Marcus, Gould & Sussman, LLP

Focus and practice areas

The firm works across four connected fields that touch property, money and family planning. Real estate law, estate planning and administration, business transactions, and civil litigation make up its core. It represents individuals, families and businesses in Westchester County and the wider New York metropolitan area, and it has done so from White Plains since 1980.

These areas overlap for many clients. A family that buys a home may later need a will, and a business owner selling a company may need help when a partnership disagreement follows. The firm handles all four areas in one office, which keeps related matters with the same lawyers.

Real estate and property matters

Real estate is the widest of the four areas by the range of work the firm names. It handles residential and commercial purchases and sales, leases, and the conveyancing and financing that go with them. Lease work covers both residential and commercial space, where the terms and the risks differ. It also represents buyers and sellers in cooperative and condominium transactions, which are common across Westchester and the city.

Cooperative and condominium purchases run through a board that reviews the buyer's finances and approves the sale, which adds steps beyond a standard house closing. The firm's work in this area covers that review along with the contract and the transfer of title. Financing questions sit inside the same file, so the lawyer who negotiates the deal also handles the mortgage paperwork.

When deals turn into disputes

The firm also litigates real estate matters. That covers contract disputes over sales and purchases and disagreements about property rights. Real estate litigation in New York runs through the state Supreme Court in the county where the property sits, and it often starts with a filed complaint that asks for specific performance or money damages. Having the same firm handle both the transaction and any later dispute keeps the history of the deal with the people who wrote it.

Estates, wills and probate

Estate planning at the firm begins with wills and trusts. The lawyers prepare these documents and then handle estate and trust administration once they take effect. Estate and trust administration is the work that follows a death: the executor or trustee gathers the assets, pays debts and taxes, and then passes what remains to the named beneficiaries. Probate work follows too, which is the court step that confirms a will and appoints an executor.

In New York, probate runs through the Surrogate's Court in the county where the person lived. The court reviews the will, hears any objections, and issues the letters that let the executor act. The firm also represents clients in estate and probate litigation, which arises when heirs or beneficiaries contest a will or an accounting. As a reviewer, I find it useful that the same team drafts the plan and defends it later, because the lawyer who wrote the will knows the family's intent.

Business transactions and civil litigation

On the business side, the firm forms companies and sets up ownership. It handles incorporations, LLCs and partnerships, and it drafts the shareholder and operating agreements that fix the rules among owners. It also advises clients who buy or sell a business.

The choice between an LLC and a corporation shapes how owners are taxed and how much personal liability they carry, and the operating or shareholder agreement sets voting rights, profit shares and the terms for an owner who leaves. The firm drafts those documents at the start, when the terms are easiest to settle. When owners later disagree over money, control or an exit, the firm represents them in civil litigation. Partnership disputes often turn on that same operating or shareholder agreement, so the firm's transactional and courtroom work meet here.

How the team is built

Two partners anchor the firm. Kenneth J. Gould and Marianne L. Sussman each have more than 30 years of legal experience, and the firm states that its attorneys have more than 60 years of combined experience.

Kenneth J. Gould earned his J.D. from George Washington University National Law Center in 1973 and a B.S. from Cornell University in 1970. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1974. His practice covers commercial and residential real estate, commercial litigation, cooperative and condominium representation, estate planning and administration, and business transactions. He chairs the Real Property Section of the Westchester County Bar Association, a role that lines up with the firm's real estate work.

Marianne L. Sussman is a partner whose work spans real estate, business transactions, estate planning and litigation. That range matches the firm's four practice areas closely. Nathan M. Barotz is also listed among the firm's attorneys.

What the record shows

The firm has practiced from White Plains since 1980, which gives it a long run in a single market. In my opinion, that continuity matters for real estate and estate work, where local court practice and county filing habits shape how a matter moves. Long familiarity with the Westchester Surrogate's Court and the county Supreme Court is a practical asset for the clients the firm serves.

The firm keeps its stated focus on individuals, families and businesses in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area. New clients can start with a free 15-minute telephone consultation.