Robert J. Adler

Estate Planning Lawyer for Individuals and Families

Attorney Robert J. Adler provides legal counsel to individuals and families on all aspects of will and trust law, comprehensive estate planning, tax law, asset protection, business succession, prenuptial agreements, probate and estate administration. Robert is a nationally recognized attorney, author and lecturer with over 30 years of experience.

Whether you need comprehensive estate planning, a will, a revocable living trust, an irrevocable trust, or a prenuptial agreement Attorney Robert Adler can help. Learn about the estate planning process.

If you’re the named executor or a beneficiary in a will heading into the probate process or an interested party in an estate heading into the estate administration process, Attorney Robert Adler can help.

Robert Adler is pleased to assist clients throughout the New York city metro area: Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, Bronx, Rockland County, Westchester County, Nassau County, and Suffolk County.

A Nationally Recognized Attorney

Robert Adler is an author, lecturer and innovator in estate planning, will, trust and tax law.

He has created numerous technical advances including the creation and operation of AUS, a subscription based estate planning and financial planning encyclopedia covering the law of wills, and trusts, asset protection, tax law and estate administration. Subscribed to by thousands of professional advisers, AUS was ultimately acquired by the National Underwriter Company.

A frequent speaker and author, attorney Robert Adler has written hundreds of articles on estate planning, estate administration, probate, tax planning and financial planning, in professional journals including Trusts and Estates Magazine, Estate Planning Magazine, Taxation for Lawyers, Taxation for Accountants, Probate & Property Magazine, The CPA Journal, and the Journal of Financial Service Professionals. Robert also headlines professional continuing education events for lawyers, CPAs and financial advisers.  By bringing to bear strong technical expertise in a clearly understood presentation style Robert’s work with his legal clients and allied professionals is exceptional.

Robert Adler received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Washington College of Law of the American University in Washington, D.C and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the State University of New York, with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

He is a member of the Bars of the State of New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, the United States Supreme Court and the United States Tax Court. He is also a member of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Retired attorney, Lesley Adler, received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Washington College of Law of the American University in Washington, D.C and is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She is no longer engaged in the practice of law. 

Sample of Publications in Professional Journals Authored by Robert Adler​

Fixing Damaged ILITs (Plus a Checklist to Avoid Problems); Probate & Property Magazine; July/August 2024.

Crummey Powers – Still a Powerful Estate Planning Tool; Probate & Property Magazine; January/February 2020.

Lifetime Planning with Life Insurance; The CPA Journal; December 2017

CPA’s Growing Role in Trust-Owned Life Insurance Planning; The CPA Journal; September 2016

Non-Taxable Section 1035 Exchanges of Life Insurance Contracts; New York State Bar Association Trusts & Estates Law Section; Summer 2015.

The Family Bank; Wealth Counsel Quarterly; July 2011.

The Transfer for Value Tax Trap; Probate & Property Magazine; November/December 2011.

The Effect of Divorce on Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations; National Underwriter Advanced Markets; August 2010.

Potential Pitfalls in IRA Money Movement and Non-Public Investment; National Underwriter Advanced Markets; August 2010.

Waiver of the 60-Day Tax-free Rollover Requirement: Survey of Letter Rulings; National Underwriter Advanced Markets; July 2010.

New I.R.C. Section 101(j) EOLI Rules: Important Planning Considerations; New York State Bar Association Trusts & Estates Law Section; October 2007.

Is the Music Over for Family Limited Partnerships?; Advanced Underwriting Service; July 2005

Wrong Wording Kills Exclusion for Limited Partnership Interest Gifts; Taxation for Lawyers; September 1998.

Credit Shelter Trusts as Potential Purchasers of Life Insurance; Journal of the American Society of CLU and ChFC; January 1998.

Private Split Dollar Provides Transfer Tax Savings; Taxation for Accountants; October 1998.

Impact of Generation Skipping Tax on Life Insurance Trusts; Estate Planning Magazine; March 1997.

​Beyond Leverage: Split-Dollar Funding of the GST-Exempt Trust; Trusts & Estates Magazine; April 1996.

Sample of Speaking Engagements

Sidney Kess 49th Annual New York Estate, Tax & Financial Planning Conference.  Topic: Estate Tax and Sophisticated Life Insurance Transactions. New York, NY, 2018.

Sidney Kess 48th Annual New York Estate, Tax & Financial Planning Conference. Topic:  Estate Planning and Recent Developments. New York, NY, 2017.

New York State CPA Society / FAE Trust and Estate Taxation Conference. Topic: Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Planning. New York, NY, 2017.

Executive Taxation Series, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. Topic: Sophisticated Life Insurance Strategies. New York, NY, 2016.

Ameritas Life Insurance Corp Advanced Planning Summit.Topic: Practical Estate Planning. Washington DC, 2015.

New York City Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, Todorovich Lecture. Topic: Understanding the New York State Estate Tax. New York, NY, 2015.

AXA Equitable – National and Regional Conferences for Elite Financial Advisers. Over twenty speaking engagements on topics covering estate planning for high net worth families, irrevocable life insurance trusts. charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, business succession planning, split-dollar, and tax law. New York, NY, Baltimore, MD, Asheville, NC, Stone Mountain, GA, Alpharetta, GA, Los Angeles, CA, Orlando, FL, Denver, CO, 2001 – 2010.

Mass Mutual – Blue Chip Group Fly-In. Topic: The Family Bank: Generation Skipping Transfer Tax-exempt Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts. Springfield, MA; 2009.

Prudential – National Advanced Planning Conference. Topic: Estate Planning for Closely Held Business Owners.  Chicago, IL, 2007.

Crown Life – Practical Estate Planning. Santa Fe, NM,  Las Vegas, NV;  2007.

Security Life of Denver and ReliaStar  (ING Companies) – National and Regional Conferences for Top Financial Planners. Six speaking engagements covering estate planning for high net worth families, generation skipping transfer tax-exempt irrevocable life insurance trusts, GRATs, and split-dollar. 1999 – 2005, Baltimore, MD, Pebble Beach, CA, Denver, CO, Minneapolis, MN.

New York Life –  Conferences for Top Agents. Approximately  6 speaking engagements on topics related to sophisticated estate planning, irrevocable life insurance trusts, business succession planning, and tax law. New York, NY, Boston, MA, Orlando, FL, 1998-2002.

Maryland Society of CPAs. Topic: Qualified Personal Residence Trusts. Bethesda, MD, 1998.

Maryland Society of CPAs. Topic: Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Planning. Bethesda, MD, 1997.

Maryland Society of Financial Service Professionals. Topic: Tax Planning for the Family Owned Business. Bethesda, MD, 1995.