Reviews

We hired a probate attorney who raked us over the coals. I called attorney Skatoff and was desperate for assistance. He was not only prompt at closing out my mother’s estate, but he did so in an ethical and sensitive manner.. there’s no telling how far the other attorney would have taken it if attorney Skatoff didn’t intervene. Thank you for everything you did.. my family appreciates you.

I couldn't ask for a better lawyer to represent me in my elective share case! After my husband died, my husband's children fought me with everything they had trying to cut me out of my husband's estate. Jeff Skatoff got me everything I was entitled to! I was so lucky to have Jeff in my corner. His staff is amazing as well.

Jeff Skatoff has the ability to take a complicated set of issues and explain them in a way that is approachable and easy to assimilate. Jeff is thoughtful and knowledgeable in his approach to issues of estate planning documents. I am very satisfied with Jeff's process and with his professionalism.

Jeff Skatoff handled a complex situation for me after my dad died, and I was very happy with the results. I couldn't ask for a better attorney to represent me.

I hired Mr. Skatoff, specifically, and expected he would be handling my probate case, but, in fact, he handed off my case first, to another lawyer in the office, who dragged his heels for about a year-delaying filing pertinent documents in a timely manner, did not address vital issues in my case, despite my numerous requests to do so , and running up my bill. I finally got fed up and registered a strong complaint, which resulted in that person being taken off my case. At that time Mr. Skatoff assigned another associate to the case. By that time, my case had been so badly mishandled, I had incurred over $100,000.00 in attorney's fees, and endured 2 years of major stress from lack of action on different issues I specifically requested pertaining to my case. Another major issue was mishandled due to lack of knowledge of the specific law about it by the two attorneys Mr. Skatoff assigned, which resulted in wasted time, more hours billed, and failure to get the problem resolved. I was strongly advised by the second attorney to go for a settlement and put an end to the battle. I went into the settlement meeting with the second attorney, who persuaded me to accept a bad settlement deal. I came out of this having spent an enormous amount of money, which was minimally recouped, a few paltry items that belonged to my step-father, and nothing from my mother, who predeceased him. When I hired Mr. Skatoff, I asked him to retrieve my stepfather's original will from a safe deposit box as soon as possible. This was not acted upon in a timely manner, and I was never able to retrieve the will, which severely damaged my case, and, in fact, resulted in a new will being crafted by outside parties, who used undue influence with my stepfather, after he was adjudicated as incompetent. The new will became the will of record because the original will stayed locked in the safe deposit box. I believe Mr. Skatoff mishandled this case from the beginning, costing me well over $100,000.00, years of extreme stress and frustration from lack of cooperation by the lawyers who were supposed to fight for me, and ultimately losing the rights of family to receive inheritances my step-father allocated for them, and none of the personal items, that while, not monetarily worth anything, are treasured mementos of our step-father and our mother.

I have a complex family estate and trust situation full of family acrimony. I sought counsel with Mr Skatoff after visiting with many other lawyers and being well versed in commecial and professional litigation. Mr. Skatoff is heads and shoulders above his peers. He has the utmost compassion, professionalism, insight and ability to sought through the complexities with surgical precision. He is no doubt one of the brightest attorneys I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and potentially the smartest. It is with great pleasure that I fully endorse Mr. Skatoff without any reservation but rather many accolades.

My mom, who had Alzheimer's disease, died in 2012. After my mom's death, my sister proceeded to wipe-out all of our mom's bank accounts in the tune of almost a million dollars. No one except our sister received anything. My siblings and I hired Mr. Skatoff to find out how my sister could do this. It was learned that my mom, who didn't remember anyone, had signed a power of attorney to my sister just 4 months before mom's death. My sister used the POA to add her name to mom's accounts as a joint owner; and after mom died, my sister kept the money for herself. After a contentious litigation process, Mr. Skatoff was able to retrieve the money back from my sister and the funds were properly distributed to all the siblings. I can't thank Mr. Skatoff, and his staff enough for all their hard work.

I initially contacted Mr. Jeffrey Skatoff due to these reviews. The initial consultation was filled with many offers that once I hired the firm was retracted. I was sent to Jordan Hammer. He will never return your phone calls. He does not review your file and documents. He will complain about his work load and even verbalized "you are not the only client." You will be lucky If you actually get him to pick up your call or return your call. He will not provide you with vital information with regard to your case. His conduct is extremely unprofessional. He will not inform the client of court dates even if a few days away. If you are lucky enough to get him on the phone he will report he has not reviewed important documents. You need to stay on top of him which is impossible. Do not expect he is actually updated on your case. He will not read letters or E-mails. He dropped the ball a few times by not providing the court necessary paper work. It is hard to know which fact he tells you is true as it is constantly changing. The problem seems he is not working on your case. Lawyers at time does the work at the last minute but understand unless you pursue him he does not follow through. He is not fighting for your best interest but does the bare minimum and at time it is poor work. If you try to consult with Mr. Jeffrey Skatoff, as it is his firm, he will defend his associate with legal hogwash and you end up back in the same situation. He does not want to be bothered by client complaint and you are never validated. If you work with the para-professionals they are a bit testy. They will listen and never pass on the information to your attorney. In asking Mr. Hammer who I spoke to he had no idea as they do not consult. But please understand you will be charged with all discussions. If you want simple assistance with your own will they will inform you they will set you up with an appointment but will never follow-through. I asked over five times to all parties including the Attorney but they never assisted me. I strongly suggest you avoid this firm as they are negligent to a fault. Mr. Skatoff will never resolve the problem but will take your money and get rid of you instead.

Jeffrey Skatoff and the other lawyers from his firm won a will contest case for me. They defeated the other side in a trial. They were great.

Jeff handled a dispute involving a Trust that I was beneficiary of and upon receiving and taking over my case, he quickly and successfully got me all that I was entitled to receive even though the trustee claimed that no additional distributions could be made due to a "alledged" tax liability. He also made sure the Trustee produced all the necessary Accountings before we mediated. I was very satisfied and would advise any who have disputes regarding a Trust to retain him as legal representation!

I am a Tax Accountant/Attorney with 25-+ years of experience. I had a major tax controversy with the IRS. I had spent almost 2 years attempting to resolve the matter with the IRS, and the IRS was non-responsive to my submissions. I researched successful US Tax Court litigators, and was impressed with Jeff when we met..He was retained and in less than 4 months he completely eliminated the substantial IRS Tax Liability. HE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND I WILL EASILY REFER CLIENTS TO MR. SKATOFF, He is a miracle worker and he likes to WIN.

Jeffrey Skatoff defended me in a breach of trust case. He won the case for me. Thanks!!