June 29, 2018

3 Paley Rothman Attorneys Listed in Bethesda Magazine’s Top Estate Lawyers

• June 29, 2018
• Related Attorneys: Paula Calimafde, Michelle Chapin, Jeffrey Kolender
• Related Practice Areas: Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning

Jeffrey Kolender, Paula Calimafde, and Michelle Chapin were all featured in the most recent edition of the magazine.

The feature is in the July/August 2018 edition of Bethesda Magazine. This year, 17 attorneys were listed as the Top Estate Lawyers by their peers, and 8 were selected as Rising Stars.

“Choosing a lawyer to draft or revise an estate plan is an important decision. So we asked dozens of local estate attorneys who they would use to write their wills. Here are the 17 who were recommended most often…”

“Paula Calimafde - When Paula Calimafde’s father, John Calimafde, died in 2015, he was one of the most famous patent litigators in the country. Says Paula, ‘He basically taught me how to think like a lawyer from the time I was very young.’ Drawn to estate law while studying at Catholic University, Calimafde, 66, is particularly knowledgeable about transferring pension and retirement benefits. ‘It has become obvious to me that there are specific things that parents can include in their estate-planning documents, which greatly increases the chances of the children working together amiably and [decreases] the chances of gut-wrenching litigation,’ says Calimafde, an attorney with Paley Rothman in Bethesda.”

“Jeffrey Kolender - A University of South Carolina law school graduate, Jeffrey Kolender, 59, heads the substantial estate planning and estate and trust administration practice at Paley Rothman in Bethesda. Colleagues say Kolender has a compassionate demeanor while working with families after a death or divorce. Much of his work involves rewriting the wills of clients in a second marriage after a divorce. Kolender is ‘a really conscientious attorney and really seems to care about his clients,’ one family attorney says. ‘I have worked with him closely over the years on prenuptial agreements and other areas where family law overlaps with estates and trusts.’”

“Michelle Chapin, 37, is happy to help families of all means at Paley Rothman, a law firm known for representing upscale clients who own businesses. Chapin, who graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law, specializes in writing wills for international clients.”

To see the full list of Bethesda Magazine’s Top Estate Lawyers, click here.

Jeff is the chair of the firm’s Estate Planning and Estate & Trust Administration practice groups. Paula is a senior member of the Estate Planning and Estate & Trust Administration and Tax groups, and chairs the firm’s Retirement Plans and Employee Benefits practices. Michelle is a member of the firm’s Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration and Tax practice groups.