Law Office of Frank Bruno, Jr.

Law Office of Frank Bruno, Jr. Law Firm serving New York. Elder law estate planning, probate, guardianship, real estate and divorce.

11/24/2025

Why You Should Plan Your Estate Before a Crisis

Estate planning often comes to mind only after a major life event—like a serious diagnosis, the death of a loved one, or witnessing a guardianship case firsthand. Guardianship occurs when one adult seeks authority over another due to incapacity, such as dementia, stroke, or other health issues.

Experiencing this—either as a petitioner or a family member—often prompts people to finally create their own estate plan. A well-structured plan, whether a will or a trust, helps protect your assets, preserve your business, and safeguard your family in the event of incapacity. Don’t wait for a crisis to force your hand. Plan now while you can, so your loved ones aren’t left navigating legal complexities during a difficult time.


11/20/2025

When Client Expectations Don’t Match the Law

Clients often come in with strong expectations—especially in custody cases—and part of an attorney’s job is helping them understand what can realistically be achieved under the law. You may want to block overnight visits or stop a grandparent from seeing a child, but why matters. Courts need facts: safety concerns, substance abuse, violence, instability—not just frustration or conflict.

Sometimes the other parent may want the same thing you want. Other times, your goals and the law don’t align. My role is to guide you through what we can seek, what we might settle for, and how strong the evidence is. And if you want to push forward, we build the best case possible and let the judge decide. Either path is valid—as long as it's grounded in facts, not just feelings.


11/19/2025

What Does a Court Evaluator Actually Do?

I was recently appointed as a Court Evaluator in a guardianship case—essentially the court’s eyes and ears. My job is to independently investigate: speak with the alleged incapacitated person, review their income, assets, medical condition, medications, and overall circumstances. Then I prepare a full report and testify at the hearing.

As a Court Evaluator, I’m not anyone’s attorney—I'm an impartial observer. I can support or oppose the petition, weigh in on proposed guardians, ask questions at the hearing, and even call my own witnesses. Today, that meant visiting a nursing home to meet the individual at the center of the case. This role is crucial in helping the court make the right decision for someone who may not be able to speak for themselves.


11/19/2025

Who Needs a Will? Pretty Much Everyone.

Who needs a will? Almost everyone. If you plan on leaving this world someday, you need at least a basic estate plan. Know what you have, where it is, and who gets it. You can use beneficiary designations, POD/ITF accounts, joint assets, a will, or even a trust for more dynamic planning—timed gifts, milestone-based distributions, and avoiding probate altogether.
Whether simple or sophisticated, everyone needs a plan. Your future beneficiaries will thank you.


11/14/2025

Why Every Parent Needs a Will — Especially Young Families

A young couple came to me with no estate plan—no will, no guardian named, no roadmap for their children if something tragic happened. When parents of minor children don’t have a will, the result is chaos: court-appointed guardians, surrogate’s court proceedings, delays, and minors inheriting property they legally can’t manage.
A simple will prevents all of that. It names guardians, protects assets, and creates a clear plan. If you’re a parent and don’t have a will, now is the time. Will. Will. Will.


11/13/2025

What’s the Difference Between a Guardian and a Conservator?

Ever wondered why some states use the term guardian while others say conservator? 🤔
In New York, we call it guardianship, where one person is appointed by the court to make decisions for another who can’t do so themselves — whether it’s about finances, health care, or daily living. In states like California, that same role is called a conservator (think of the Britney Spears case).
Each state has its own rules, so it’s important to understand how your state defines and manages these responsibilities. If you need help with a guardianship matter in New York, our office can guide you through every step. ⚖️

11/12/2025

What Is a Contested Accounting—and Why It Matters in Estate Cases

I was just hired for a contested accounting case — and if you’ve never heard that term before, here’s what it means:

An administrator was appointed by the court to handle an estate — selling property, liquidating accounts, and collecting all the assets into one place. In this case, about $1 million is sitting in a bank account.

But here’s the problem: there are seven family members entitled to a share, and the administrator hasn’t distributed a dime — no explanation, no accounting, nothing.

So now, it’s a contested accounting proceeding. We’re asking the court to step in, require a full financial report, and hold the administrator accountable for every dollar.

When you’re dealing with estates and family money, transparency isn’t optional — it’s the law.

11/10/2025

When “Overpaying” in Divorce Actually Makes Sense

I’m working on a fully contested divorce where literally everything is at play — retirement accounts, marital home, investment property, stocks, mutual funds, a business, and multiple children. It feels like the bar exam in real life.

Child support is governed up to $203,000 — above that, we enter discretionary factor territory. Same with maintenance — statute + case law + math + judgment.

Here’s the strategic question no one thinks about:
If the marital assets total $1M, and the split is roughly $500K each — when is it actually smart business for the moneyed spouse to overpay for the sake of finality?

Sometimes paying more now is cheaper than another year (or two) of trial, post-trial submissions, and an appeal. There’s a price to fight — and a price to end the fight.

This is the art + business of law.

11/07/2025

When Lawyers Talk Past Each Other — Court Days Are Wild

Today’s court experience set the tone for the entire day. Two attorneys were talking past each other, arguing about properties, arrears, mortgage statements, transfers — and nobody was aligned on basic facts. The judge finally issued a discovery order requiring both sides to exchange documents in 30 days or face consequences.
Then I get back to my office — missiles flying — deadlines, emails demanding responses, and even a request for a “conference before the conference” next month… all about legal fees.
Litigation is the wild west. You need to be armed with facts. And when you don’t have the facts yet — you need humility and curiosity to get them. Because in the end, the truth is binary — it was done, or it wasn’t.

11/06/2025

When an Article 81 Guardianship Expires — What Happens Next?

I received a call today from someone who was appointed as guardian under Article 81 — but their guardianship term was only six months, and it lapsed two months ago without them realizing.

Most Article 81 guardianships are indefinite or at least one year. A six-month term is uncommon, but it happens. Now, because the guardianship is still needed — we’ll have to go back to court to ask the Judge to extend it.

We’ll file an application to explain that the lapse was inadvertent, the guardian continued acting in the caretaking role, and that the incapacitated adult still needs protection.

Guardianship is serious — and the Court needs ongoing authority to allow a guardian to act.

11/05/2025

Can a Trust be used to lower your child support payments?

Someone called me today asking if he could move all his assets into a trust so he wouldn’t have to pay child support.

No.

That is NOT what a trust is for.

Trusts are used for:
• probate avoidance
• asset organization
• incapacity planning
• protecting assets legally in the right context

But a trust is not a tool to hide assets to avoid a legal child support obligation.
That’s not ethical, it’s not appropriate — and I won’t do it.

You plan smart.
You don’t plan to evade legal responsibilities.

11/01/2025

How We Settled a Surrogate’s Court Case — Cooler Heads Prevail

We settled a Surrogate’s Court matter today.

Months of negotiation… two court appearances… and today, instead of escalating into motions and a possible hearing — we used the court conference to finalize a deal.

Settlement is strategy.
It’s not always about “winning every dollar.”
It’s about maximizing what you net — and reducing the time, cost, and stress of the litigation path.

Sometimes the smarter resolution is:

• take the number that’s close
• avoid months of motions + hearings
• finalize the agreement so the property can be sold and the estate can move forward

In Surrogate’s Court — calm, rational evaluation wins.

Address

69-09 Myrtle Avenue
New York, NY
11385

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+17184185000

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Law Office of Frank Bruno, Jr. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Law Office of Frank Bruno, Jr.:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category