ANDORA & ROMANO - Key Persons

Michele T. Pugliese was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Michele earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts from College of Mount St. Vincent in 1998, graduating cum laude. She went on to earn her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2001. She has been licensed to practice law in New Jersey and New York for over twenty years. Following law school, Michele represented commercial and private banking lenders in the closing of substantial real estate transactions throughout the United States. She then went on to serve as a meticulous and well-respected attorney at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in New York City where she represented clients in the developing, managing and selling of traditional and mixed use condominiums. Over the years, Michele developed a vast background in complex real estate transactions with a focus on financing and condominium law. More recently, Michele's practice area has focused on estate and probate matters including Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation and Guardianship Actions. Michele understands the multifaceted planning techniques that can be used to assist in asset preservation and Medicaid planning. She works with clients to devise and implement plans for asset preservation and estate planning that accomplishes each client's personal and financial goals in a tax efficient manner while utilizing legal documents such as Durable Financial Powers of Attorney, Proxy Directives (Medical Powers of Attorney), Instructive Directives (Living Wills), Trusts and Last Will and Testaments. Michele joined Andora & Romano in 2021, bringing to the firm her diverse background in these areas of law. She is a member of both the Elder and Disability Law and Real Property Trust and Estate Law Sections of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Job Titles:

• Member of the New Jersey State

Robert J. Romano, Jr., was born in the Bronx, New York, on November 1, 1950. He attended Villanova University (B.A., 1972) and St. John's University (J.D., 1978). He served as Law Secretary to the Honorable Paul R. Huot, J.S.C., 1978-1979. He was Public Defender, Borough of Ramsey, 1980-1983; Prosecutor, Township of River Vale, 1982-1983; Prosecutor, Borough of Closter, 1984-1986 and 1991; Public Defender, Borough of Closter, 1986-1994 and Public Defender, Borough of Haworth, 1988-1994. He has been practicing law for over 36 years. He has been involved in elder law for more than 20 years. Mr. Romano is a member of the New Jersey State and Bergen County Bar Associations. He is also a member of the Elder Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar as well as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Romano works with clients to protect their assets including Medicaid planning as well as estate planning. He also prepares the necessary legal documents on their behalf, such as Durable Financial Powers of Attorney, Medical Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Special Needs Trusts, Wills and Tax Trusts. His practice also includes estate administration. Mr. Romano provides presentations on health care law to the community. He has in the past provided classes to the general public with reference to Advance Directives and Medicaid planning through the Adult Education Programs of Bergen Community College, Warren County College, and Sussex County College. In addition, he assists various nursing homes and hospitals with the fulfillment of their obligations under "The New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act" and "The Patient Self Determination Act." Mr. Romano is a past member of the Ethics Committee for the Home Health Assembly of New Jersey and has been influential in the development of a model Ethics Committee to be implemented throughout New Jersey Home Health Care Agencies. He also served as trustee for the Community Hospice of Bergen County located in Westwood, New Jersey, and is presently a member of the Ethics Committee of the Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice located in Sussex County, New Jersey. Mr. Romano has published in the area of Elder Law and Advance Directives and has been an author for The New Jersey Trial Lawyer and the New Jersey Law Journal.