Best Lawyers Near You in Fairfield, Connecticut for Trusts and Estates
Daniel P. Fitzgerald is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and Principal-in-Charge of the Greenwich office. His practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration, taxation, partnerships, probate litigation and defending tax audits. Dan's extensive estate administration experience allows him to develop estate plans that address issues and concerns before they become problematic. He has worked with a broad range of finance, accounting, hedge fund and private...
Ann L. Fowler-Cruz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Elder Law and Trusts and Estates. Ann L., who practices law in Danbury, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ann L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
David W. Thal is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. David W., who practices law in Stamford, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Luke T. Tashjian is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law, Litigation and Controversy - Tax, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Luke T., who practices law in Westport, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Luke T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
James B. Stewart practices in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration. While Jim is primarily engaged in various aspects of trusts and estates law, he also handles real estate transactions associated with the settlement of trusts and estates and oversees the firm’s activities with regard to the preparation of personal and fiduciary income tax returns. He also has lectured before the Connecticut Society for Certified Public Accountants on Connecticut estate settl...
JAMES D. FUNNELL, JR. is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. His practice is limited to trusts and estates planning, special needs planning for family members with disabilities, and trusts and estates administration. Mr. Funnell is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. Mr. Funnell is admitted to practice in Connecticut and has practiced in Fairfield County for over thirty years. He is also admitted to practice in Texas. Prior to joinin...
Lou is a partner in the private client and tax team at Withers Bergman LLP. He concentrates his practice on estate planning and administration, income tax planning and commercial transactions with a particular emphasis on planning for closely held businesses. His work for clients focuses on a variety of matters, that touch on creating wealth and business succession structures to general legal business advice and spans a wide range of industries including real estate, manufacturing, and profes...
Alyssa V. Sherriff is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Alyssa V., who practices law in Southport, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Alyssa V. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
David Lehn is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. David, who practices law in Greenwich, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Richard Di Marco is a principal in Cohen and Wolf’s Tax, Trusts and Estates, and Business & Corporate Groups. He has thirty years' experience advising clients in tax matters, estate planning and administration, and business law; and representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Di Marco practiced as a CPA prior to entering the practice of law. His clients include closely held corporations, partnerships, funds, tax-exempt organizations, and high net worth individual...
Howard S. Tuthill III (Terry) is a Principal with Cummings & Lockwood in its Stamford office and a member of the Firm's Private Clients Group. Terry joined Cummings & Lockwood in 1993 after practicing for 14 years with the New York law firm of Kelley, Drye and Warren and seven years with the Connecticut law firm of Cross, Brodrick & Chipman.
HEATHER J. LANGE is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and is a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates and Dispute Resolution Groups. Ms. Lange practices in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, estate settlement, and probate, trust and fiduciary litigation. She represents high net worth individuals and family groups with the preparation of sophisticated wills, revocable trusts, private foundations and charitable trusts and when necessary, litigates probate proce...
DAVID R. HERMENZE is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. Mr. Hermenze practices in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration. Mr. Hermenze is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and has practiced in Fairfield County since 1986. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Hermenze was a partner and co-founder of the former law firm of Hermenze & Marcantonio LLC in Westport, Conne...
Rachel B.G. Sherman is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. She joined the Firm in 1999. Rachel works with high net worth individuals and families to address their estate planning needs, including the preparation of wills and trusts, tax planning, multi-generational planning, planning for retirement benefits and real estate holdings, gifting and preparation of gift tax returns. Rachel also focuses her practice on estate admi...
Mark W. Dost is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Elder Law and Trusts and Estates. Mark W., who practices law in Southbury, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2001. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jessie A. Gilbert is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Jessie advises high net worth individuals on estate and tax issues, helping them with succession, generation-skipping and asset protection planning. She also represents executors and trustees with respect to probate, estate and trust administration matters, as well as with estate and fiduciary income taxes. Jessie is a frequent writer and lecturer on estate planning and ad...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.