Best Lawyers Near You in Chicago, Illinois for Trusts and Estates
James H. Cundiff advises clients on family wealth and business planning, federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning, and estate and trust administration. James represents entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and other business leaders and wealthy individuals on estate and tax planning matters. Counseling closely held businesses and family members, James is actively engaged in the structuring of family businesses as well as business control and succession planning, multi-generat...
L. Timothy Halleron focuses his practice on high-net-worth tax and estate planning matters. Tim advises individuals and family offices in planning for the preservation and transfer of wealth within families without the imposition of gift, estate or generation-skipping transfer tax. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/halleron-l-timothy/
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...
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...
Susan is a partner in the Private Wealth Services practice group. Susan focuses her practice on sophisticated estate planning for business owners, wealthy individuals and entrepreneurs. She helps her clients transfer wealth to younger generations to achieve tax efficiencies as well as protection for beneficiaries and counsels her clients in connection with complex intrafamily issues that wealthy families often face. In addition to helping clients structure their estate plans, Susan advises cl...
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.
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...
Jeanette Suarez Hunter advises high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners and family offices on a wide range of tax, wealth-transfer, succession planning and charitable-giving matters. Jeanette takes a holistic approach to helping her clients implement and manage comprehensive estate plans and business succession plans that meet their immediate and long-term goals. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/hunter-jeanette-suarez/
Described by clients as a "phenomenal practitioner and extremely bright," Michael Hartz advises on business succession planning, tax-efficient wealth transfer into trusts for future generations and strategies for fulfilling philanthropic goals. Michael is ranked among the leading lawyers for private wealth law in Chambers High Net Worth, where his practical, effective solutions to complex problems have led to consistent recognition. With 40 years of experience in trust and estate planning and...
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/
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...
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 ...
David A. Handler is a partner in the Trusts and Estates Practice Group of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He concentrates his practice on trust and estate planning and administration, representing owners of closely-held businesses, family offices, principals of private equity and venture capital funds, individuals and families of significant wealth, and establishing and administering private foundations and other charitable organizations. David is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estat...
Eric builds sophisticated estate planning strategies for families and individuals, including business owners and executives. He also counsels clients on the legal and business implications of major life events, including premarital planning, relocating to a new jurisdiction, appointing short-term guardians for vacationing relatives and loved ones and designating agents for health care decisions. Eric represents clients spanning numerous industries and backgrounds, including traders, doctors, ...
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...
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
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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.
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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.