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Stephen M. Asbel

Partner
sasbel@regerlaw.com
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T: 215.495.6523
F: 215.495.6600

2929 Arch St 13th Floor
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Stephen M. Asbel is a partner at the firm’s Philadelphia office and is an active member of the Estates & Trusts Group and Corporate & Business Group. Stephen has extensive experience offering estate planning and estate and trust administration services, including estate taxation, choosing fiduciaries, drafting wills, powers of attorney, medical directives and living wills, special needs trusts, and estate planning. 

Stephen helps families plan for special needs children and manage the needs of aging parents. He also assists in planning for estate taxation, preserving and passing on wealth, and business ownership from one generation to the next. His services include developing trusts and business succession plans that address tax concerns and creating structures that accommodate clients and their families. Stephen is also experienced in obtaining court-decreed guardianships for family members of clients seeking protection. Stephen advises clients who are building their families, offering guidance on prenuptial agreements and contracts concerning assisted reproductive technology. Stephen has been on the forefront of the LGBTQ+ community’s needs as many years before legal recognition of same-sex marriage was achieved nationally, having friends and family in the LGBTQ+ community, Stephen was determined to use his skills and experience as an attorney to provide LGBTQ+ clients with as much legal protection as possible under the law as it then existed. While much progress has occurred in the law, much still needs to be addressed and he remains committed to help those clients in need of that planning and protection. He has experience working with LGBTQ+ couples and their families to ensure both partners have the strongest protections for parental rights, including by parentage confirmation/second-parent adoption proceedings, which are crucial in an environment where parentage laws are not uniform in all jurisdictions.  

Stephen, as an active member of the Corporate & Business Services Group, has experience in contract preparation and review, reviewing merger and acquisition transactions and various aspects of due diligence, and drafting resolutions to facilitate transactions for clients of the firm. 

Outside the office, Stephen enjoys gardening, researching, building family trees, traveling, listening to history podcasts, being active in his synagogue, reading, and spending time with his family and friends.
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice Pennsylvania
New Jersey
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
Education

J.D., Villanova University, (1989)

B.A. , University of Pennsylvania, (1986)
cum laude, Benjamin Franklin Scholar, Pi Gamma Mu Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

Delaware County Bar Association

The LGBT Bar Association

Delaware County Panel of Attorneys for Arbitrators

Philadelphia Estate Planning Council

Honors & Awards
Martindale-Hubbell® Distinguished Peer Rated for High Professional Achievement with High Ethical Standing
Lead Counsel Rated Attorney in Estate Planning Law
Lead Counsel Rated Attorney in Probate Law
Corporate INTL Global Awards Boutique Estate Planning (2017-2019)
Main Line Today Top Lawyers (2017)
Suburban Life Magazine’s Top Estate Planning and Administration Attorneys List (2015)
Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals
Publications & Press Mentions
Author, The Perils of Procrastination in Administering a Deceased Family Member’s Estate. Reger Rizzo & Darnall Client Alert. (February 2022)
Author, Executing Wills and Powers of Attorney During a Pandemic. The Legal Intelligencer. (April 8, 2020)
Author, UPDATE: US Treasury Department Delays April 15 Tax Payment AND Filing Deadline by 90 daysReger Rizzo & Darnall Client Alert. (March 20, 2020)
Author, Second-Parent Adoptions: An Option for LGBTQ Parents. The Legal Intelligencer. (July 15, 2019)
Author, Why You Should Pre-Plan Your Funeral. Client Alert. (December 2018)
Interviewed on Safe Money Radio. WDEL 1150 AM. (September 2013)
Quoted, New End of Life Plan for Social Media Accounts. KYW News Radio. (June 5, 2012)
Author, Protecting Your Will and Other Documents from Potential Challenges by Angry Relatives. Client Alert. (May 12, 2011)
Author, Mark Twain was Wrong – New Land is Being Made But Who Owns It? Client Alert. (December 7, 2009)

Civic & Charitable Associations
American Cancer Society - National Professional Advisor Network
Suburban Jewish Community Center – B’nai Aaron, Former President
Temple Adath Israel – Ritual Committee, Lay-prayer Leader in the synagogue and in homes of bereaved families, Adult
Education Teacher
All Corners Farm, Inc., Board Member - A non-profit dedicated to providing chemical-free, locally-grown food to
organizations which feed the homeless and hungry
Representative Matters
Co-counsel on successful appeal in re Estate of LeVin, 419 Pa. Super. 89, 615 A.2d (1992).

Successful probate of a self-typed letter as a will.

Numerous estate administrations.

Counsel in contract negotiations for gestational carrier agreements for intended parents and gestational carriers.