The Firm
Law Offices of Jacob D. Geller is a firm located in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Attorney Jacob D. Geller will give you a personal touch you won't find in other firms. You will not speak with paralegals; your case will be handled at all times by a fully licensed attorney.
- immigration
- Bankruptcy
- Real Estate
- Estate Planning
- Evictions
- Divorces
Practice Areas
The Law Offices of Jacob D. Geller specializes in all forms of immigration, including both immigrant and non-immigrant employment visas (H-1B, L-1B, I-140), family-based immigration (Adjustment of Status or consular processing to get green card), waivers of inadmissibility, application and court appeals, removal (deportation) proceedings defense (voluntary departure, cancellation of removal), temporary protected status, and immigration bond hearings.
Our firm handles Chapter 7 personal bankruptcies professionally and with some of the most competitive rates in the area.
Our firm handles residential real estate conveyences, including drafting and/or review of purchase and sale agreements and closings. For buyers, we will make certain you do not purchase a house and discover a liability that should have been the seller's responsibility.
If you have assets and a family, make certain that you are prepared in the event something goes wrong. It's painful to think about passing on, but better to be prepared for when it occurs.
Trusts are an integral part of estate planning. A properly executed trust can allow a living person to manage their assets and have a smooth transition to a different trustee upon their passing. It can also give people greater control over how their assets will be managed following their death.
Immigration
The Law Offices of Jacob D. Geller specializes in all forms of immigration, including both immigrant and non-immigrant employment visas (H-1B, L-1B, I-140), family-based immigration (Adjustment of Status or consular processing to get green card), waivers of inadmissibility, application and court appeals, removal (deportation) proceedings defense (voluntary departure, cancellation of removal), temporary protected status, and immigration bond hearings.
To learn more about the areas of immigration law in which we work, please click below:
Jacob D. Geller, Esquire
Originally from Vermont, Jacob Geller focuses on immigration law. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont where he majored in History. Following undergraduate school, Jacob moved to Ecuador for two years where he taught English and learned Spanish. Jacob returned from Ecuador to go to school at Suffolk University Law School, where he concentrated in international law. During law school, he took every chance to both improve his Spanish and understand additional cultures. Jacob spent one summer interning at an international corporate law firm in Buenos Aires, Argentina working on international contracts in both English and Spanish.
Both during and following law school, Jacob learned immigration while working for one of Boston's most experienced and highly regarded immigration attorneys, assisting clients in a wide range of family and business cases. Following this, Jacob worked for a small firm as their resident immigration expert, concentrating particularly on the Boston area Brazilian population. While at this firm, Jacob represented numerous clients in a wide variety of cases, including deportation defense, green card (permanent resident) adjustment of status, work visas and court representation.
- Massachusetts, 2008
- New York, 2009
- United States Federal Court, District of Massachusetts, 2010
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Massachusetts, 2010
- Suffolk University Law School, J.D.
- Universty of Vermont, B.A. History
- American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
- Boston Bar Association
- Spanish
Bankruptcy can help you get your life back to normal if the financial climate has left you struggling. You may want to declare bankruptcy if:
- You are having difficulty paying your bills
- You have tried consolidating your debts or entering debt-repayment plans and you still can't make ends meet
- You have been unable to pay your mortgage and are in fear of foreclosure
- A life event has set you back financially, such as loss of a job, divorce, or illness
Before filing bankruptcy, you must understand that not all debts are discharged in a bankruptcy. The most common debts which are not discharged include:
- Alimony
- Child support
- Most recent back taxes
- Most student loans
- Fines or penalties of government agencies
- Fraudulent debts
A bankruptcy petition is extremely complicated and mistakes can potentially leave you ineligible to apply again. It is always advisable to that you consult with an attorney regarding a potential bankruptcy.
Estate planning is extremely important for those who wish to make certain that in the unfortunate case that you or a loved one passes or becomes incapacitated that their affairs are handled as they would have wanted them handled. If you are married, have children, own property, have many assets, or you just want control over the disposition of your assets, you should strongly consider creating an estate plan.
The general estate plan consists of the following legal documents:
- Last Will and Testament
- Durable power(s) of attorney
- Health case proxies
- HIPAA releases
- Advance directives
Although these are the most common documents you find in an estate plan, depending on your personal circumstances, you may require one or more of the following documents:
- One or more trusts
- Emergency guardianship proxy
- Declaration of homestead
Because you will not know whether an estate plan has been properly written and executed until you are no longer in a position to explain your intent, it is highly recommended you consider an attorney's help with drafting the documents you need.
Whether you are buying or selling residential real estate, our firm is committed to making the process as smooth as possible for our clients.
- Review real estate broker agreements and/or provide advice on whether you should use a real estate broker.
- Negotiate and prepare the offer to purchase as well as purchase and sale agreement.
- Explain the mortgage process and explain the legalities of the buyer's lender's requirements.
- Help you get a title check on the property and resolve any issues that may potentially arise in the title check.
- Prepare the deed for transfer from the seller to the buyer.
- Assist in scheduling the closing, review of all closing documentation and explanations of what the different paperwork means.
- Attendance and representation at the closing.
- Negotiate and prepare the offer to purchase and purchase and sale agreement to protect buyer interests.
- Work with you to resolve any issues which may arise during the pendency of the purchase.
- Explanation of the mortgage process and how it relates to your ability to legally purchase a home.
- Assistance in scheduling the closing, representation at the closing, and an explanation of the closing documents and their significance.
Converting a building to condominiums is a complex process which will likely require an attorney, an architect, and an engineer or land surveyor. It requires the filing of numerous documents with local zoning boards and may require additional legal steps where compliance with the zoning or housing laws has not been met (something that often happens with older conversions). We are prepared to help you in your condominium conversion and can help in:
- Drafting a Master Deed
- Drafting a Declaration of Trust
- Drafting Condominium Bylaws
- Preparing Unit Deeds and 6D Certificates
- Recording the Master Deed Floor Plans at the Registry of Deeds
- Drafting Rules and Regulations for the Condos
We can also assist you in selling the individual condo units once the conversion is successful.
The eviction process, although generally straightforward, is highly technical in nature. One mistake in paperwork can lead to delays of months and lost money.
The process generally consists of:
- Serve Notice to Quit on Tenant - The Notice to Quit must contain certain statutory language and the tenant must be given notice a specified amountof time prior to commencing court proceedings.
- Serve Subpoena and Complaint upon Tenant - The Subpoena and complaint must be properly completed and served upon the tenant. Any error in completion of the subpoena and complaint may lead to additional delays in the process and even potentially a counter-claim for damages.
- Enter Subpoena and Complaint with court - The subpoena and complaint must then be entered with the court so that it can be placed on the court docket. If there are any problems with the subpoena and complaint or its service, it will not be entered.<
- Court hearing/Mediation - If the tenant does not provide an answer to the complaint, the attorney (or landlord) goes to the housing court on the specified date, at which the tenant generally requests mediation. At this point, the parties often come to an agreement. If no agreement can be reached in mediation, the case gets brought to the judge. If everything has been done properly, the judge generally gives an eviction order at this point, but several defenses can prevent the process from going forward.
The eviction process, as noted, is highly technical, and there are several factors which must be considered that can have consequences on the ability to evict and the length of time it may take to affect an eviction.
