Welcome to RickBryan.com!
Welcome to the official website of Richard Bryan Attorney, PLLC. My office is conveniently located at 370 7th Avenue, which is one block South of Penn Station and Madison Square Garden on 7th Avenue (8th Floor).
My practice is in New York City, primarily Manhattan, and my firm focuses on Estate Planning and Elder Law. My work also includes a variety of legal matters which are naturally related to estate planning and elder law. Asset Protection planning, for example, for investment assets, or real property, and legal representation of business owners, are fields which are related to Estate Planning. Long range tax reduction strategies are also included in the term "estate planning." Estate Planning most often includes drafting Wills, various types of Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, Living Wills, Burial Proxies, and many other documents that help someone protect, manage and grow their wealth during lifetime, and then at death pass those assets to children, grandchildren and charities in an orderly, cost effective, and tax efficient manner. Minimizing probate costs, and maximizing the value of property transferred at death is a major focus of estate planning. Probate of a decedent's estate comes after death, and I can provide cost effective representation in all New York counties if you are the Executor of an estate. However, there is a lot more to "Estate Planning" than simply Wills and Trusts. Click on the "Estate Planning" link above to go to the Estate Planning page, and watch the clip below to get an idea of my practice.
"Elder Law" is a broad area of the law which includes planning in advance for the eventualities of aging, such as physical or psychological impairments, including dementia or Alzheimer's. If mom or dad is in this situation, or you understand the need for advanced planning for yourself or your parents, you should come in to talk about the various options available. Social Security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's benefits, etc., are all part of the field of law known as 'Elder Law.' If you need to begin a Guardianship proceeding in any New York City county, we can complete the process efficiently and effectively. The most important legal document most for most seniors is a Health Care Proxy, and you can complete one yourself (or help mom or dad do so), by going to the website of the New York State Department of Heath. Seniors need to have a Power of Attorney form too, but you should come into the office to complete a Power of Attorney, because it's a very important legal document. The lack of a Health Care Proxy and Power of Attorney can lead to a costly Guardianship process if mom or dad losses capacity; don't let this potentially costly and emotionally draining process happen in your family. Take action, and call me at 212 979-2868.
"Advanced Markets" refers to a variety of legal, tax and financial techniques which are designed and coordinated to help you start, grow and protect your business and personal wealth. Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs), Spousal Life Insurance Access Trusts (SLATs), Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs), and dozens of more strategies, are all included in the toolbox of the experienced estate planner. Corporate by-laws, Partnership and Limited Liability Company agreements; buy-sell agreements, deferred compensation plans, executive bonus plans, Employee Stock Option Plans, and others, are often used by businesses to leverage the owners' interests. Because of the very favorable income tax aspects of life insurance and annuities, these products are often used in a wide variety of strategies and techniques designed to increase wealth in an exponential fashion. Our firm has developed a niche specialization advising and drafting documents related to the use of financial products.
NOTE: This website is not legal advice and cannot be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney with whom you have established an attorney client relationship and all the privileges that relationship provides. The law changes frequently and is not always the same from one state to another (or even from County to County). This website is considered "attorney advertising" under New York law.
What is Estate Planning?
The term "estate planning" includes a wide range of legal services designed to manage, grow and protect your assets (including children) while you are alive, and arranging your affairs so that at death your assets, including personal values and the legacy you wish to leave behind, are passed to your family, charities and other beneficiaries in an orderly and tax efficient manner, and at the lowest cost possible. Estate Planning lawyers are often able to handle many different types of legal matters, since "estate planning" includes so many different areas of the law.
Estate Planning Page »
What is Elder Law?
Elder Law focuses on the particular legal issues faced by seniors, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits. The Medicaid rules in particular are very complicated, and you need to act quickly if you are facing a situation where mom or dad has to go to a nursing home or assisted living facility. Guardianship, the legal process whereby someone is appointed as Guardian of the Person (and/or Property) of a person who is incapacitated physically or mentally, is another important area of Elder Law in which the firm specializes.
Elder Law Page »
What are Advanced Markets?
Estate planning can involve sophisticated structures when people have unique needs and significant resources, particularly when those needs include asset protection planning or strategies designed to grow wealth between successive generations. Foreign and domestic asset protection trusts are commonly used for business owners who are (or should be) concerned about protecting their wealth from judgment creditors. Effective estate planning (which sometimes merges with 'financial planning') includes various protected arrangements, such as tax qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, employee stock option plans (ESOPs), a Family Limited Partnership and other split interest ownership arrangements.
Insurance Planning Page »