Kristen joined Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP in 2007 and is a partner with the firm. She is chair of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Practice Group. Kristen’s practice is concentrated in the areas of Estate Planning, Trust & Estate Administration, Guardianships, Adoptions, Litigated Estate Matters, and Real Estate. She practices in both the main office and the Owego office, serving as the leader of the Owego office.
She has been selected as a Rising Star among New York lawyers for Estate Planning from 2013 - 2018 by Upstate New York Super Lawyers magazine. In 2017 Kristen was named in the 24th Edition of the Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Trust & Estates. Kristen has been given this award every year since 2017 (for the Best Lawyers in America for Trust & Estates).
Kristen is a current member of the Broome County and New York State Bar Associations. She is a member of the New York Bar Association’s Elder Law and Special Needs Section. Kristen previously served on the Board of Directors to the local American Automobile Association (AAA) Club. She is a past Co-Chair of the Broome County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Committee. She served on the Board of Directors for the Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network (April 2008 - February 2016) and is a former member of the Owego Rotary. In 2014 and again in 2018 Kristen was appointed by the Town Board of the Town of Binghamton to an interim position of Acting Town Justice.
Honors
• Listed, Best Lawyers in America, 2017 - Present (Trust & Estates)
• Listed, Upstate New York Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars, 2013 - 2018 (Estate Planning)
Publications & Presentations
• “Who Gets Stuck with the Bills? Payment of Debts in an Estate,” Broome County Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program.
•“Life Use: Now What?,” Broome County Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program.
• “Estate Planning,” New York State Teacher’s Retirement System (Ongoing Presenter for their PREP programs for New York teachers).
• “Probate Proceedings, EPTL Article 3, SPCA Article 14,” Broome County Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program.
• “Medicare Benefits to the Senior Client Living at Home,” Broome County Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program.
