Overview
I have been in the legal field for over a decade and in that time I have met hundreds of wonderful families and had many opportunities to serve as their attorney and counselor. I have found that great representation means that I am a counselor and listener first and an attorney second. There are some in the field who treat their practice more like a fast food order service, focusing on 'revenue per client' as though law was a consumable commodity rather than a service and calling of the highest order.
As a counselor I ensure that my clients needs are first and foremost. I admonish the use of high pressure sales tactics and make sure that all documents are understood before they are signed so that issues in the future can be minimized. This is crucial to me as too many times I have seen and met others who treat estate planning as a revenue source rather than as an opportunity to ensure the safe passage of family assets to the intended beneficiaries.
Additionally, having seen the full effects of aging and health related issues in my own family and in hundreds of clients, it is critical that caring, compassionate counsel is available to answer questions and protect wealth from the predators and creditors who seek it. It is especially important to me to protect the interests of beneficiaries who have special needs from losing their inheritances due to poor planning or a lack of planning.
BIO
I focus my practice on estate planning and administration with a particular focus on elder law and the unique issues and challenges that we can face as we age. I passionately advocate for families and their right and ability to protect their assets from outside threats including the nursing home, the spouses of children and the government.
I also dedicate my practice to the continual evolution and advancement of those opportunities and challenges faced by beneficiaries with special needs. This includes custom drafted provisions in powers of attorneys, trusts and trustee provisions not found with boilerplate provisions commonly found in other practices.
I routinely teach accredited continuing education courses (CLE) to other attorneys in my field and in the past have taught courses on estate planning, retirement planning, trust traps in probate, Medicaid estate recovery, VA Liens, Ethical practice in probate, common trust structures and when they are used, estate administration, charitable trusts and various wealth management techniques with trusts.
I serve families throughout Western Pennsylvania from the north of Butler County to the border with West Virginia in Greene including Allegheny, Beaver, Westmoreland, Washington and everywhere in between.
I am a proud father and husband and when I am not practicing law, we enjoy spending time outdoors, at Pittsburgh museums and cultural events and whenever possible, giving back for all the blessings we have been given.
ABOUT US
I am a passionate advocate for families who are in need of estate plans that take into account their unique situations and concerns. I enjoy engaging with the concerns of an aging population through carefully planned, drafted and executed estate plans contemplating inherited retirement accounts, Medicaid spend down strategies, asset protection, and creditor protection for beneficiaries, advanced will techniques such as separate share trusts, testamentary trusts, insurance trusts, revocable living trusts and irrevocable trusts both of grantor and non-grantor varieties.
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