Falcon Law Group LLC profile image
Attorney
Ray FalconRAYMOND J. FALCON, JR., ESQ.

Ray Falcon is a principal of Falcon Law Group LLC, a law firm with offices in offices Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and Montebello, New York. He has a peer review rating of AV© Preeminent Attorney — Judicial Edition, which is Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for both legal ability and ethical standards.

Business Counseling: Ray’s business practice spans a broad range of corporate, commercial and general business matters. He has organized and advised corporations, general and limited partnerships, limited liability companies, professional service corporations, professional service limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships. He has been involved in many transactions, both domestic and international, including purchases and sales of businesses, formation of national and international joint ventures, various types of financing, the sale, purchase, leasing and financing of commercial property, and general contract, sales and commercial matters. His clients have included manufacturers, distributors, retailers, service providers, licensed professional service firms, business brokers and software developers and cover a broad range of businesses and industries. In addition, he serves as a part-time general counsel for selected clients. He also assists charitable organizations and socially-responsible investors seeking to engage in profit-driven businesses in a socially responsible manner by using a Benefits Corporation formed under state law. As a former Vice-President, Secretary and General Counsel of a multi-billion-dollar multi-national company, Ray also has extensive practical hands-on business and corporate governance experience.

Business Life Cycle Planning©: Falcon & Singer can be of special value to the closely-held business owner through use of a systematic analytical process we call Business Life Cycle Planning. When doing business and estate planning with the owners of closely-held businesses, Ray looks at closely held business owners and their families holistically. Like an individual, a closelyheld business has a life cycle, from inception through maturity to the eventual passing of the torch to the next generation. Since Ray can assist the client on the business side and in succession planning and estate planning as well, he can address all these issues simultaneously, to ensure that all the pieces of the puzzle fit together and work well.

Estate Planning: Ray works with clients and their financial advisors, accountants and other professionals to identify their estate planning goals. He then develops tax-advantageous structures by selecting from a wide variety of estate planning vehicles, including basic Wills, Wills that maximize the use of the unified credit equivalent for married clients, Wills containing provisions specific to non-U.S. citizens, lifetime and testamentary charitable trusts, special needs trusts, personal residence trusts, life insurance trusts, grantor trusts, durable powers of attorney and health care proxies. He also assists in the probate and administration of estates, and in guardianship matters.

Special Needs Planning/Guardianship. He also concentrates in planning for families that have members with special needs/disabilities and mental health challenges, with their unique set of circumstances and concerns. Such advice may include planning for eligibility for needs-based programs, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and Section 8 housing, as well as entitlement programs, such as Social Security Disability and Medicare. In addition, he assists families in estate planning for transfer of wealth to a child or other family member with special needs or mental health challenges to avoid jeopardizing the financial eligibility of the person with special needs/mental health challenges for such need-based benefits, preparing appropriate special needs trusts, wills, powers of attorney, letters of intent and other relevant documents. He also assists in obtaining legal guardianship of a person with special needs or mental health challenges when necessary. Ray has been certified in Mental Health First Aid.

Special Needs Settlement Planning. Ray assists plaintiff personal injury attorneys, their clients and structured settlement advisors in utilizing self-settled ((d)(4)(A)) special needs trust to hold settlement proceeds to avoid loss of needs-based government benefits (such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)) by the permanently-disabled injured client. Assistance includes: preparation of an appropriate Special Needs Trust; preparation of necessary court pleadings, such as motion papers, affidavits and briefs, seeking court approval of the Special Needs Trust as a repository for settlement or award proceeds; appearance in court in support of request for use of Special Needs Trust, where requested by counsel or required by the court; and general guidance respecting compliance with Medicaid liens, Medicare liens, Medicare Set-Aside accounts, Qualified Settlement Funds and other factors to be considered prior to completing the funding of Special Needs Trusts and payment of attorneys’ fees.

Elder Law: Ray works with older persons and their families to prepare appropriate estate and lifetime planning documents, such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advanced health care directives (living wills) as well as planning for their long-term care needs, including eligibility for government benefits such as SSI and Medicaid, as well as guardianship of the elder, if necessary.

EDUCATION

  • Yale Law School (New Haven, CT), Juris Doctor, 1978
  • Columbia College (New York, NY), Bachelor of Arts, 1975

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

Admitted to practice: New York (1979); Florida (1987); New Jersey (1988); and various federal courts.

Professional Memberships: American Bar Association; New Jersey, New York and Florida Bar Associations; Bergen County Bar Association; National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA); Academy of Special Needs Planners (Charter Member); and the Council on Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA).

Civic Memberships: Rotary Club (Park Ridge. NJ); Rotary District 7490 (Chair, Special Needs and Mental Health Committee); Columbia University Alumni Representative Committee (Bergen-Passaic); Columbia University Alumni Club of Westchester County (Board of Directors, 1985-2000, Founding Member); Planned Giving Advisory Council, American Cancer Society (Eastern Region) (through 2006); Planned Giving Advisory Council, Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey (2010); Knights of Columbus (4th Degree); Member, Board of Trustees, EPIC School, Paramus, NJ (private not-for-profit school serving autistic children); Member, Board of Directors, Family Support Organization of Bergen County, Inc., Fairlawn, NJ;; Member/Chair, Board of Trustees, National Institute for Persons with Disabilities New Jersey.

Honors: Biography appears in Who’s Who in America (since 2000); Who’s Who in American Law (since 1987); Lifetime Achievement Award, Who’s Who in America (2017); Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary International) conferred four times for contributions to the Rotary Foundation’s charitable and educational programs (awarded once by Park Ridge Rotary Club, once by special award from the District Governor of Rotary International District 7490 and twice by Rotary International); Walter D. Head Awards conferred twice for Outstanding Support and Performance in Rotary endeavors (Rotary District 7490); Bergen’s Top Lawyers (201 Magazine); New Jersey’s Top Legal Minds (Inside Jersey Magazine); Member, MENSA.

Public Service: Frequent lecturer in the areas of estate planning, planning for families with members having special needs and mental health challenges and business matters (at the invitation of government agencies, school systems, not-for-profit organizations and business and financial institutions). He also gives continuing education seminars in business and estate planning/special needs/mental health to attorneys, CPAs and other professionals.

Mental Health First Aid: Ray is certified in Mental Health First Aid.

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