New Member Spotlight: Ryan Belanger
Q: Where are you from?
A: I grew up in Dansville, New York, but I currently live in Rochester, New York with my fiancée.
Q: Where is your favorite place you’ve traveled to?
A: In 2021, my fiancée and I traveled to Iceland for eight days. We rented a small camper van and traveled around the entire country. It was cold, windy, and wet for most of our time there, but the country was beautiful!
Q: What led you to work in elder law?
A: When I graduated from law school, I began my career with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, where I [worked] for about a year. I discovered that the adversarial nature of criminal prosecution was not my niche. I went to law school to use my degree in a way that would help people, and after many conversations with colleagues and mentors, I transitioned to the wills, trusts and estates field to do just that. I enjoy providing my clients with some peace of mind knowing that their affairs are in order and their loved ones will be taken care of once they are gone.
Q: What’s your favorite part about your job?
A: I truly enjoy the initial meeting with my clients where I get to learn about their life story, their family, and the issues they need help with. Being a lifeline for my clients and a resource to navigate through some of life’s most challenging situations gives me great satisfaction.
Q: Tell me about an accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career thus far.
A: I recently handled an estate administration matter where the decedent’s credit card had been allowed to be charged over the available credit limit by a home health aide agency. The surviving spouse was worried beyond belief about how she was ever going to pay off the card. The estate was nearly insolvent so we were able to argue that the debt belonged to the estate and that any remaining estate assets should go to the surviving spouse as a spousal setoff. Thankfully, the Surrogate agreed and we were able to provide some relief to our client through one of the hardest times in her life.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: I am getting married in November and simultaneously house hunting, so I look forward to settling down and starting a family soon. Professionally, I want to expand my substantive knowledge and focus on practice in the field. I also want to help those in small towns like where I grew up and educate them on the importance of comprehensive and detailed estate planning.
Q: What did you want to be when you were younger?
A: In high school, I thought of being an architect after taking a few drafting classes. Needless to say, I was not artistically talented enough and later considered a career in politics after interning at the U.S. Capitol.
Q: Tell me a little about your family.
A: My mom and dad grew up in neighboring small towns and met in high school. They got married shortly after and had me before getting divorced. I was blessed that both of them met my now step-parents shortly thereafter so I like to say I grew up with four parents. I also have two sisters — one younger and one older — and a younger brother.
Q: Are there hobbies you look forward to outside of work and the law?
A: My fiancée and I enjoy hiking and traveling. I love to learn the history of wherever we travel and eat the local cuisine. We have a year-old puppy that loves the snowy outdoors and keeps us busy outside of work.
Q: Do you have any advice to give?
A: On the legal front, “Never make a mistake quickly.” In life, my great-grandmother always used to say: “Be good, do good, and you will be happy.” I’ve followed my great-grandmother’s advice throughout my life, but it resonates especially well with work in wills, trusts and estates — specifically elder law.
