Best Lawyers Near You in Chicago, Illinois for Trusts and Estates
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...
Andy Gelman is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. He concentrates his practice in estate planning and estate and trust administration and controversies and is the immediate past chair of the firm's Illinois Private Wealth Services Practice Group. He counsels individuals, executives and business owners on the use of wills and insurance and inter vivos or living trusts and powers of attorney for property and health care in their estate planning. Often his advice is in the are...
Carol A. Harrington advises clients on a variety of matters, including estate, gift and generation-skipping tax issues, closely held businesses and succession planning, family office structures and issues, private trust companies, private foundations, trust and estate administration, and contested trust and tax matters. Carol is the former global head of McDermott’s Private Client Practice. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/harrington-carol-a/
Bobbi J. Bierhals has built her practice by developing creative and customized solutions for her clients. Her experience centers on tax and business planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. Her clients range from executives and first-generation entrepreneurs to multi-generational families, with net worth from $40 million to many billions of dollars, and include a number of individuals listed in the Forbes 400. Bobbi’s breadth of experience across a wide range of client prof...
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/
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...
Charles Harris helps high-net-worth individuals and owners of closely held businesses on matters related to tax and estate planning. Charles is recognized as a leading lawyer on tax and estate planning by the Chambers High Net Worth guide, which cited his "expertise in handling planning for US citizens with foreign interests, including US citizens who live elsewhere, or who are marrying a non-US citizen. As a certified public accountant as well as a private practicing attorney, Charles helps ...
Shannon Bauer Miloch is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law and Trusts and Estates. Shannon Bauer, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Shannon Bauer is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Gina is a member of the firm’s Private Wealth Services practice group. She focuses her practice on estate planning for high net worth clients, trust administration, and charitable planning. She has experience drafting estate plans, forming and advising various types of business entities and representing clients in trust and estate-related controversies. Gina has successfully represented a trust fiduciary and assisted with preparing a client for a significant audit of a Federal Estate Ta...
Brittany Rygiel is an associate attorney at Peck Ritchey, LLC . In addition to representing individuals and families, Brittany represents financial institutions, medical institutions, and various fiduciaries. Brittany graduated with her Juris Doctor from University of Illinois at Chicago School of Law where she was on the Dean’s List each of her three years. Brittany was involved in several organizations in law school, including the Trial Advocacy Program, the Justinian Society, Health ...
Louis A. Laski is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Louis A., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Louis A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Chris assists families, entrepreneurs, family offices, and financial institutions with planning for and navigating generational transfers of wealth, businesses, and real property. Chris works with clients to arrange for their desired transfer of assets; limit their liability; and minimize the impact of estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. A former litigator, Chris is experienced in identifying potential sources of tension among family members and is well-versed in developing ...
Caitlyn Bunker is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Caitlyn, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Caitlyn 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.