Stephanie M. Alberts is a Partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP. She co-chairs the firm’s Tax, Trusts & Estates practice group.  Ms. Alberts’ practice includes the development of an individualized estate plan for each client which adheres to that client’s estate planning objectives.  She routinely prepares Wills, Trusts and other estate planning documents and has extensive knowledge of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax as well as income tax issues related to estate planning.

Ms. Alberts also represents clients in all stages of the estate administration process, from the probate process through final distribution of assets.  She works closely with fiduciaries to ensure the orderly collection of assets, evaluation of tax issues and distributions to beneficiaries.  Ms. Alberts frequently prepares both estate and gift tax returns and works closely with accountants in connection with the preparation of fiduciary income tax returns for Estates and Trusts.

In the litigation context, Ms. Alberts represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in Surrogate’s Court matters including, but not limited to, probate contests, judicial accountings, discovery proceedings and various miscellaneous proceedings.  In addition, she is often appointed to serve as Guardian ad Litem in Surrogate’s Court matters for individuals that are unable to protect their interests.

Further, Ms. Alberts represents clients in guardianship matters, both in Surrogate’s Court and in Article 81 guardianship matters in the Supreme Court.  In this context, she represents clients in connection with guardianship hearings and also works closely with guardians once appointed in fulfilling their fiduciary obligations.  This includes, but is not limited to, preparing annual guardian accountings and preparing motions to address issues that arise during the guardianship term.

Ms. Alberts frequently writes on topics related to estate matters. Articles which she co-authored, “Substituted Judgment: Looking Out for an Elderly Person Who Becomes Incapacitated” and “Draft Once, Proofread Twice: Take Extreme Care in Formulating Personal Property Bequests,” were published in the New York Law Journal.

Ms. Alberts has been selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers Rising Stars list annually since 2013. In 2016, she received Long Island Business News’ “Leadership in Law” Associate Award and was honored by Hofstra University with the “Outstanding Women in the Law” Award.