Fern J. Finkel, Esq., Partner

Fern J. Finkel, Esq. is a co-founding partner at Finkel & Fernandez, LLP, concentrating in elder law, estate planning, asset protection, benefits and guardianships. She has been in private practice since 1990. Fern brings a wealth of experience and compassion to her clients. She is known for her skillful analysis of financial and personal circumstances and for providing practical planning to enable seniors and disabled clients to remain independent through advance directives, asset protection, benefits planning and trusts.

Fern graduated with honors from New York University College of Business and Public Administration in 1981. She received her Juris Doctor Degree from Boston University School of Law in 1984. She has been recognized as a New York Super Lawyers selectee in the field of Elder Law in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Fern has been selected by the Courts, as well as by family members, to serve as the appointed Guardian and/or Trustee for many individuals in need of personal needs and property management. She represents clients in all aspects of guardianship proceedings and has been appointed as Counsel and as Court Evaluator by the New York State Supreme Court in countless cases. She has helped thousands of seniors through her extensive community outreach and pro bono services on behalf of the indigent elderly of New York City. Fern spearheaded the Legal Education and Assistance Project, known as LEAP, at the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project. LEAP’s mission is to train and support pro bono attorneys in providing community outreach and education on all aspects of advance planning to seniors, with the goal of maximizing their independence and ability to remain at home long term.

Fern is honored to be this year’s President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) New York Chapter. She is the Chair-Elect of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Elder Law and Special Needs Section, Chair of the Brooklyn Bar Association Foundation Law Committee, Co-Facilitator of the Working Model of Guardianship – WINGS (Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders), a Special Master of the Appellate Division Second Department Mandatory Civil Appeals Mediation Program, and Vice-Chair of the Brooklyn Bar Association Elder Law Committee. She served for years as a volunteer certified mediator with Safe Horizons for community disputes, PINS cases and custody matters, as well as with the United States District Court, Eastern District.

Fern led the initiative with the New York NAELA Chapter to create a “50 States Chart” compiling the responses from contributing NAELA member attorneys across the country on their states’ Medicaid planning tools, eligibility rules, and strategies. This has become a valuable resource for elder law practitioners across the country and the clients they serve.

Fern lectures for various Bar Associations and Continuing Legal Education providers on topics including the Role of the Guardian, Role of the Court Evaluator, Role of the Attorney for the AIP, Advance Directives, Medicaid and Asset Protection, Aging in Place, Supplemental Needs Trusts and Guardianships. She is a mentor attorney at the Brooklyn Law School HELP (Helping Elders Through Litigation and Policy) Clinic, the Touro Law School Externship Program, and the New York Law School Elder Law Clinic. Fern serves on the Committees on Character and Fitness for the Second Judicial Department.

Fern has received numerous awards for her pro bono service including: Selection as a 2019 “Champions of Justice: Women in Leadership in Law and Administration of Justice” Honoree by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the 2013 Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project Building Bridges Award, the 2013 Brooklyn Bar Association Distinguished Service Award, the 2009 Brooklyn Bar Association Distinguished Service Award, the 2004 Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York Hanna S. Cohn Pro Bono Award, the 2003 New York State Bar Association Pro Bono Award for the Second Judicial District, the 1999 Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project Pro Bono Award, the 1996 Brooklyn Bar Association Frieda S. Nisnewitz Award for Pro Bono Service, and an Award of Merit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 1997.

Fern was previously an Associate Attorney at the law firm of Damashek, Godosky and Gentile, where she litigated medical malpractice and personal injury cases.

In her spare time, Fern enjoys yoga, long walks in nature, gardening, bicycling, and spending quality time with her wonderful husband, family, and friends.

Testimonials about Fern J. Finkel:

Fern is a careful and caring person who analyzes any problems or issues quickly and wisely. She also offers creative solutions and takes the time to examine various options with individual client (me).

I am associated with Fern through an elder law professional committee and heard her present at our local bar association. She is extremely knowledgeable, while at the same time very sensitive to the needs of her elderly clients.

Fern is an active member of the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project. She serves on the Board of Directors, is Chair of the Senior Legal Education and Assisitance Program (Senior LEAP) and takes on many, many pro bono matters. In addition to her exemplary skills as an attorney, Fern is uniquely devoted to all her clients, bringing compassion and commitment to sensitve issues. The combination of being a highly intelligent, gifted attorney and a warm and compassionate human being is priceless.

I’ve worked with Fern on guardianship matters; her experience and knowledge are unparalleled, she produces superior written work product and she works exceedingly well with clients, other attorneys, judges and court personnel. She has a network of experts and consultants that she works which make her an incredible resource, she selflessly mentors younger attorneys for their professional benefit and she has a long history of providing “pro bono” services to the public. Fern is a great attorney and a wonderful person and I’m looking forward to working with her on other matters in the future.

Having worked alongside Fern for many years, I must say that although I have similarly worked closely along with many other attorneys, I know of no attorney more devoted to her clients than Fern. Simply stated, Fern brings to her clients a unique combination of energy, smarts, creativity, and dogged determination. She is a truly special, absolutely one-of-a-kind attorney.

Julie Stoil Fernandez, Esq., Partner

Julie Stoil Fernandez, a co-founding partner of Finkel & Fernandez, LLP, is a highly experienced attorney, whose life work has been fighting for the safety and welfare of seniors and persons with psychosocial and other disabilities.

Before beginning her legal career, Julie worked as a counselor for homeless men and women and later ran a 500-bed emergency overnight shelter for homeless men, forging close bonds with those in need of protection. Seeking to have greater impact, Julie attended law school at Northeastern University and graduated in 1992.

Immediately following law school, Julie worked at Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Ward’s Island in New York City for Mental Hygiene Legal Service, Appellate Division, 1st Judicial Department, representing psychiatric patients in involuntary retention and release hearings and treatment over objection proceedings in state and private psychiatric hospitals. Her representation included children institutionalized on Ward’s Island and insanity acquittees held at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center.

Next, Ms. Stoil Fernandez started a solo elder law practice in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which she continued for 15 years, providing guardianship representation, advocacy for people with psycho-social disturbances and their related legal difficulties and estate planning, probate and administration. She has also been a regular appointee of the Court since 2000 as Counsel to alleged incapacitated persons, Court Evaluator- investigating all claims of the proceeding and making recommendations to the Court and has herself been a permanent Guardian and Trustee for more than thirty people. In 2015, she co-founded Finkel & Fernandez with Fern J. Finkel.

Julie is skilled at analyzing and strategizing a plan for persons with questionable legal capacity. She is quick to grasp complex fact patterns and excels at predicting the likelihood of success of a case. She creatively addresses emergencies and often secures interim relief while the case is pending. She also is very effective in negotiating agreements between oppositional family members in contested cases. She is a fierce advocate for her clients and when litigation is necessary, Julie brings her extensive experience and passion to the cause.

Julie’s vast experience in the field also affords her the ability to analyze the financial issues, including Medicaid and other public benefits eligibility in conjunction with the guardianship proceeding facts, and her unique mental health advocacy background enables her to bring some cases involving incapacity related to mental illness – something most guardianship attorneys are loath to attempt.

Julie has assisted thousands of clients – resolving issues as extreme as “granny-nappings”, financial exploitation, undue influence and fraud, illegal lockouts, illegal psychiatric retentions, physical and psychological abuse, bogus marriages and confined persons who have been “Stockholm-Syndromed” into submission.

Julie is also a certified Elder Law and Family and Divorce Mediator and offers mediation services to parties who seek workable solutions to conflicts without litigation – an often- preferred method when addressing issues of psychosocial disturbances and treatment compliance.

Testimonials about Julie Stoil Fernandez:

Five stars for Julie Stoil Fernandez and Finkel & Fernandez. I hired Julie to help me get authority to remove a dangerous family member from my mother’s home, when my mother, due to Dementia, was no longer able to say she wanted the family member removed. Julie worked diligently, and during this very lengthy process. Julie was always encouraging and confident that we would prevail, and we did!!.

I first hired Julie in 2004, when my partner suffered a stroke and needed the appointment of a guardian in Queens County. It was a hotly contested matter with one of the parties even getting violent in the courthouse. Julie worked tirelessly with great patience to assist in resolving the legal and personal issues. Her dedication to her clients is extraordinary. She followed up on every detail until the Guardians
were in place and we were enrolled in all the proper rehabilitation programs.
Later, my partner regained his capacity and Julie assisted us in terminating the guardianship. Finkel & Fernandez then assisted us in preparing our advanced directives last year and making sure my partner’s funds were protected from predatory family members.

Julie Stoil Fernandez ensured that I received individualized legal attention and she worked conscientiously to protect my aunt. She has extensive knowledge of the complexities of elder law, healthcare, as well as financial planning. Julie and her team provided comprehensive plans and executed all the steps for guardianship proceedings. She always provides time for my questions, offers compassionate support, and she is a true advocate.

I came to know Julie and to understand elder law when I had to remove my mother from a dangerous home, in an unhealthy condition and knowing that she had no funds remaining. Julie provided thorough and caring representation in all aspects required for successful navigation of the many legal issues connected to my mother’s care including my appointment as guardian for my mother, my removal of non-paying tenants, my authority to sell the house and making an application for New York State support for my mother’s care to cover costs before the house sold. When my mother died, Julie assisted in the administration of her estate. I am very pleased with the outstanding results Julie has produced and I consider her a true friend.

We came to Finkel and Fernandez broken and bewildered at traversing the extremely confusing realm of Elder Law with our mother having been stolen out of state and our sister taking unlawful control of her assets.

Then, we met Julie Stoil Fernandez. Julie knows everything about Elder law. I would go further to say that Julie lives the tenets of Elder law. Counsel Fernandez is tenacious, smart, charming, intelligent, seeks justice, is empathetic and compassionate. Julie speaks truthfully and will advocate for you with a deeply personal commitment to your case. Our experiences with Finkel and Fernandez have been exceptional. There are many attorneys who speak knowledgeably about Elder Law, and then there is Julie Fernandez. Once you meet her you would NEVER wish to go anywhere else.

Julie has represented my family in our quest to extricate our loved one from a heart wrenching state of affairs. I find that Julie is one of the most compassionate, caring, and empathetic people that I have encountered in all my years. She is also a tenacious advocate for what is good, moral and just. I am so deeply touched and appreciate all that she has done for my family. Words cannot express the profound admiration I have for her brilliance and I recommend her wholeheartedly.

Abby C. Zampardi, Associate Attorney

Abby C. Zampardi has been with Finkel & Fernandez, LLP since 2015. She assists clients in the preparation and execution of all advance directives and trusts, in the probate and administration of estates, and the drafting of Petitions and motions for guardianship litigation.

Abby is a Co-Chair of the Sponsorship Committee of the New York State Bar Association Elder Law and Special Needs Section. She is a member of the Brooklyn Bar Association and the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. She was selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers Rising Stars List in the field of Elder Law in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Abby received her Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University School of Law in 2014 and was admitted to practice law in New York in 2015. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science from Binghamton University (summa cum laude) in 2011.

In law school, Abby was a Notes Editor and the Technology Editor of the Public Contract Law Journal, a publication of The George Washington University Law School in conjunction with the Public Contract Law section of the American Bar Association.

Prior to becoming an Associate Attorney at Finkel & Fernandez, Abby worked in the Foreclosure Part of the Nassau County Supreme Court, specializing in preparing orders and other documentation to assist with the adjudication of foreclosure cases.

347-296-8200
eberger@ffelderlaw.com

Erica Berger-Hausthor, Associate Attorney