McCarthy Fingar LLP

James K. Landau, a member of our Cannabis Law, Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice groups, authored an article for Lexis-Nexis entitled Banking and Finance for the Marijuana Industry (https://www.mccarthyfingar.com//james-k-landau-banking-an/).

During the COVID-19 health care crisis, McCarthy Fingar lawyers have remotely supervised the execution of many Wills, Trust Agreements and related documents. We are pleased to announce that Michael S. Kutzin, a member of various groups, including our Guardianship Practice, Trusts & Estates and Surrogate’s Court Litigation groups, has been named as a co-Chair of the NYSBA Joint Elder Law and Trusts & Estates Sections Task Force on Remote Notarization and Remote Witnessing of Estate Planning documents.

McCarthy Fingar’s Surrogate’s Court Litigation lawyers represent clients in Will and Trust Contests. In Matter of Burrows (Surr. Ct., Herkimer County 2020), Robert H. Rosh and Howell Bramson, representing the decedent’s surviving spouse and the decedent’s financial advisor, won a summary judgment motion, upholding the decedent’s Will and his separate Revocable Trust Agreement. Here, Robert demonstrated, through voluminous documentary and testimonial evidence, that the decedent was cognitively alert, oriented, and otherwise fit and able to execute the disputed instruments, and that the instruments were not the product of undue influence or duress.

McCarthy Fingar lawyers represent clients in the most difficult guardianship cases. In Matter of A.A. v. A., 2020 NY Slip Op 03468 (1st Dep’t 2020), Michael S. Kutzin, a partner of the firm whose areas of concentration include guardianship and trusts & estates, represented, on a pro bono basis, the mother of an incapacitated child in an appeal to the Appellate Division, First Department, of a lower court decision in which, after a divorce, the mother had been named the guardian for her daughter, J.A. Michael succeeded in having the father’s appeal denied on the grounds that the lower court had properly exercised its discretion in naming the mother as guardian and that he had no independent right to have his adult child brought to a physician of his choice to prove his case.

Sometimes the tears just won’t stop. Losing a child makes a parent feel so empty inside. Tears fall like a stream until we feel like we are drowning in our own ...tears. That’s just how much it hurts to lose a child. Sending special love to all those missing their child tonight. Clara Hinton, author and bereaved mom See more

Dolores Gebhardt, a member of our Appellate Practice, Cannabis Law, Collaborative Law and Matrimonial & Family Law groups, was elected to a second term as a Vice President of the Westchester County Bar Association (WCBA). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WCBA’s 2020-2021 slate of officers and directors were sworn in via Zoom. WCBA, established on February 11, 1896, is a not-for-profit corporation with a voluntary membership of more than 2,000 lawyers. WCBA’s purpose is to promot...e the ends of justice, cultivate jurisprudence, afford access to the courts to all who seek redress, facilitate the administration of justice, elevate the standards of integrity, honor, competence and courtesy in the legal profession, and participate with all members of society in seeking and perfecting the common good. Dolores has been active in the WCBA for many years and served as Secretary from 2017-2019 and Vice President from 2019-2020. This is a photo of Dolores working remotely during our COVID-19 pandemic. See more

McCarthy Fingar’s Trusts and Estates lawyers are doing estate planning work for clients 24/7 during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis. We have just added a new page to our site in which we discuss supervising the execution and notarization of our clients’ estate planning documents without the need to meet in person.

As Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread in Westchester County and throughout the world, McCarthy Fingar LLP provides this update to our website notice of March 12, 2020. We want to let you know that we continue to provide uninterrupted service to our clients while continuing to protect the health and safety of our clients, employees, and community. McCarthy Fingar, established in 1946, was fully operational Monday, 3/23, the first day of Governor’s Cuomo’s Executive Or...der that generally requires us to work remotely. Our attorneys and legal assistants are working without interruption. We have communication equipment, software, and video teleconference programs in place. We have already held multi-person video conferences which we actively promote as an alternative to an in-person client meeting. We want to make sure that clients have the full access to our attorneys’ legal skills and experience. Our attorneys are serving your needs today, and we are available 24/7. Contact information for all our lawyers is provided on our web site (https://www.mccarthyfingar.com/attorneys/). We closely monitor all information and directives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other federal, state and local authorities. The health and safety of our clients, employees, vendors, and our community is our highest priority. We wish to express our concern and hope for your continued good health, and, to those impacted, their quick recovery.

As Coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly in Westchester and throughout the world, McCarthy Fingar LLP is providing this update to let you know that we will continue to provide uninterrupted service to our clients and that we are also taking steps to protect the health and safety of our clients, employees, and community. The firm remains fully operational, and if we must close our office for any reason and for any length of time, our attorneys and staff have the ability ...to work remotely without interruption. We have communication equipment, software, and teleconference hardware in place, and we will take advantage of all technology tools to ensure our firm’s work for our clients will continue uninterrupted. We are closely monitoring the World Health Organization, the Centers for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal, state, and local authorities. We are making the health and safety of our clients, employees, vendors, and community our highest priority. We wish to express our concern and hope for your continued good health, and to those impacted, their quick recovery. For further information, please contact either of our Co-Administrative Partners, Clinton Smith, by email at [email protected] and by telephone at (914) 385-2014, or Kathleen Donelli by email at [email protected] and by telephone at (914) 385-1010. See more

Check out our new website! www.mccarthyfingar.com

We are pleased to announce that, effective February 1, 2020, Michael S. Kutzin (http://www.mccarthyfingar.com/attorne/michael-s-kutzin.aspx) has joined the firm as a partner and is a member of our Trusts & Estates, Surrogate’s Court Litigation, Exempt Organizations, Taxation and Charitable Gift Planning groups. Michael joins McCarthy Fingar from Goldfarb Abrandt Salzman & Kutzin LLP, where he had been a partner for 17 years. Michael has extensive experience with all forms of Surrogate’s Court and Guardianship proceedings, from the most routine to the most complex and contentious. He has appeared in Westchester matters for years, as well as Surrogate’s Court and Guardianship cases in New York City. Go to www.McCarthyFingar.com to find out more about McCarthy Fingar and Michael Kutzin.

James K. Landau (http://www.mccarthyfingar.com/attorneys/james-k-landau.aspx), a member of our Cannabis Law, Business Litigation and Appellate Practice groups, will speak on January 28, 2020 on "The Developing Commercial Cannabis Case Law", in a program sponsored by the Committee on Cannabis Law of the New York State Bar Association.

Lester D. Steinman (http://www.mccarthyfingar.com/attorn/lester-d-steinman.aspx), a member of our Municipal Law & Land Use group, received the "Founders Award" on December 04, 2019 at the Eighteen Annual Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference at Pace Law School.