Jonathan T. Pak
Senior Counsel
Jonathan has drafted wills and trusts for three generations of Queens families. He guides executors through Queens County Surrogate's Court and structures plans that keep a family home in the family.
Practice Area
Estate Planning, Wills & Probate in Woodside, NY
For most Queens families the estate is the house. Planning is what decides whether it passes to the next generation cleanly or through two years of Surrogate's Court.
An estate plan is not only for the wealthy. If you own a home in Queens, you own an asset worth more than most estates in the country, and how it is titled and devised will matter enormously to the people you leave it to.
Jonathan Pak has been drafting wills and administering estates for Queens families since the late 1990s, and has taken three generations of some families through it. We draft plans that are simple enough for a family to actually follow, and we handle the Surrogate's Court work when the time comes.
Free initial consultation.
Thirty minutes with the attorney who would handle the matter — not an intake screener. Call 000-000-000 or send us the details through the contact form.
How we help
Estate Planning & Probate services
Wills
Last wills and testaments, from straightforward to blended-family and special-needs planning.
Trusts
Revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, supplemental needs trusts and Medicaid asset protection trusts.
Powers of attorney & health care proxies
New York statutory powers of attorney, health care proxies and living wills.
Probate
Admitting a will to probate in Queens County Surrogate's Court and guiding the executor through to distribution.
Administration
Estates where there is no will — letters of administration, kinship and distribution.
Estate & elder planning
Medicaid planning, life-estate deeds and keeping the family home in the family.
When to call us
Situations we handle every week
- You own a home and have no will, or a will written in another state or another decade.
- You have children, and no plan for who would raise them.
- A parent has died and someone needs to open the estate.
- A relative is entering long-term care and the house is exposed.
- You are the named executor and have no idea what that requires.
If you are not sure whether your situation belongs on that list, call anyway. Telling you that you do not need a lawyer is free, and we would rather do that than take a matter that should not exist.
Attorneys in this practice
Nora F. Kavanagh
Senior Associate
Nora represents clients in divorce, custody, support and prenuptial matters, with a practice built on settling what can be settled and litigating firmly what cannot.
Questions
Estate Planning & Probate — frequently asked
What happens if I die without a will in New York?
The estate passes under New York's intestacy statute, which distributes by fixed shares to a spouse, children and other relatives in a set order — not necessarily as you would have chosen. Someone must still petition Surrogate's Court to be appointed administrator, which is generally slower and more expensive than probating a will.
How long does probate take in Queens County?
An uncontested estate with cooperative heirs typically runs seven to fifteen months from filing to distribution. Difficulty locating heirs, a contested will, or real property that must be sold will extend it.
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
For many Queens families a well-drafted will, correct beneficiary designations and correctly titled property are sufficient. A trust earns its cost where there is out-of-state real property, a beneficiary receiving public benefits, blended-family complexity, or a wish to avoid probate entirely. We will tell you if you do not need one.
Speak with a estate planning & probate attorney
Tell us what is going on. The first consultation is free, it is with the attorney who would handle your matter, and there is no obligation afterwards.