Christopher J.L. Deziel, is a Partner in the Trusts and Estates Practice Group at Vishnick McGovern Milizio. His practice focuses strictly in the areas of trust and estate law and Surrogate’s Court practice, including the complex areas of estate and trust administration, fiduciary accounting, estate and gift taxation, post-mortem estate planning and estate and gift tax audit representation, and estate litigation.

Mr. Deziel provides counsel to executors, trustees and beneficiaries regarding a myriad of issues ranging from the entitlements of income and principal beneficiaries to the complex interrelationships between tax accounting, business entity accounting and estate and trust accounting. He advises executors and trustees of their fiduciary obligations under the New Uniform Principal and Income Act, and their investment responsibilities under the Prudent Investor Rule. Mr. Deziel has successfully litigated matters involving estate tax apportionment, calculation of marital elective shares, trust terminations, abuses of trustee’s discretion as well as fixing and determining deferred annuities of testamentary charitable remainder trusts.

Mr. Deziel is a member of the New York State Bar Association, where he serves on the Trust and Estate Section, and is a member of the Probate and Real Property and Taxation sections of the American Bar Association as well as the Nassau, Suffolk and Queens County Bar Associations. Mr. Deziel has written numerous articles and has lectured extensively on a variety of estate, trust and fiduciary accounting topics and is a regular lecturer with Lorman Education Services. Mr. Deziel is the chairman of the firm’s education committee, of which its primary efforts are devoted to providing continuing professional educational credits to accountants.

Mr. Deziel received his Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School in 1986. He received his Bachelors Degree in social sciences from Hofstra University in 1982.

Mr. Deziel is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.

E-mail at: cdeziel@vmmlegal.com