Vlad Portnoy, Esq.

About Vlad Portnoy

Vlad Portnoy is an attorney in New York City with a concentration in Wills, Trusts & Estates, Special Needs Planning, and Elder Law (including Medicaid planning and Guardianships). A native Russian speaker, he is certified by the New York State Court System as a Russian-speaking court translator.

Vlad Portnoy founded Law Offices of Vlad Portnoy, P.C. with a conviction that has never changed: every family deserves access to serious, professional estate planning counsel — not just those with the resources to afford the largest firms on Park Avenue. Over more than two decades of practice in New York and New Jersey, that conviction has translated into more than 2,000 completed estate plans, hundreds of probate proceedings, and countless families who now have their affairs in order.

Attorney Portnoy concentrates his practice on the full range of estate planning and elder law matters that affect New York families. He drafts last wills and testaments, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, and living wills. He advises clients on Medicaid planning and asset protection strategies for those facing long-term care costs — an area where timing and technical precision matter enormously. And he guides executors, administrators, and beneficiaries through the probate and estate administration process in Surrogate’s Courts across New York State.

In Vlad’s Own Words

Since I was 8 years old in Soviet Russia, I wanted to be a lawyer. At the time this job was not at all glamorous in the Soviet Union — the legal system was corrupt, and lawyers were pretty much figureheads. But it spoke to me as a way to help people. There was a lot of negativity and injustice around, and I only saw one way to help: becoming a lawyer.

When I arrived in the US a couple of months before my 16th birthday, I immediately checked if my dream remained feasible here. I was delighted to discover that the opportunities were even better. So I did all I could to work toward my goal. I tried to find any sort of position in a law firm so I could be exposed to the environment. My first position was at the age of 19 as a summer file clerk at a small personal injury firm in Westchester County. That experience, albeit short, really shaped my life. The managing attorney was a great lawyer and an amazing person who treated me with respect and gave me guidance. We are still in touch to this day.

Since that time, I have done nothing but legal work. I interned for a Federal Court while in college, and held positions ranging from paralegal to associate in firms and corporations of various sizes. I sampled a lot of areas of law — enough to want to be a corporate in-house lawyer by the time I finished law school. I was also a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International, both in its undergraduate pre-law chapter and in law school. I took acting and voice lessons to overcome stage fright and the fear of public speaking, and to learn how to carry myself in a courtroom as if it were a stage.

When I finished law school, I got my wish: serving as in-house General Counsel of an international marketing company. But the wish did not prove to be satisfying. So in 2009, I hung out my shingle and switched to estate planning. I figured, if I had been doing 60-page commercial agreements, then 60 pages of a trust would be no big deal. Obviously, I was wrong. It took many years of learning and trying things out to fully comprehend the gravity of estate planning — and later, special needs planning and elder law.

I find what I am doing now far more rewarding. My team and I make a difference in people’s lives every day. We help them move forward with one less problem to worry about — a problem we helped them solve.

Practice Approach

What distinguishes Vlad’s approach is the combination of depth and accessibility. He has handled matters involving complex trust structures, multi-state estates, and blended family dynamics that require careful legal architecture. Yet he brings the same care and clarity to a straightforward will for a young couple with two children — explaining every provision in plain language, answering every question, and making sure clients leave knowing exactly what their documents say and why.

Admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, Vlad is a member of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), where he participates in the Trusts and Estates Section. He is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Estate Planning Council of New York City. He is a former member of the New York City Bar Association’s Trusts, Estates, and Surrogate’s Court Committee and former Secretary of the NYCBA’s Committee on Legal Problems of the Aging (Elder Law). He serves on the Board of Russian Speaking Business Attorneys of New York (RUSBAN), as well as several businesses and non-profit organizations.

Community Involvement

Vlad is fluent in English and Russian, and leads a team that serves clients in English, Russian, and Spanish. That multilingual capacity reflects the communities he has served throughout his career, including the Russian-speaking neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Brighton Beach and the diverse immigrant communities of Queens and the Bronx.

Through frequent lectures on estate planning and elder law and by contributing articles to various English and Russian language print and online publications, Mr. Portnoy aims to educate the community on all aspects of estate and asset protection planning ranging from government benefit entitlement programs to high net worth individuals and family offices.

Outside his practice, Vlad speaks at senior centers and community organizations throughout the five boroughs, offering free educational workshops on essential estate planning documents. His Midtown Manhattan office at 450 7th Avenue is steps from Penn Station and accessible from every borough, Long Island, and northern New Jersey by subway, bus, and commuter rail.