Attorneys at KKC help with clients' difficult situations

Feb. 1—STORRS/VERNON — For 57 years, the extensive network of attorneys at Kahan, Kerensky and Capossela has helped residents get the most out of difficult situations.

The firm often serves as a one-stop shop for an individual's legal needs.

" We're a full- service law firm with individual attorneys who focus on specific practice areas," said Steve Sutton, who is a KKC partner and estate- planning department attorney. The law firm is headquartered at 45 Hartford Turnpike in Vernon with an additional office branch located at 22 Professional Park Road in Storrs.

Sutton has been practicing at KKC for about 23 years, offering his services within estate planning, elder law and probate administration.

" I'm not going to do a real estate closing for you, but I have two partners that will," Sutton said, explaining it's common for his clients to utilize multiple attorneys for several different needs.

KKC's estate planning department makes up a hefty portion of the entire practice, according to Sutton.

"We have an estate-planning department that rivals any other firms downtown because of our size and breadth," he explained.

This type of work involves drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney and estate- tax planning.

" I serve everything from the simple will all the way up to $ 100 million clients," Sutton explained.

And often tied to estate planning is probate administration, which is considered the " post- death" side of estate planning, meaning settling someone's estate after they pass away, according to Sutton.

Sutton's focus also lies within elder law, which encompasses special needs planning.

Sutton helps seniors plan and resolve issues around long- term care planning.

This can involve helping people get Medicaid and other governmental program benefits while still being able to collect additional assets for themselves and their loved ones.

" What we're trying to do is protect the family from longterm care costs. If somebody was ill or if somebody needed to go into a nursing home, then how do we protect the family's assets to not only address those care costs but to make sure that a spouse who is left in a community home can continue to have assets to live their life and possibly transfer assets to other generations," he explained.

As a result of the pandemic, Sutton said the demand for estate planning services and probate administration has increased while elder law has decreased.

" This pandemic we're in has been a trigger for people to come in and get their own wills, trusts and estate plans in place. The second piece of that unfortunately, too, is that people have been dying. Probate administration has increased as a result of unexpected deaths," he explained.

He continued, saying another difference brought in with COVID is the suddenness of events.

" There's a lot of families out there who have been surprised or shocked by the loss of a loved one unexpectedly as a result of this pandemic," he said.

In addition to being sensitive to all clients' situations, KKC has given people several options for how to obtain legal services as the COVID19 pandemic continues.

" Early on, everyone was kind of scared and I think now people have gotten over that," Sutton said.

Sutton said educating his clientele on the pandemic and offering alternative ways to have a meeting and sign documents has helped people feel more comfortable.

There are three separate conference rooms in KKC's Vernon office that have access to the outside or the main hallway, with acrylic panels running the length of the conference room table and everyone able to stay 6 feet apart, according to Sutton.

" For the most part, the clients have been really comfortable with it. It's a matter of explaining what their options are and seeing what they want to pursue," Sutton said, noting he encourages video and phone consultations to decrease traffic inside the office.

All document signings have been witnessed in person so far, according to Sutton, however, attorneys have had to get creative.

" I stood in somebody's front yard in their bushes, looking through their living room window," Sutton said, recalling a story of when he had to get his team together to witness a married couple sign documents and take an oath in their home.

Additionally, KKC offers drive- through document signing for clients who are uncomfortable meeting faceto- face within an office setting.

" It's all about adapting and making clients feel comfortable and letting them know we're still here getting things done," Sutton said.

Follow Lisa Massicotte on Twitter — @LMassicotteTC.

Kahan, Kerensky & Capossela

Address: 45 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon; 22 Professional Park Road, Storrs Information: 860-646-1974 or visit www.kkc-law.com

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