Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates
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For more than 40 years, Harlan Dodson has been helping people and businesses solve problems and plan for the future. Clients seeking general business advice, estate planning services, or problem solving and advice generally count on his vast experience and track record of getting the job done. Dodson provides hands-on guidance for his clients, whether working with them to launch a business, structure a complex real estate deal, or draft a will. He learned this dedication from his attorney fat...
Mr. Wohlfarth concentrates his practice on estate planning and the drafting of wills and trusts, specifically addressing issues related to federal and state estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes as well as asset protection. He has had extensive experience with various estate planning tools, such as wills and revocable trusts which utilize the federal estate tax exemption amount, irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), "Crummey" trusts, qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), Ten...
Jill Dodd chairs the firm’s estate planning and personal representation practice, focusing on gift, estate and philanthropic planning for very-high-net-worth individuals and families. Jill counsels very-high-net-worth individuals in all aspects of gift, estate and philanthropic planning. She has extensive experience designing and implementing a variety of sophisticated structures, including family limited partnerships, grantor retained annuity trusts, insurance trusts, complex grantor t...
Eric J. Larson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Nonprofit / Charities Law, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Eric J., who practices law in Wichita, Kansas, has been recognized since 1995. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Eric J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Doug focuses his practice on estate planning through the use of trusts, family business entities, and life insurance. His experience includes charitable planning, asset protection planning, and planning to mitigate transfer tax and income tax. He is an expert in charitable planning, asset protection planning, and planning for mitigation of transfer tax and income tax.Doug is a frequent speaker as various estate planning organizations and associations including: Austin Financial Planners Assoc...
Chang H. Chae is a member of the firm, practicing in the areas of estate planning, trust administration and probate, entity formation and tax and charitable planning. Mr. Chae is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization) and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is a former Co-chair of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Beverly Hil...
Jerome Elwell is a litigator with extensive experience in complex civil and commercial litigation, including plaintiff’s personal injury and trust and estate litigation. The Best Lawyers ® and Super Lawyers honoree devotes a significant portion of his practice to probate and estate litigation, including contested guardianship and conservatorship matters, will and trust contests, disputed estate administrations and elder abuse violations. He received his B.S. in general business and ...
John Golden is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. John, who practices law in Redwood Shores, California, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Lauretta K. Murphy is a Member of the firm and has been practicing law since 1988. Her practice areas include elder law and disability planning, and probate and estate planning. She knows how to explain things in plain English and puts people at ease even in complex estate planning or elder law situations. She recently edited Advising the Older Client or Client with A Disability for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Wills and Trusts Trust and Estate administration Estate and gift ...
Jay Eisenberg provides his clients with much more than sound trust and estate planning services. His 30+ years of advising clients have given him a great understanding of family dynamics, enabling him to offer a personalized, unique assessment based upon each family’s specific needs. Jay is able to anticipate potential issues and friction points among heirs and identify solutions before problems arise. Applying his vast experience to ever-changing tax and retirement laws, he collaborati...
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.