Lucy Kats joined Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP as an associate in September 2002. She is a member of the Firm’s Estate Planning and Administration Practice Group. Ms. Kats prepares estate plans for individuals and couples, which includes drafting wills, trusts, prenuptial agreements, retirement plan beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, healthcare proxies, and living wills. She has experience in estate planning for non-traditional families, including second marriages, blended families, divorced parents, and same-sex couples. In addition to her estate planning work, Ms. Kats supervises all aspects of estate and trust administration.

Background

Ms. Kats immigrated to the Albany area from the Former Soviet Union as a young adult. She received a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from Cornell University, majoring in History. In May 2002, Ms. Kats was awarded a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law. While at Seton Hall University School of Law, she served as an Articles Editor of The Journal of Sport Law. During the summer of her second year at law school, Ms. Kats worked as a summer associate for Sills Cummis Radin Tischman Epstein & Gross in Newark, New Jersey. Upon completing law school, Ms. Kats decided to return to the Albany area.

Recent Publications

• Guest Blogger for the Aids Council of Northeastern New York on the Tax Implications of the Marriage Equality Act, November and December 2011.
• Representing Single and Multiple Fiduciaries: When to Seek Advice and Direction from Court, New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 41, No. 2 (2008).
• Private Entities May be Subject to New York’s Freedom of Information Law: Evolving Inquiry, New York Business Law Journal (Fall 2005).
• The United States Supreme Court’s Limitations of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Forces a Court to Prevent a Disabled Student From Receiving a Meaningful Public Education by Denying Him the Necessary Services of Participation in Athletics, Seton Hall Journal of Sport Law, Volume 11, Number 2 (2001).

Affiliations

Ms Kats was recently appointed to serve on the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Women in the Law. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York, Inc.