The Navigator
MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER
Our Office Hours Have Changed
In person office hours are back!
We are now, again, available at our normal hours.
Monday – Friday: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Please do be mindful of staff while visiting the office. Only one party in the office at a time, masks are still required. A reminder that we do not take walk-in appointments. This ensures that all necessary staff are in the office to assist you. While we are meeting with clients in the office, we now ask that at least the initial meetings are performed via telephone or zoom conference until further notice. Stay healthy out there!
Saying Good-Bye … It is with heavy hearts that Slonim Law says good-bye to Paul Lemieux and Anne Cope as they are leaving for new opportunities. We will miss you! Thank you both so much for your valuable time and service to the firm. Best wishes in your future endeavors.
Welcome Our New Staff! Many things have changed this year and that is also to be said about the staff here! Please welcome
-Kathleen Good – Attorney (Elder law and real estate matters)
-Jon Lack – Attorney, Of Counsel (transactional commercial and residential real estate)
-Alexis Pichardo – Estate Planning Coordinator
-Donna Etter – Probate Coordinator
-Barbara Van – Office Coordinator
-Chris Semiramis – Office Administrator and Real Property Title Coordinator
-Mishella Segura – Intern
-Brittney Novalsky – Marketing Manager
Fun Fact: Angie, Chris and Mishella are bilingual so our staff is able to assist Spanish speaking members of the community.
A Day at Slonim Law with Barbara
My position at Slonim Law as the Office Coordinator allows me to juggle many responsibilities. When I first came to work here I expected what we all do from law firms. High heels, flashy suits and big egos. To say I was pleasantly surprised to find all of these to be untrue here at Slonim Law, minus the heels – but I tend to be the one in those, – is an understatement. My position here includes scheduling, as you all know already since I am your first point of contact, completing signings, handling all the incoming and outgoing mail and helping out with marketing or anything else the paralegals or attorneys need at any given moment. Wow, writing that down makes my day sound so simple! Though this position is jam packed I often find myself wondering how I got so lucky. I am constantly meeting new people. Whether it be in person, something I definitely could not be doing in New York where I am from, online or over the phone. Slonim Law may be a firm, but it is also a family. I am so happy to be working here and to be a part of the family that is helping you and your family with your legal needs.
Why Should I Bother with Consultation Paperwork?
-a message from David Slonim
While it may seem burdensome to fill out the paperwork prior to meeting with an attorney for estate planning, or as I like to call it, life planning, there really is a purpose to it that benefits you. Having the information completed and available for your attorney to review prior to your appointment allows you to have more quality planning time with the attorney, without the need for the attorney to spend additional time simply taking information down and then processing it on the fly. While we are adept at doing that, it does you no favors, as what we really want to do is help you in planning more completely. If we are tasked with collecting the information during the meeting then we cannot achieve that goal.
Additionally, when you are putting the requested information together, it allows you the time to start to think about the plan in a more relaxed manner. This means without a feeling of having to rush to a decision as to who will be making what could end up being life and death decisions for you, or at the very least, financial or legal decisions. By giving you our worksheet documents ahead of the planning meeting, we are already assisting you in the planning process, which will then carry through to a much more beneficial meeting between yourself and your attorney, and possibly better reflect your ultimate planning goals and wishes.
From experience, I can also tell you that when you are collecting this information, it sometimes becomes evident that certain accounts that have been dormant or otherwise forgotten about need to be addressed by closure or consolidation. Other types of distributions or assets, even tangible items, come into sharper relief when you have the time to consider who is going to manage your affairs or receive some of those assets.
In short, please remember that those intake worksheets we send out are as much to your benefit as for ours – but you already knew that, since if you’re reading this, you’ve already been a client.
Our Locations
Melbourne
321.757.5701
2230 N. Wickham Rd., Suite A
Melbourne, FL 32935
Kissimmee
407.483.7779
1543 Southgate Dr.
Kissimmee, FL 34746
Clearwater
13575 58th St N
Clearwater, FL 33760