Paralegal Spotlight Series: Meet Terri Dolecki

Welcome to our next and final (for now) installment of Franklin & Frankel’s Paralegal Spotlight Series! We’re excited to shine a light on our amazing team of paralegals: Kelly Finlay, Krysta Menard-Tanguay, and Terri Dolecki.

Next up: Estate Planning and Probate extraordinaire Terri Dolecki!

We’re closing out our Paralegal Spotlight series with someone truly special: Terri! For 34 years, she’s been guiding families through the ins and outs of estate planning and probate with equal parts expertise, patience, and heart. Whether she’s drafting wills and trusts, helping an executor navigate probate court, or solving the “puzzle pieces” of a tricky estate plan, Terri brings calm, clarity, and a touch of number-crunching magic to every client she serves.

Clients trust Terri to guide them through the important and often emotional process of making final arrangements with compassion and care. Her eagle eye for detail ensures nothing is missed, and her steady presence makes even the most complex plans feel manageable. We’re so grateful for the dedication and heart she brings to Franklin & Frankel every day.

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Q: How would you summarize what you do?

A: I assist attorneys in drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies and other legal documents to make sure our client’s wishes are carried out if they are unable to make decisions for themselves while they are alive and after they pass away.  I also prepare probate forms and file them with various probate courts. I spend a lot of time communicating with the family member or friend who has been appointed the executor of the estate and walk them through the entire probate process.

Q: How long have you been a paralegal?

A: 34 years.

Q: What do you like best about your position?

A: I like the variety of the work.  Estate plans can vary quite a bit and every probate matter is different. I also enjoy working with numbers, which comes into play in trust administration, as well as in preparing the Connecticut Estate Tax Return and the Financial Report in probate estates.

Q: What have you been most proud of in your career?

A: Compliments from the attorneys that I’ve worked for about my dedication and the quality of my work.

Q: What’s your favorite work perk or benefit?

A: I like working from home two days per week. I love sleeping in a little, and it gives me some solitude to work on my estate plans. I also enjoy having shorter Friday hours during the summer months!

Q: What advice would you give someone considering a paralegal career?

A: Don’t do it unless you’re good at keeping several plates spinning at the same time! I quit my first paralegal job within two weeks of starting. My boss convinced me to stay, and I’ve been in the field ever since.

Q: What’s the most exciting thing you’re working on right now?

A: Every once in a while, someone asks for an atypical trust or will.  I like having to figure it out. It’s similar to putting puzzle pieces together.

Q: What legal term/fact should everyone know?

A: People often come to us for estate planning because they want to “avoid probate.”  Completely avoiding probate in Connecticut is very unlikely.  There are three different types of probate estate processes depending on a person’s assets.  What people probably want to avoid is the full estate process that takes approximately one year.

Q: What motivates you?

A: The people!  My goal is to alleviate some of the stress that the estate planning and probate processes can cause our clients.  I believe that knowledge, a friendly face and a calm voice can go a long way towards making our clients feel more comfortable when they hire us for any legal matter.

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?

A: I collect Bibles! 

Q: What are your favorite things to do outside of work?

A: Reading, spending time with my family, and sitting by our pool in the summer and bird watching.

Thanks for tuning in to learn more about the incredible paralegals who help make Franklin & Frankel a place where great work and great people come together.