Suellen D Fagin-Allen

I help individuals and families plan for future contingencies - both known and unknown. My clients care not only about family wealth succession, but also ease of estate administration, maintaining autonomy and avoiding the guardianship process, planning for children with special needs, charitable giving and providing for cherished animal companions. I help each client and family devise a plan that not only makes legal sense but also resonates with their emotional needs and value systems.

People going through relationship separation or divorce are not at their best. A trained listener who can be present without judging you, skillfully pose questions to help you decide what is best for you and your family and help you differentiate the facts and your feelings is indispensable.

Most of us will become incapacitated by illness, accident or old age, yet we strive to maintain our dignity and autonomy despite our limitations. Durable powers of attorney and health care surrogate designations, including psychiatric advance directives, are needed to plan for such incapacity. Many "mental illnesses" stem from physical maladies, but often the connection is missed. A PAD can help by spelling out the kind of care you wish to have in the event of a psychiatric emergency.

When a family member or loved one passes on, those left behind need assistance with getting the deceased's affairs in order, satisfying legal requirements of probate, paying final expenses and claims of creditors, and distributing assets to the proper beneficiaries. As a licensed mental health counselor I am trained to be present and comforting for those left behind as they work through their feelings of grief and loss while simultaneously wrapping up the loved one's affairs.