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.

Shelby is second in command and 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 many goals.  Shelby holds a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.

Sarah’s career in the legal field began in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where she managed courtroom proceedings.  Her time at the court produced exceptional competence in the civil litigation process and court practices.  Sarah currently works in administrative law as a Senior Paralegal Specialist for the federal government, where she has consistently been a high performer well-regarded for her attention to detail for nearly a decade.  Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Florida and a Master of Professional Studies in Paralegal Studies from the George Washington University.  Sarah is an amazing addition to our team in providing quality services to our clients and theirs.

Elizabeth has over 25 years of legal and administrative experience.  Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated compassion and great care for her clients, striving for complete client satisfaction.  A quick study and able to "think outside the box", Elizabeth has become an integral part of the VPANY team.  Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice.

Alicia began her career as an elderlaw and estate planning paralegal over 24 years ago, and has never looked back as she finds this genre, and the ability to assist people during some of the most crucial and demanding times in their lives, very fulfilling.  Her experience includes all aspects of planning document preparation, processing medicaid applications, and administration of Estates.  Most of Alicia's experience is based in New York, but she also holds experience in Georgia.  Alicia is a Georgia Notary Public.

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.

Christy, who holds a paralegal certificate, has been working in the Trusts and Estates field since 1988.  She also holds experience in personal injury litigation, which serves us nicely in assisting our clients with compromise and similiar actions  Christy has worked as a mobile notary and holds a good depth of knowledge in real estate transfers, including holding the certification of a loan signing agent.  Christy's southern persona adds to the charm experienced by everyone who speaks with her.  

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.

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.

Gina first found her love for genealogy when researching her family, going back numerous generations before her.  Working as an assistant county clerk, she was accustomed to performing deep searches relative to deeds and other transfers, and maintaining databases for information relative to same.  Gina is our go to when searching for unknown heirs and performing otherwise required due diligence in finding the decedent's heirs.  From the research itself to preparing the pleadings supporting her findings, she enables VPANY to move the estates forward with her exceptional and detailed work.

Michele is the cog behind all of VPANY's bookkeeping and invoicing, tending to everything required to keep the team running and our clients invoiced.   She also assists the team with a myriad of back-end office work and document production.

Jake is VPANY's IT for software installations, maintenance and repairs, as well as many other back end needs.  

Kelly is a seasoned paralegal with 20 years of progressive experience across a broad range of law in Nevada and California (limited experience in Idaho and Arizona), specifically including Trust and Estate and elder law work, which spills over to probate litigation, business and contract law.  Kelly is a team player with proven leadership skills.  

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.

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.