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Our team consists of numerous paralegals and legal assistants, assisting in their specialty as well as our primary focus of trusts and estates, estate litigation, estate planning, and transactional real estate law (see our Services page for more information). 

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REBECCA

CEO & Lead Paralegal

Rebecca is our lead paralegal and owner of VPANY, offering over 35 years of experience in the Trusts and Estates field.  Rebecca works closely with all of our clients to ensure superior work and achieve maximum client satisfaction.  Rebecca's resume includes trust and estate administration, fiduciary accounting and taxes, estate and gift taxes, and estate litigation.  Rebecca is a New York Notary Public.

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CANDIDA "CANDI"

Trust & Estate Paralegal

Candi joined our team in early 2021 with a strong background in commercial and civil litigation.  She got a taste of Trust and Estate work and found that she enjoys this area of the law, with the ability to help others during this often difficult time in their lives.  Candi has grown exponentially as an instrumental part of our team (Rebecca's "right hand man"), working directly with our clients and theirs, and providing training to our team.  Candi is a New York Notary Public.

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Jayme

Trust & Estate Paralegal

Upon earning her A.A.S. in Legal Studies in 2009, Jayme began her career in the Trusts and Estates and Elder Law genres with an exclusive focus on estate planning and administration.  In addition to Jayme's education and superb technical skills, her kindness and compassion serve our clients very well.  Jayme finds great satisfaction in minimizing the burden for clients while administering a loved one's estate.  Jayme is a New York Notary Public.

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ABIGAIL "ABBY"

Trust & Estate Paralegal

Abigail found her love of law inhouse at a large firm in New York, where she received valuable training.  Abby is a certified paralegal, an Arizona Notary Republic, and brings to the team experience in probate, personal injury, and estate planning. Abigail is very detail oriented, is highly organized, takes great pride in her work, and is wonderfully personable with our clients. 

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SHELBY

Trust & Estate Paralegal

Shelby is an integral part of our team, holding exceptional customer service and document production skills.  Her keen attention to detail with her prior in-house law firm experience lends her as a great asset to our team, our clients and theirs.  In addition to Trust and Estate workups, Shelby is our team's go-to for the support required to accomplish our goals, including tending to all company mail and faxes.  Shelby holds a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.

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HEATHER

Trust & Estate Paralegal

Heather has worked with law firms and State Courts in both probate and administration matters for the last 15 years. Previously, she was a member of the e-file advisory board to create and implement processes for workflows to bring probate court jurisdictions into compliance for the e-filing. Heather holds an Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies, and maintains current knowledge and skills through continuing legal education and participation in a large network of legal professionals who provide regular seminars and training. Heather holds an expanded knowledge and skill set in many state and federal jurisdictions.  Heather specializes in CA, FL, GA, MI, MD, NY and TX Trust & Estate work.

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BRANDY

Trust & Estate Paralegal

Brandy has 24 years of experience working in the area of law specializing in trust and estate administration, including fiduciary accountings and tax preparation of fiduciary income taxes, federal estate tax returns, and gift tax returns.  Brandy holds an Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies and an Associate Degree in Legal Administration, and was Awarded Baker College’s Outstanding Paralegal Student Award.  She also has continued her education by obtaining a certificate from American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Paralegal Course and educational courses with NALA.   Brandy is a member of the Michigan State Bar - Paralegal Section and is a Michigan Notary Public. 

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BARBARA

Paralegal

Barbara is an instrumental member of our team, assisting our clients with a myriad of matters, including co-op transfers, estate administration, and general paralegal back-end functions.  Barbara is also very versed with Trademark work for her own company.

Barbara is a New York Notary Public.

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Emily

Fiduciary Accounting Specialist

Emily joined our team in 2022, bringing with her 20 years of financial experience as a senior banker with TD Bank. In her banking career, she routinely worked with law firms relative to Trusts and Estates, which experience is now offered to our clients and theirs.  Emily is extremely dedicated to her work and provides exceptional customer care.  Emily is a New York State Notary Public.

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ZULMA

Real Estate Paralegal

Zulma began her career as a Real Estate Paralegal in 2010 when she worked at a solo practice emphasizing in lender representation.  Over eight years, Zulma worked for a transactional attorney representing buyers and sellers, a major national underwriter focusing on residential and commercial title, and a large foreclosure firm handling all REOs.  In 2018, Zulma joined VPANY to incorporate all of her acquired experiences and not limit herself to just one primary focus.

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IKENNA "IKE"

Mobile Notary ~ Title Closer ~ Concierge

Ikenna Okpala is a first-generation Nigerian American who has been working in the real estate and bank/title closing industry for the past five years, with his experience encompassing legal bank and title documents, as well as home purchase/refinance processes, from beginning to end.  Ike grew up in NYC so is able to navigate the different neighborhoods and personalities that one encounters on a daily basis in the boroughs.  He has become invaluable to our team with his mobile notary services and appearances at the various departments of the Surrogate's Courts.  Ike is our go-to manager for apartment cleanouts, document searches, and courier in the NYC area.

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ROBIN

Pennsylvania Estate & Trust Paralegal

Robin holds over 35 years of experience in the Estate and Trust field of law.  Robin is extremely versed in the services she offers relative to the administration and settlement of Estates and Trusts, including accountings, inventories, and inheritance tax returns.

Robin's professional career includes the title of Trust Officer for national banks.  Robin holds a Bachelors in Administration and is a Pennsylvania Notary Public.

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JAMIE

Geriatric Care Manager

Jamie has worked in the field of geriatrics for 21 years.  She has extensive experience with matters pertaining to senior citizens and people with disabilities.  Over the course of her career, Jamie has worked with benefits and entitlements counseling, Medicare, Medicaid and long-term care insurance, as well as discharge planning from hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities.  She has first-hand knowledge of all issues related to home health care, as she served as the head of a home care agency for 7 years prior to transitioning into geriatric care management. 

 

As a geriatric care manager, Jamie acts as a liaison among families, medical practitioners, and anyone else involved in the affairs of her clients. Her services are tailored to the unique needs of individuals and their families, and may include the coordination and monitoring of home care services, assistance with arranging medical appointments, benefits advisement, monitoring the status of loved ones in nursing or assisted-living facilities, and anything else a client may need help with their day-to-day life.

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Samantha

Legal Assistant

Samantha is instrumental in assisting the team and our clients with a myriad of tasks such as service of process, scanning, shredding, miscellaneous document production, and more.  

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MARY ELIZABETH

Legal Assistant

MaryElizabeth is our go-to for translation of Spanish and a whole myriad of other tasks.

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The rest of the team...

A knowledegable bunch...

VPANY has over a dozen other part-time paralegals and legal assistants who work in the varied fields of service offered on our Services page.

THOMAS A. CULLEN, ESQ.

As of 2023, VPANY has opened its doors to non-attorney clients with the addition of Rebecca's husband, Thomas A. Cullen, Esq., as counsel to Virtual Paralegal Associates of New York, LLC. 

 

Tom earned his Juris Doctorate degree with St. John's University and is a partner in a medical malpractice defense firm.  Tom oversees non-attorney estate clients with every aspect of estate probate and administration in New York State.  

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Of Counsel Attorney

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