Patricia A. Rauh graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo School of Law. During law school, she was a member of the Community Justice Clinic, where she represented undocumented immigrants and unaccompanied minors before the U.S. Immigration Court in Buffalo, as well as United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, to help them obtain legal status in the U.S. and avoid deportation. At graduation, Patricia received the Clinical Legal Education Outstanding Student Award for her clinical work. She is currently a member of the New York State Bar Association and Erie County Bar Association. She is also involved with the Elder Law Committee, Surrogate’s Court Committee, and Working Parents Committee through the Erie County Bar.
Patricia’s law practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration/probate, and elder law. Her estate planning practice includes assisting clients with the preparation of wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, and various types of trusts, including revocable and irrevocable trusts, charitable trusts, and supplemental needs trusts. Patricia treats each client with kindness and compassion, and she understands that each family she works with is unique and has different needs that should be taken into consideration when creating an estate plan.
In her estate administration and probate practice, Patricia has experience representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in both uncontested and contested estate matters. She assists clients through all stages of probate and estate administration, from initial petition filing in Surrogate’s Court, through the preparation of final accountings, asset distribution, and estate closure. She represents clients in Surrogate’s Court for various other matters, including Article 17-a guardianships, wrongful death settlements, heirship hearings, and will contests.
In her elder law practice, Patricia advises clients on various strategies to protect their assets in the event they need long-term care and Medicaid in the future. She works with clients to prepare and submit Medicaid applications to the local Department of Social Services. Patricia has vast experience working on Article 81 guardianship cases for incapacitated adults. She represents both petitioners and alleged incapacitated persons in these cases. She also routinely accepts court appointments to serve as the court evaluator in Article 81 guardianship cases in Erie and Niagara County.
In 2021, Patricia was the recipient of Champion for Justice – Rising Star Award from the Volunteer Lawyers Project, where she was recognized for the pro bono guardianship cases she accepted through VLP.
Patricia is a lifelong resident of Western New York and currently lives in Tonawanda with her two young boys. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, baking, traveling, and cheering for the Buffalo Bills!
