McGauley, Patricia

Paul S. Zimmerman joined the firm in December of 1997 and accepted an invitation to become a partner a little over 5 years later in January of 2003. A life-long resident of Lancaster County, he continues a tradition spanning the last three generations of his family in becoming a member of the Lancaster Bar.

Estate Administration. Mr. Zimmerman's primary professional interest is in the area of estate administration wherein he counsels executors, executrixes and personal representatives in the efficient and cost effective administration of decedents' estates. Drawing on the deep experience and competence of his partners, Mr. Zimmerman takes great satisfaction in assisting executors and beneficiaries with minimizing the impact of the Federal Estate Tax and fiduciary income taxes through effective management of decedent's estates during the term of the executor's administration. He takes particular delight in the fact that the portable nature of this work enables the firm to deliver significant value to executors in adjacent counties and in communities closer to Philadelphia where attorneys tend to demand significantly higher fees and have higher overhead costs to pass on to their clients.

Will Contests. Mr. Zimmerman's work in this area has involved the Orphans' Court at the Common Pleas level and appeals to both the Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania. He has experience in claims including undue influence on the maker of wills and that the maker lacked the required mental capacity at the time the will was written.

Family Law including Child Custody, Divorce and Child Support. Having joined the firm as a general practitioner after clerking for the Honorable Paul K. Allison of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Zimmerman initially was assigned cases primarily in the Family Law area simply because that was an area in which the firm needed additional talent to serve clients' needs. Now, after more than a decade of representing clients and participating in trials before the six judges comprising the Family Law Bench of Lancaster County, Mr. Zimmerman has developed a passion for this work. Note, however, that Mr. Zimmerman only accepts family law clients whose cases will be heard in the Courts of Lancaster County. He imposes this limitation on the cases he will accept because he believes that all family law clients should be served by an attorney who has sufficient experience to understand how each of the judges and court officers involved in the cases may respond to different factual scenarios. With offices just across the street from the Lancaster County Courthouse and by focusing his efforts on Lancaster County cases, Mr. Zimmerman has that experience. While Mr. Zimmerman has been involved in fathers' rights issues, he believes that much of the success he has enjoyed in assisting both mothers and fathers achieve their goals in custody cases has resulted from the gender-neutral approach that he applies to presenting matters to the courts. In the last 6 years, Mr. Zimmerman has become involved in cases involving Grandparents' Rights on a more frequent basis as this area develops.

Adoption / Guardianship. Adoption is the most satisfying area of law in which Mr. Zimmerman has had the privilege to practice. It has been Mr. Zimmerman's tremendous honor and a source of pride to have the opportunity to represent those seeking to adopt a child, whether a step-parent adoption or the adoption of an unrelated child. Mr. Zimmerman's guardianship practice began with providing counsel to terminally ill patients wishing to take advantage of their rights under the Standby Guardianship Act in which they may, prior to a triggering event such as death or disability, formally nominate someone to serve as guardian of their minor children. His efforts in this area have evolved to include representing petitioners seeking to have guardians appointed for loved ones unable to manage their own affairs.

General Practice. While every attorney has areas in which they concentrate their efforts, most also do a whole lot of a whole lot of different things in order to serve their clients' needs. Mr. Zimmerman takes particular pride in having had the opportunity to counsel individuals with concerns in incredibly disparate areas of the law and in having assisted them with resolutions in areas as diverse as land use planning, border disputes, dog law, issues related to trespass, business disputes, business organization formation, tax concerns, estate planning including simple wills and sprinkling trust wills, orders of protection from abuse, traffic citations, social security, landlords' rights, stand by guardianship, special needs trusts, living wills as well as many others.

Personal:

Mr. Zimmerman is married to Jennifer L. Kegel, M.D., and is proud to serve as a parent-type person to her daughter and future Olympic Swimming sensation, Samantha. He and his wife live in Hempfield Township, just outside of Lancaster , and are avid cyclists, enjoying both road and mountain bike riding.