Best Lawyers Near You in Chicago, Illinois for Trusts and Estates
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Contact UsJason S. Ornduff advises high net worth families, business owners, executives, professionals and celebrities on state and federal laws regarding wealth transfer to the next generation, including estate planning, estate and trust administration, and estate and gift tax issues. Jason also counsels closely-held companies on various legal issues, especially in the areas of succession planning. Jason is a past president of the Greater North Shore Estate and Financial Planning Council. He is also a...
Richard M. Horwood has devoted his practice to business and financial planning, including business law, taxation and estate planning. His extensive experience has allowed him to develop the resources that make him an acknowledged authority in these areas. He advises business owners, non-profit organizations, donors and collectors on a variety of complex planning issues. He advises art collectors regarding key issues such as authentication/provenance, collection management, tax matters, dispos...
Partner Nancy M. Spain, a founder of the firm, Spain, Spain & Varnet P.C., which joined Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP in 2022, focuses her career in general and probate-related law. She began her legal career in Cleveland, prior to relocating to Chicago in 1981 where she first worked in the trust department of the former Lake Shore Bank, prior to practicing law at Spain, Spain & Varnet P.C. Throughout her career, Nancy has been actively involved in drafting legislation and working with ...
Elise J. McGee advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on all aspects of wealth-transfer planning, including estate and trust administration, leveraged wealth-transfer techniques, tax matters, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, real estate transactions and closely held business matters. Elise has extensive experience working with owners of closely held businesses to develop governance and succession plans, and on corporate, tax and compliance matters relating to those businesses...
As an advisor and counselor to entrepreneurs, closely held businesses, and wealthy families and their family offices, Steve Gustafson draws upon multiple disciplines to provide integrated tax, business and financial advice. Steve’s practice has a substantial emphasis in the areas of tax and financial transactions, including structuring corporate, joint venture, commercial and real estate transactions, as well as assisting family businesses with tax and financial planning matters. He als...
Jordan Klein’s broad-based trust and estate practice encompasses all aspects of estate planning, trust and estate administration and settlement, wealth transfer, philanthropy and fiduciary counseling services. His clients include corporate executives, families with dynastic wealth, privately held business owners, professionals, fund managers, family offices and private foundations. Jordan has significant experience designing creative solutions to achieve his clients’ estate planni...
Nicole K. Mann focuses her practice on all aspects of tax and estate planning, estate and trust administration and family business planning. She also has considerable experience in estate, trust and tax litigation involving disputes between and among family members, fiduciaries and beneficiaries. Nicole is a co-chair of the Firm’s Trust & Estate Controversy group. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/mann-nicole-k/
Jesse A. Footlik is a Partner with Peck Ritchey, LLC. In addition to representing individuals and families as heirs and beneficiaries, Jesse represents corporate and individual fiduciaries, including financial institutions and healthcare providers. Further, Jesse regularly advises clients involved in various Power of Attorney (POA) disputes, breach of fiduciary duty cases, contested heirships, wrongful death dependency hearings, and will and trust construction or interpretation matters. For o...
Jim Hitzeman focuses his practice on estate and trust litigation, representing a wide range of clients, including corporate fiduciaries and charities. He has handled will and trust contests, construction actions, trust reformations, citations, actions involving contracts to make a will, accounting actions, and charitable cy pres and equitable deviation matters, in addition to a host of cases involving breach of fiduciary duty. Mr. Hitzeman has extensive experience dealing with family settleme...
David A. Baker serves as head of the Firm's Estate, Trust and Guardianship Controversy Practice Group. He advises clients in the areas of estate, trust and guardianship litigation; probate, estate, trust and guardianship administration; and charitable foundation and exempt organization administration and litigation. He also practices estate planning. Please visit our website for more on David's biography: https://www.mwe.com/en/team/b/baker-david-a
Adam Damerow is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Adam, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Adam is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Patrick D. Owens is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Patrick D., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Patrick D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Timothy J. Ritchey is a partner at Peck Ritchey, LLC who concentrates his practice in estate and trust litigation , elder law , and guardianship . Tim has been appointed Special Assistant Attorney General in numerous matters to represent the State’s interests in actions relating to Illinois healthcare and disability law. In 2014, Tim wrote legislation and testified as an expert before the Illinois Senate on an amendment to the Illinois Probate Act regarding elder abuse and financial exp...
Larry is chair of the firm’s Private Wealth Services practice group. He facilitates successful legal strategies for entrepreneurs, tax-exempt organizations, fiduciaries and high-net worth families and individuals. This work involves estate, gift and charitable planning issues, including business succession, tax-efficient ownership structures, sophisticated tax-exempt structures, trust and estate administration, executive benefits, life insurance and international estate planning for wea...
Domingo Such is a partner in the firm's Personal Planning practice. He focuses his practice on financial, estate and tax planning matters as they relate to ownership in various forms. This area of focus provides him with particularly broad legal perspectives in counseling family-owned and/or privately held businesses, as well as the family members and owners involved in these businesses. He represents wealthy families and individuals concerning significant and complex estates and trusts, advi...
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.