Attorney Profiles
Todd A. Fishlin, Esq.
Todd A. Fishlin is a graduate of S.U.N.Y at Buffalo (B.A.,1996) and New York Law School (J.D., 2009). He won several academic scholarships, appeared on the Dean’s List from 2007-2009 and acted as Research Assistant to the President of the American Civil Liberties Union. After being admitted to practice in March, 2010, the younger Mr. Fishlin joined his father to form Fishlin & Fishlin, PLLC.
Todd has amassed an impressive résumé in both the Surrogate’s Court and Supreme Court. He has litigated dozens of contested Guardianships, Probates and Administrations. He has acted as lead counsel in actions based on theories of conversion, undue influence, fraud, undue execution, lack of capacity, breaches of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, judgment enforcement and unjust enrichment. Mr. Fishlin is also adept in handling transactional matters such as estate planning, estate administration, probate, real estate purchases and contracts. He was the winner of the Elser Prize for Contracts in May, 2009.
In addition to the Second Department of New York State, Mr. Fishlin is admitted to practice in the Federal Courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He is a dedicated legal professional with experience, education and honors. He resides in Westchester County.
Lewis H. Fishlin, Esq.
Lewis Fishlin is a graduate of New York University (B.A., 1965) and New York Law School (J.D., 1968). He was admitted to practice in New York in 1969. The elder Mr. Fishlin has over 45 years experience in actions in law and equity. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Fishlin has been in active practice since 1969 primarily focusing his practice in the areas of Estate, Trust and Matrimonial Law. He also has extensive experience in Real Estate, Commercial and Corporate Law.
Mr. Fishlin has been engaged in all phases of Estate work including preparation of wills, trusts, health care proxies, living wills, powers of attorney, anatomical gift donations, and other document preparation; probate through final accounting; administration; estate tax proceedings and planning; numerous actions by and against fiduciaries and beneficiaries; all aspects of guardianship proceedings; estate litigation, including will and accounting contests; real property sale, purchase, mortgage and finance; agreements relating to real property; matrimonial matters including divorce, separation, annulment, declaration of the nullity of a void marriage and related agreements; prenuptial agreement; litigation relating to matrimonial matters including support proceedings, custody and visitation; some corporate formation and housekeeping, acquisitions and mergers; and various types of litigation in the Surrogate’s, Supreme, Federal District, Family and Civil Courts.
During the years since his admission to the Bar he has probated numerous wills in the Counties of New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk. He has represented Petitioners in will contests, probates where the distributees were unable to be located, lost will proceedings, and wills where portions have been eliminated by the decedent’s post-execution changes, numerous claims against and refuting claims against estates. He has also been engaged in the representation of executors and administrators in various types of proceedings throughout the metropolitan area, including but not limited to, litigation regarding the payment of decedent’s debts, wrongdoing of the fiduciary, turnover proceedings and the like.
He has also prepared numerous accountings and been involved in the judicial settlement of many accountings, including many involuntary and contested accountings.
In the numerous years of practice he has also prepared hundreds of wills, trusts and related documents, including living wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, designations of conservators and guardians, and appointment of successor fiduciaries under the NYUTMA. He has also played a major role in many other related proceedings in both the Surrogate’s Court and the Supreme Court and acted as a guardian ad litem in many proceedings in the Surrogate’s Courts of New York, Kings, and Rockland Counties.
In the real estate field, Mr. Fishlin has been involved in the purchase and sale of vacant land, an island, apartments and commercial buildings, single-family homes, condos, co-ops, as well as the financing of such properties.
Mr. Fishlin is also a senior member of the Legal Referral Panel of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York for Estate matters. He has been a member of that panel for at least 30 years. From time to time he has participated on panel discussions concerning the laws relating to estates and trusts and has also lectured to a variety of assembled people concerning the laws. Mr. Fishlin has been certified as an expert in civil law during the course of a trial of a former client, in which he was called upon to testify. Mr. Fishlin resides in Rockland County.