Maureen Rothschild DiTata Attorney

Maureen concentrates her practice in estate and asset preservation planning, estate and trust administration and elder law, including: the creation and implementation of trusts, preparation of wills, health care proxies and powers of attorney, planning for special needs, asset preservation and planning to minimize estate tax liability, Medicaid eligibility planning / preparation of Medicaid applications, guardianship and the representation of guardians, probate and the administration of estates and trusts, pet trusts and planning to protect pets.

Maureen began her legal career as a criminal prosecutor and served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan where she had the opportunity to handle a broad range of criminal matters in both the Criminal and Supreme Courts and before the Appellate Division. After the completion of her service as an ADA, she joined the ranks of civil and commercial litigators. As an associate and then partner at several prominent litigation firms, she represented numerous clients, individuals and corporations in matters ranging from insurance claims and contract and commercial disputes to estate matters. She has successfully argued in the appellate courts and in New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. In 2000, she and Lawrence N. Berwitz, her husband and lifetime partner, formulated their own law firm in Garden City which was, for more than 20 years, devoted to estate planning, estate and trust administration and litigation and elder law.

Because Maureen is an active listener and has always enjoyed creative problem solving, she has, for most of her career, guided clients in the resolution of issues that would otherwise have resulted in costly and time-consuming litigation. Beginning in 2013, Maureen began formal mediation training has developed an expertise in alternative dispute resolution, principally among family members. She has chosen to devote her skills to the mediation of trusts and estates and guardianship matters and enjoys assisting clients in exploring alternative avenues for achieving resolution of these most personal and emotional disputes.

Maureen earned her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree from St. John’s University School of Law. She is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association and serves on its Surrogate’s Court Estates and Trusts Committee, the Elder Law, Social Services and Health Advocacy Committee and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee where she is currently a member of the Advisory Council. She was a past co-chair of the Elder Law, Social Services and Health Advocacy Committee. She belongs to the New York State and Suffolk County Bar Associations and serves on committees dealing with elder law, estate planning and mediation. She is a member of the North Shore Service Group and has served on the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Long Island Chapter of the National Aging in Place Council [NAIPC] and the Mineola/Garden City Rotary. She served on the Attorney Advisory Board of LIAF (the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation), the Heart Advisory Council of the American Heart Association and the Community Advisory Board of The Amsterdam at Harborside, a life care community in Port Washington. She was honored by the Yashar Chapter of Hadassah as the 2010 Woman of the Year.

Maureen is a frequent lecturer on issues concerning estate and asset preservation and elder law and has written numerous articles on issues concerning estate planning, special needs planning and planning for pets, asset preservation, Surrogate’s Court practice and elder law.

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