The Law Office of Melissa C. Schreiber

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The Law Office of Melissa C. Schreiber

Melissa C. Schreiber is an estate planning and probate attorney serving clients in the Western New York area. Call today for a free consultation.

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Estate Planning and Probate Attorney

Williamsville Office:
6400 Sheridan Drive, Suite 114
Williamsville, NY 14221

Bowmansville Office:
5360 Genesee Street, Suite 203
Bowmansville, NY 14026

07/20/2025

FIVE years since I hung my shingle! Thank you to my friends and family for your support, and my clients for their confidence. I am beyond blessed to be doing a job I love!

06/28/2025

Thanks once again to my husband, Past Chief, Mike Schreiber, for sponsoring a hole for me at the annual Harris Hill golf tournament. We are so grateful for everything our volunteers do for our community. All first responders always receive a 10% discount on estate planning services. 🚒🚓🚑

11/10/2024

I am pleased to announce I will now be offering appointments at TWO new office locations:

5360 Genesee Street, Suite 203
Bowmansville, NY 14026

and

6400 Sheridan Drive, Suite 114
Williamsville, NY 14221

As my clients know, I happily offer appointments in the evening and on weekends. Please note that these appointments are limited to the Genesee Street address.

*New client appointments currently booking into December.*

06/29/2024

Beautiful day for some golf! 🌧 Do you know what is especially important on a "rainy day"? An estate plan. First responders always receive 10% off of estate planning services! 🚒🚓🚑

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃📜

07/30/2023

My wonderful husband surprised me with a hole sponsorship at the Anual Harris Hill Volunteer Fire Company Golf Tournament yesterday!

The fire service is very near and dear to us. First responders always receive a 10% discount on estate planning services.

07/21/2023

3 years in business! It would not have been possible without my wonderful clients. Thank you for your trust, and for allowing me to have a career doing what I love. Cheers to many more years!

07/20/2022

Celebrating TWO YEARS of assisting my community with their estate planning and probate needs!

This is an area of law very close to my heart based on personal experience. I am beyond blessed that I was able to transform that experience into a career focused on helping people avoid potential pitfalls, and offering comfort and direction following the death of a loved one.

Two years since opening my own practice. Looking forward to helping my clients for many more! 🥳

05/08/2022

My first Mother's Day as "Mommy". ❤️ Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Enjoy your day!

10/31/2021

Happy Halloween! 🎃

08/25/2021

MINOR CHILDREN

When I talk about estate planning, the topic I bring up most often is minor children. Everyone can benefit from an estate plan, but having one is especially important where minor children are involved.

To understand why, let’s start with another question: What happens if you die without a Last Will and Testament? State statute, specifically the New York Estate Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL), determines how your estate is distributed. Where minor children are involved, there are several issues that can arise that can easily be addressed with an estate plan.

Consider the following example:

A husband and wife are married with no children. The wife came into the marriage with a house in her name, a large savings account, and several other individually titled assets. If the wife were to die, her entire estate would pass to her husband under state statute. No problems there (as long as that is wife’s intent).

Fast forward a couple of years. Husband and wife now have a child and no estate plan in place. If wife is to die, husband is now only entitled to the first $50,000.00 plus one half of the wife’s residual estate. The remaining half now belongs to the child.

Why is this a problem? It was likely wife’s intent that husband should have all of the family property and funds available to him in order to continue raising their child. Furthermore, a guardian will need to be appointed at Surrogate’s Court to manage the funds of the minor child until they turn 18. Money and property husband may have been counting on are now wrapped up in court administration.

How could this issue have been avoided? Husband and wife make Wills leaving everything to each other first.

In a Will, husband and wife also have the added benefit of making more specific provisions regarding what happens to funds received by their child if they are both deceased. Eighteen is the magic number under state statute- but as we know, most eighteen-year-olds are not the most responsible with money. In a Will, parents can create a trust and appoint a Trustee to manage funds for their child(ren) until whatever age or ages they choose.

For example:

Husband and wife can create Wills leaving everything to each other first, but when they both die, the estate funds will go into a trust for the benefit of their child. Husband and wife can appoint a Trustee (usually another family member) to manage the funds. Husband and wife can grant the Trustee discretion to use funds to pay for child’s college, vocational training, books, transportation, etc. Husband and wife can also designate a more reasonable age or ages for payments of principal (i.e. child receives estate funds at 21 instead of 18 OR child receives half of the trust principal at 21 and the remaining estate funds at 25). The possibilities are endless and should be tailored to the unique needs of each family.

A Will also allows parents to designate a guardian for their child(ren) if they should both die before a child is 18.

Having minor children is only one example of the many considerations that can be addressed by a proper estate plan.

I offer free consultations so that we can identify potential issues and work together on instituting a plan to address them.

Call 716-602-6985 to schedule your estate planning consultation today.

The Law Office of Melissa C. Schreiber
“Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.”

07/20/2021

Happy Anniversary! Today marks the one year anniversary of The Law Office of Melissa C. Schreiber! Thank you to my friends, family, and clients for their continued support. You have been instrumental in making this year a success! Looking forward to assisting my community with their estate planning and probate needs for many years to come.

Address

5360 Genesee Street, Suite 203
Bowmansville, NY
14026

Website

http://www.mcsestates.com/

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