Trusts, Wills and Estates Attorneys - Garden City, Long Island, NY

Patricia Galteri

Patricia Galteri is Chair of the Trusts and Estates Practice Group in Garden City, Long Island, New York. Her practice includes the development of estate and family business plans to ensure the tax efficient transfer of wealth to the next generation while meeting the specific personal goals of her clients. She implements such plans through the use of wills and grantor trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, generation skipping trusts and other arrangements designed to transfer property at little or reduced gift tax cost to selected beneficiaries. Nomination of agents under Powers of Attorneys and Health Care Proxies also play an important role in effecting her clients’ intentions.

In addition, Ms. Galteri supervises the preparation of probate and administration documents, provides advice in the marshaling and preservation of estate assets, and she is knowledgeable in all aspects of estate administration and post-mortem estate tax planning. Her in-depth knowledge of the preparation of federal and state estate tax returns enables her to defend positions on gift and estate tax returns under audit. Ms. Galteri is called upon to appear in Surrogate’s Court to provide counsel to fiduciaries and beneficiaries, in the interpretation of ambiguities in wills and trusts in construction proceedings and to participate in contested probate and accounting proceedings.

Notable experience includes:

Counsels several prominent high net worth individuals in their estate planning matters
Defended numerous estates in audits with complex valuation issues
Instrumental in bringing highly contested estate administration matters to settlement

Ms. Galteri is frequently called upon by the media to comment on new developments in gift and estate tax law, and she has authored a chapter titled “Preparing an Appropriate Strategy” for a Thomson Reuters publication, Beginning the Estate Planning Process.

In 2012, Ms. Galteri was recognized as one of Long Island’s Top 50 Influential Professional Women by Long Island Business News and was recognized for her pro bono efforts on behalf of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is also rated "AV Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest level in professional excellence, and she was recognized by Long Island Pulse Magazine in 2010 and 2011 as one of the region's "Top Legal Eagles."

Ms. Galteri is Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Long Island Community Foundation, an organization that addresses critical needs in Long Island communities by making grants to organizations found to respond to such needs efficiently.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Galteri worked as a staff attorney in the Tax Department at one of the “Big Five” accounting firms in New York City, performing tax research for high net worth executives and multi-million dollar public and private companies.