Northeastern Pennsylvania · Lackawanna & Luzerne counties
Estate Planning & Elder Law for Scranton and Wilkes-Barre
Your estate plan should make life easier for the people you love. O'BRIEN LEGAL helps individuals and families in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area prepare for incapacity, organize inheritances and make informed decisions about long-term care. Our office is in Moosic, between the two cities.
A plan your family can actually use - start with who can act for you, how your assets will pass and what your family should do when help is needed.
Protecting the home without creating a new problem
A family home in Dunmore, Clarks Summit, Kingston or the surrounding communities may represent decades of work. Before adding a child to the deed, identify the problem you are trying to solve: probate, future care costs, tax concerns or help managing the property. Those goals require different tools.
A deed transfer can affect control, exposure to a child's financial problems, tax treatment and eligibility for long-term care benefits. A will can direct an inheritance, but it does not itself protect a home from nursing-home expenses. We help you compare ownership arrangements and trust options before an irreversible transfer.
Who would step in if you could not?
A complete plan addresses life as well as death. Financial powers of attorney, health care documents and appropriate information releases help identify the people you want involved. Choosing a capable agent and a backup is just as important as signing the documents.
Tell your family where the originals are stored. Make a practical inventory of accounts, insurance, property and professional contacts. An otherwise thoughtful plan can become difficult to use if no one can locate it.
Long-term care planning begins with the facts
Elder law planning starts with your health, income, assets, household and care needs. Keeping a spouse financially secure and paying for the right level of care may require different decisions from leaving an inheritance. O'BRIEN LEGAL can evaluate those priorities together.
Before making gifts, changing deeds or funding an irrevocable trust, obtain an individual assessment. Medicaid eligibility and Pennsylvania estate recovery are separate questions; avoiding probate alone is not a complete care plan.
Two counties, one coordinated family plan
Scranton is in Lackawanna County; Wilkes-Barre is in Luzerne County. After a death, the appropriate probate office generally depends on the deceased person's domicile. Owning property in both counties does not automatically mean two separate probate estates must be opened.
If you are an executor, begin by preserving the original will, locating account records and identifying how each asset is titled. We assist with probate and trust administration, including evaluating which assets pass through the estate and which transfer under other arrangements.
Bring the whole picture to your planning conversation
- 1Your current will, trust and powers of attorney, if you have them.
- 2The deed to your home and a list of bank, retirement and investment accounts.
- 3The people you want to act for you, inherit from you or receive ongoing support.
Common Questions
Make the next step easier for your family.
100% Free Consultation with an O'BRIEN LEGAL Attorney - no obligation, no pressure.
Attorney Advertising. O'BRIEN LEGAL is responsible for this content. This page provides general educational information about Pennsylvania law, not legal or tax advice for your circumstances. Viewing this page or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship; representation begins only after the firm agrees to accept the engagement. Legal services described here concern Pennsylvania law. Other jurisdictions may require separately licensed counsel. Results depend on individual facts and applicable law; no outcome is guaranteed. Do not send confidential information before an attorney-client relationship is established.
Responsible attorney: Corey D. O'Brien. Office: 72 Glenmaura National Boulevard, Suite 104, Moosic, PA 18507. Phone: (855) 942-5173.