Best Lawyers in Connecticut, United States for Trusts and Estates
Select a city from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
Cities
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...
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.
Ed is partner in the private client and tax team at Withers Bergman LLP. He focuses on domestic and international private client matters. Ed provides legal advice on US and international estate planning, income maximization strategies, FLP and LLC planning, wealth preservation, business succession planning, international tax planning for entities and individuals, trust structures and estate administration. Ed often uses sophisticated domestic and offshore insurance strategies to solve client ...
Lisa F. Metz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Lisa F., who practices law in Southport, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Lisa F. 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...
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...
Douglas H. Olin is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Doug joined Cummings & Lockwood in 1999 and became a Principal in 2001. His practice focuses on estate planning, family business succession planning, and estate and trust administration. Doug speaks frequently on estate and tax planning topics before both lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
Paul L. Bourdeau is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. He joined the Firm in 1980 and was the founder of the West Hartford office. Paul advises clients in the areas of estate planning, tax efficient wealth transfer, estate settlement, trust administration, business succession planning, taxation and charitable giving. In addition, he has extensive experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. His clients include corporate e...
George L. Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. George L., who practices law in Greenwich, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which George L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area. George practices in all areas of estate and trust planning and administration, including advising individuals on th...
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...
B. Cort Delany is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Cort, a Greenwich native, has worked with families from Connecticut and around the country to protect family assets from unnecessary taxes and attacks from third parties. Cort's ultimate goal is to allow successive generations to benefit from family wealth without precluding each family member from maximizing his or her personal potential.
Caroline Demirs Calio is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. She practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, asset protection, estate settlement and trust administration. In addition, Caroline advises closely-held business owners on succession planning issues and various general corporate matters. She also has experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. Prior to joining Cummings & Lockwood, Caroline worked...
Daniel G. Johnson is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office where he has practiced since joining the Firm in 1997. He practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, family business succession planning, estate administration and trust administration. Dan frequently lectures on estate and tax planning topics before both lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
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.
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.