Voelkl Law PC

Where the estate work sits

Estate matters make up a substantial share of what Voelkl Law PC handles from its Williamsville base. The firm drafts wills and trusts, guides clients through probate, and manages estate administration once someone has died. It also takes on special needs trusts and guardianship files, which help families who plan ahead for a relative unable to manage their own affairs.

An estate plan in New York usually starts with a will and, in many cases, a trust that holds assets during life and after death. Plans of this kind often pair those documents with authority for someone to act if the person loses capacity. The point of the drafting is to set out who receives what and who decides, in writing, before any dispute can start. The firm's planning work centers on getting those instructions clear.

Probate and administration begin after a death. An executor gathers the assets, pays debts and taxes, then distributes what remains under the will or under state law when there is no will. In New York this runs through the Surrogate's Court in the county where the person lived. The steps reward attention to deadlines and records, and the firm carries clients through each one.

Trusts, wills and the choices in between

Clients often ask whether a will alone is enough or whether a trust makes sense. A will takes effect at death and passes through the court. A living trust can hold property during life and pass it outside probate, which some families prefer for privacy or speed. The right choice depends on the size of the estate, the kind of assets and the family's goals, and a planning lawyer walks through those trade-offs before drafting. Voelkl Law PC offers both wills and trusts, so a client can weigh the two with counsel who prepares each.

Disputes, guardianship and special needs planning

Estate disputes form a separate strand of the firm's work. Voelkl Law PC handles will and trust challenges, estate contests and the litigation that follows when heirs disagree. A contest of this sort often turns on whether a document is valid or whether an executor acted properly. The evidence tends to come from the paper behind a signature or a transfer, along with testimony about the person who signed.

The firm pairs this dispute work with guardianship and special needs planning. A guardianship petition in New York goes before a court, which weighs medical proof and testimony before it names someone to act for an adult who cannot manage their affairs. Special needs trusts let a family set money aside for a disabled relative while protecting that person's access to public benefits. Both call for careful drafting and, at times, a court appearance.

Litigation over an estate can strain family ties, and the timing rarely helps. A challenge usually surfaces during grief, when relatives are already sorting through a loss. Good counsel in these matters keeps the legal question and the human one in view at the same time. A firm that works on both the planning and the dispute side can see where a weak document might lead to a later fight.

Business and real estate matters

Alongside the estate side, Voelkl Law PC advises businesses on formation, contracts and transactions. A new owner might come to the firm to pick an entity structure, draft an operating agreement, or paper a deal with a supplier or a partner. Contract work covers the terms that bind two sides together and the review that happens before anyone signs.

The firm's real estate practice represents buyers, sellers, landlords and property managers. A purchase or a sale runs through contract review, title questions and a closing where money and deeds change hands. Timing on these deals is often tight, since financing and closing dates lock in early. Landlord and property manager clients bring a different set of concerns, such as lease terms and the rules that govern a tenancy.

Because the firm covers both estate and business work, one client can bring more than one kind of matter to the same office. A business owner planning an estate, or a family selling inherited property, touches both practices at once. In my opinion, that overlap is one of the more practical features of how the firm is set up.

How the team is built

The firm names two attorneys on its site, each with a defined role. Jeffrey Voelkl is the Managing Partner. His work centers on estate planning and probate, including wills, trusts and estate disputes, which matches the firm's main practice area.

Margrit DiCamillo is the firm's General Counsel and its Director of Firm Operations. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2003 and remains a member. She earned her law degree at the University at Buffalo School of Law and studied at Niagara University. Her earlier posts include Hurwitz & Fine PC, the New York State Bar Association, Mount St. Mary's and DiCamillo Baking Company, a mix of private practice, a bar body and business settings.

As a reviewer, I read the setup of a managing partner focused on estate matters and a general counsel who also runs operations as a sign of defined internal roles. One person owns the client-facing estate practice, and the other holds a governance and operations title. That division gives a prospective client a plain picture of who does what inside the firm.

Who the firm works with, and where

Voelkl Law PC works from Williamsville and takes clients across Buffalo and the wider Western New York area. Its client base includes people who live in the region and people who live elsewhere but hold estate matters tied to Western New York. An out-of-state heir or executor often needs local counsel when a relative's property or accounts sit within one state, and the firm accepts that kind of file.

Local knowledge tends to matter in this kind of work. Filing rules, court practice and closing customs differ between counties, and a firm rooted in Western New York deals with the same courts and registries on a regular basis. For an estate or a property matter tied to the Buffalo area, that footing is a practical starting point.

The site does not list a founding year, so the firm's history is left unstated. That gap matters less than the clarity of the roles and the practice areas the site does spell out. A prospective client can read the fields the firm covers and the names of its two attorneys before the first call.