“I believe that no matter where you are on your financial journey, it is important to begin your estate planning to secure your future, the future of your loved ones, and ultimately, to Choose Your Legacy so that it is not chosen for you.”
— -Navjit Pathak, Shareholder at Erwin & Marcus, P.C.
As a shareholder of Erwin and Marcus, P.C., Navjit specializes in creating custom estate plans for individuals and growing families that are tax-efficient and protect and preserve their assets with flexibility in mind.
Furthermore, in concert with the Erwin & Marcus approach, Navjit collaborates with the client’s financial advisor and accountant as a team to create and implement the optimal estate plan for the client’s unique situation.
The last drawer in the dresser
Navjit’s father always taught her to be prepared. Growing up, she always noticed her father would organize his documents in a folder in the last drawer of his dresser. She was always curious as to what was in that brown accordion folder. As she grew older and helped her father with his construction business, she learned that the folder contained important documents about his assets, certificates, and so on.
When Navjit was sixteen, she found a document on vanilla-colored paper titled “Last Will and Testament” in that folder. At first, finding the Will was terrifying but her father explained that you always have to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best. Over the years, the dresser changed but the brown accordion folder always remained intact. Her father embodied his legacy not only through his estate planning but through that brown accordion folder.
Today, Navjit has a dresser drawer that contains a blue accordion folder. For Navjit, Legacy is much more than inheritance- it is the values and traditions it inspires.
Knowledge that leads to choice
Navjit has encountered many common myths about estate planning over the years, such as:
“A Will is not necessary because I do not have that many assets.”
“I am too young to start thinking about estate planning.”
“Estate planning is unnecessary if I am leaving all of my assets to my surviving spouse.”
Navjit believes everyone needs estate planning because the default is that the state determines the distribution of your assets and the fiduciary appointments for you and your minor children. It is never too early to begin your estate planning to Choose Your Legacy.
But what is Legacy? It can be many things, such as the traditions and values that you pass to future generations, the means to inspire new experiences, or a charitable gift to fulfill a purpose or a calling. Ultimately, your legacy is a choice for you to make. Navjit’s passion is to provide clients with this knowledge so that they can collaborate to create and implement an estate plan that is an extension of them, providing them with the peace of mind that their legacy is secure.
“Helping growing families secure their future is what I do.
Helping them choose their legacy for their future generations is who I am.”
-Navjit Pathak, Shareholder at Erwin & Marcus, P.C.
Professional Credentials
Navjit is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, NYSBA Trusts and Estate Law Section, American Bar Association, and a graduate of the Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.