About Alison Schrag
Alison Schrag is a law partner at Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP, where she specializes in trusts and estates planning and administration. She also has experience in various trust and estate litigation issues, including contesting accounting proceedings. With locations in New York and New Jersey, Sherman Atlas’s practice areas include not only estate planning and administration but also art, media and entertainment law, corporate law, internal investigations, real estate, banking, and financial services, broker-dealer litigation and arbitration, intellectual property and technology, litigation, and taxation.
Two Decades of Experience
Alison is admitted to practice in both New York and New Jersey and has almost twenty years of experience. She began her law career as a litigation associate at Hahn & Hessen LLP, where she represented financial institutions and corporate trustees in both commercial disputes and breach of fiduciary duty litigations. Hahn & Hessen’s practice groups included bankruptcy, business finance, litigation, corporate securities, real estate, trusts and estates, and Equipment Leasing. Prior to joining Sherman Atlas, Alison was a partner at the Law Offices of Raymond V.J. Schrag, a boutique trusts and estates law firm in New York City.
Alison Schrag’s Role at Sherman Atlas
Alison Schrag advises clients on wealth transfer planning and preservation, as well as trust and estate administration. She works closely with individuals and families to design and implement estate plans that minimize taxes, provide for the orderly distribution of assets, account for the possibility of incapacity, and mitigate the risk of future disputes.
Estate planning is a crucial component of leaving a lasting legacy. Alison listens carefully to her clients and leverages her experience to help them make informed decisions about establishing an estate plan that best fits their unique needs, desires, and financial situation.
Many of Alison’s clients face complex estate planning needs such as family business succession issues, cross-border estate planning concerns, gifting arrangements, and other nuanced considerations. Her clients include first-generation entrepreneurs, owners of closely held or middle-market companies, and individuals with sophisticated philanthropic goals.
Alison recognizes the importance of developing effective estate plans that not only reflect her clients’ goals but also incorporate opportunities to minimize federal and state estate, gift, and income taxes.
Representing Clients in Judiciary Proceedings
Alison Schrag also has in-depth knowledge of Surrogate’s Court practice and procedure, representing clients in a variety of judicial proceedings, including probate, administration, contested accountings, and kinship determinations.
She has extensive experience representing individual executors, trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiaries in the New York Surrogate’s Court. In addition, she routinely represents distributees in kinship proceedings in order to establish her clients’ legal right to inherit from a deceased person’s estate by proving familial relationships through genealogical evidence and testimony. She advocates on behalf of her clients and, if necessary, challenges competing claims in order to ensure that her clients receive their rightful share of the estate.
With a detailed understanding of Surrogate’s Court practice and a solid courtroom presence, Alison helps clients navigate emotionally charged situations with clarity and sound legal judgment.
A Trusted Voice in Estate Planning
Alison Schrag regularly presents to wealth advisory firms and their clients on estate and tax planning, as well as estate administration issues. Topics covered during these presentations include core estate planning strategies (wills, trusts, powers of attorney and medical advance directives; revocable v. irrevocable trusts; and beneficiary designations), federal and state estate tax implications, advanced planning for high net-worth individuals, business succession planning (transitioning ownership of family businesses, buy-sell agreements, valuation), estate administration and fiduciary duties, recent legislative and regulatory developments, and practical guidance for clients.
Education
Alison Schrag earned her BA from Colgate University, where she graduated with honors and her JD from Brooklyn Law School. During law school, she served as an editor of the Brooklyn Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society.
Charitable Contributions
Alison is dedicated to supporting various charitable causes. Previously, she volunteered as a rape crisis counselor at Bellevue and NYU hospitals. She currently volunteers at local food pantries and coat drives throughout New York City.
Personal Life
Alison resides in New York City with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, running, and volunteering.