Trust and Estate Paralegal

Crisp Recruit•Schenectady, NY

11d•$50,000 - $65,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At DeAngelus Group, PLLC, we guide families, businesses, and individuals through life’s most pivotal moments, whether planning for the future, navigating probate, closing on a home, or building a business. With offices in Schenectady and a modern, welcoming approach to client service, our firm blends deep legal experience with personalized attention in the areas of estate planning, administration, real estate, and business law. Our clients rely on us not just for technical accuracy, but for clarity, communication, and true peace of mind during life’s biggest decisions. We’re hiring a Trust and Estate Paralegal to support our busy estate planning and administration team. In this role, you’ll help keep work moving by preparing documents, tracking timelines, coordinating with courts and outside partners, and ensuring that matters are handled with care and accuracy. We’re looking for someone who can step in with relevant experience and contribute quickly with minimal training. At DeAngelus Group, PLLC, the Trust and Estate Paralegal plays a vital role in guiding families through significant life transitions with professionalism, empathy, and a commitment to accuracy. This position is foundational to the firm’s ability to deliver thoughtful and dependable legal service in trust and estate matters. Working closely with the team, you’ll support estate planning and administration work by preparing documents, coordinating filings, tracking deadlines, and communicating with clients and outside partners to keep matters moving. This is a high-responsibility position ideal for someone who excels in bringing structure and follow-through to complex legal processes. With a substantial workload already in motion, your ability to organize, anticipate needs, and contribute with minimal training will be essential. If you have direct trust and estate experience, strong administrative and/or planning-side capability, and the professionalism to thrive in a client-facing role, this position offers meaningful work and the opportunity to make an immediate impact.

Requirements

Experience and Legal Background: 2-5 years of paralegal experience, with direct experience in trust and estates, estate planning, probate, or estate administration. Experience on the planning side, administrative side, or both is strongly preferred.
Ability to Contribute Quickly: Able to step into an active workload and support the team with minimal training. This role is best suited for someone who already understands trust and estate workflows and can begin contributing right away.
Client Communication and Professionalism: Skilled in professional, empathetic communication with families during challenging transitions. Maintains discretion, clarity, responsiveness, and polished presentation in all client-facing interactions.
Organizational Excellence: Exceptionally detail-oriented with a demonstrated ability to manage a high-volume caseload across varied timelines and priorities. Brings structure, urgency, and follow-through to every matter.
Technical Proficiency: Confident in using case management tools (Clio experience is a plus), Microsoft Office, digital file systems, and court e-filing portals. Open to learning new tools and systems quickly.
Initiative and Accountability: Self-directed, dependable, and proactive, with the ability to take ownership of assigned work and contribute immediately with minimal supervision.
Cultural Fit: Aligned with the firm’s values of integrity, professionalism, and client-centered service. Brings a thoughtful, team-oriented mindset to estate work that requires both precision and compassion.

Responsibilities

Trust and Estate Case Support: Assist with the day-to-day progression of trust and estate matters, including opening files, preparing documents, coordinating with surrogate’s courts, and helping ensure cases move forward efficiently and accurately.
Planning and/or Administrative Paralegal Support: Bring hands-on experience in either the planning side, the administrative side, or both within trust and estate work. Jump in where needed to help the team move matters forward without requiring extensive ramp-up time.
Legal Document Drafting and Court Coordination: Prepare estate-related documents such as wills, trusts, petitions, letters testamentary, fiduciary accountings, and notices. Support filings in accordance with court procedural rules and deadlines across state and local jurisdictions.
Deadline Tracking and Caseload Management: Monitor a high volume of open matters across different stages of estate planning and administration. Ensure time-sensitive actions are tracked, completed, and communicated clearly to attorneys, clients, and stakeholders.
Collaboration with Attorneys, Clients, and Outside Partners: Communicate professionally with attorneys, clients, courts, CPAs, and other external contacts to gather information, maintain momentum on files, and support timely completion of work.
Workflow Support and Organization: Maintain organized physical and digital files, follow established processes, and help improve efficiency through strong administrative habits and thoughtful use of tools like Clio or other practice management software.