently high marks from peers in their practice area
- Maintain a strong track record of ethical behavior and client success
Only those who stand out among their peers are selected. And only those chosen in the most recent edition of the Best Lawyers awards appear in this directory, ensuring that every listing reflects current, active recognition.
Attorneys also manage their own profiles, so the information you’re reviewing is not only credible, but current. You’ll find clear details about each attorney’s practice focus, background and achievements—everything you need to make an informed decision.
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Start Your Search
If you're trying to find a lawyer in New York, this directory offers a trusted, peer-reviewed way to start. Whether you're hiring for the first time or looking to verify someone's standing, the attorneys listed here have been selected for a reason.
Begin your search by selecting your legal focus. Then explore profiles, compare qualifications and connect with an attorney in New York who’s already earned the trust of the legal community.
Practice Area Overview
How Can a Trusts and Estates Attorney Help You?
Trust and estate attorneys help clients plan for the efficient and effective transfer of assets to spouses, to younger generation family members, to other persons clients wish to benefit, and to charities. The practice involves the preparation of trust agreements, wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, and closely held business structures, including partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations.
What are the Trusts and Estates Practices Focal Points?
Wealth Planning
When attorneys begin the planning process, they consider your objectives, your family relationships, charitable inclinations, and the relationship of federal and state estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax laws to these objectives. Attorneys then work with you and, in some cases, with other advisers to design the appropriate plan to meet your goals and objectives, prepare the necessary documents to carry out the desired plan, and assist with the implementation of your plan. In connection with family wealth planning, attorneys plan and draft trust agreements and wills, create various business entities, and carry out business reorganizations.
Estate Administration
Trust and estate attorneys also handle the administration of estates. Attorneys confer with members of a decedent’s family on the various issues, including:
• Assistance to the executor with the preparation of the required probate documents and assist in valuation of estate assets
• Making insurance claims
• Preparation of final income tax returns and the estate’s income and federal and state estate tax returns
• Monitoring of the investment of the estate’s assets
• Arranging for the distribution of the estate’s net assets
• Throughout the administration of an estate, consideration is given to income tax savings through the timing of distributions and the timing and claiming of appropriate deductions.
Trust Administration
In the trust administration area, attorneys advise and consult with corporate and individual trustees concerning the discharge of the trust’s terms and consult with beneficiaries concerning trust administration matters including the preparation of trust accounts.
Trust and Estate attorneys also assist clients in all phases of probate and trust litigation. This may involve construing or reforming the terms of a will or trust, prosecuting or defending a will contest action or surcharge actions against trustees.
What is a Trusts and Estates attorneys goal for its clients?
The goal of an trust and estate attorney is to assist clients to achieve their personal goals while obtaining the significant tax savings which may be available to them through proper planning. Attorneys in the practice spend a significant amount of time dealing with the federal estate, gift, and generation skipping tax issues involved in transfer planning.
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David H. Alexander practices law in New York and Florida, and serves as a foreign legal consultant in Ontario, Canada. His areas of practice include wills, estates and trusts, estate planning and administration, business counseling, corporate law and taxation. He represents Canadian and other foreign corporations in the establishment of United States subsidiaries and in their conduct of business in the United States. He also represents Canadian and other foreign persons who purchase assets in...
Ms. Berkman concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, Medicaid advisement and planning, accountings, kinship matters, wrongful death compromises and guardianship proceedings. She assists clients with preparation of estate plan documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care forms and living wills.
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 ...
George E. Riedel, Jr. practices in the areas of trusts and estates, elder law, estate administration, estate planning, guardianships, and adoptions. Mr. Riedel is a director (from 1995 to present) and past secretary for the 100 Club of Buffalo. He is also a director (from 1999 to present) of the Western New York-Jamaica Partners of Americas. He was elected a fellow of the New York Bar Foundation in January 2001. He also serves on the advisory board of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the ...
Jonathan D. Schechter’s practice and experience includes business counseling and corporate law, commercial real estate and financing, estates, trusts, taxation and cross-border and business tax planning. Using his in-depth knowledge of tax law, he assists owners of both publicly traded and closely held businesses with their legal needs as well as their personal estate planning. Jonathan provides day-to-day counsel and representation to publicly traded companies, small business enterpris...
Carolyn Lavin DeVaughn concentrates her practice in corporate law, banking and finance, estate planning, and representing school districts, private schools, and charter schools in education law matters. Corporate Law Carolyn works with clients of all sizes across various industries on a full-range of corporate services including: Small business formation including LLCs and corporations Drafting operating agreements Creating articles of organization and corporate bylaws Assisting with the sale...
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.