Paralegal Services Per Diem
A freelance or independent contract paralegal is one who is self-employed and available to take on work for attorneys and others within the legal profession. As a freelance paralegal, I may assist you on cases for the short term, long term, per diem or per case projects with no commitments beyond any commissioned assignment.
Accounting and Fiduciary Services, which was formed in 2008, presently has a staff of 3 professionals, each specializing in a specific area - legal document preparation, financial analysis, and detailed records management.
If your staff is too busy or you are a sole practitioner, simply stated, it is cost effective to hire an independent paralegal to work on specific projects or cases that will not require your firm's commitment to a full time salaried employee. Your firm will be free from the usual expenses required for a salaried employee. There are no overhead expenses, no health benefits, no vacation time, no sick time or employment taxes. You are billed only for the work completed, per a prearranged agreement.
The sole practitioner or small law firm will certainly benefit from my more than eighteen years of experience in the areas of Guardianship proceedings both Article 81 and SCPA Article 17 and 17A, Estate Administration, including probate, administration and small estate proceedings, and all accountings associated with these proceedings. I have also worked in the areas of real estate, formation of corporations, adoptions, name changes and Social Security Disability proceedings. I am familiar with the Surrogate's Courts and Supreme Courts in the five boroughs and Westchester County, Nassau County and Suffolk County.
Since Accounting and Fiduciary Services was formed, our company has specialized in working with Court Examiners to review annual accountings submitted by guardians and trustees. We also prepare the reports of examiners and all the supporting documents required by the various guardianship departments in the New York area.
We have worked with more than 20 attorneys to assist in over 450 cases, most of which are on an annual basis for the past 5 years!
What does a Contract Paralegal do?
Time is of the essence.
Having worked in law firms for over eighteen years, I've experienced the time crunches that all busy attorneys live with on a daily basis: appointments with clients, the never ending return phone calls, document preparations, court appearances, court document return dates, accountings, reminders to clients and general meetings to keep your skills updated - just to name a few of your responsibilities!
Add to your already busy schedule all that's involved in the administrative aspect of running a law firm, including advertising for and training new employees. And then there's the new employee learning curve.
I have over twenty four years of experience in all aspects of Estate and Guardianship document preparation including, petitions, orders, affidavits and reports. I have prepared and reviewed fiduciary accountings both judicial and informal, prepared initial, annual and final reports of guardians and prepared asset inventories.
What I do:
- Work with Court Examiners to review annual and final accountings; prepare testimonies, reports of examiners, proposed orders, notices and supporting documents; and follow up with court clerks and judges.
- Follow up with Guardians and Trustees to ensure project completion.
- Meet with attorneys/clients to gather information needed for document preparation and financial reviews.
- File and serve annual reports, final accounts and Court Examiner reports in Supreme Court and Surrogate’s Courts in the five boroughs and Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County.
- Establish working relationships with court clerks in all the counties.
- Prepare affidavits.
- Notarize documents.
- Review assets, analyze financial portfolios and calculate income and disbursements for preparation of accountings and asset inventories.
Accounting and Fiduciary Services can assist you when you require an experienced helping hand immediately! We work well with both hardcopy and digital files.
I will work with you, your staff or your clients directly, if you prefer, to gather asset and other information necessary to prepare or review accountings and petitions or fiduciary related aspects of your case or project.
We will set up a mutually convenient meeting to discuss your project and review your file. I know how precious your time is, so it may be more convenient for us to communicate via telephone, email, or fax.
You will receive a written review of our discussion, which will include an outline of the work to be performed, my hourly fee and an estimate of the time needed to complete your project.
No matter how small or how involved your project may be, having an independently contracted paralegal with my experience and staff work for you on a hourly basis for a specific matter is a valuable saving in time and money for Sole Practitioners, Court Examiners or Busy Law Firms in need of temporary assistance.
I have assisted attorneys in the areas of Elder Care and Elder Law, including Guardianship Proceedings, Surrogate's Court Proceedings, preparing and supervising Special Needs Trusts, Wills, Trusts and Estates, preparation and witnessing execution of advanced directives, Trust Administration, Surrogate's Court Litigation, Missing Heir Searches, negotiating and settling Medicaid claims, assisting with Fair Hearings, preparation of Estate tax returns, and Real Estate, since 1995.
My first law firm experience, as a young adult, began at Milbank Tweed Hadley and McCloy. While attending college to become a schoolteacher, I worked at the prestigious Manhattan law firm for about three years where I participated in discussions about a new concept in the form of assistance for busy attorneys known as the "paralegal".
Although I began my career as a second grade school teacher at St. Theresa's in Woodside, New York, I later continued with my education at Queens College where I received my paralegal certificate. I graduated with top honors and won an internship in the area of research. I received an honorable mention in a text book for paralegals for my research paper.
Since obtaining my paralegal certificate, I have continually assisted attorneys in the areas previously mentioned. I have participated in continuing education courses in the areas of Guardianships and Estate matters, through several Bar Association sponsored programs.
In 2008, I formed Accounting and Fiduciary Services as a way to more fully utilize my rich experiences as a paralegal. Working in small law firms over the years, I saw the need attorneys had for immediate professional assistance with short term or specific projects.
The staff of Accounting and Fiduciary Services currently assists attorneys with last minute and difficult projects, and has been received with enthusiasm and praise for our professional service.
Now, as an independent paralegal, I and my staff can reach out to a wide range of attorneys in need of experienced paralegal services without the long term financial commitment to a salaried employee.
Annette N. Nystrom
Paralegal
28-30 215th Place Bayside, New York 11360
Tel: (718) 207-0904
Fax: (516)452-5839
