Peotone Estate Planning Lawyers

Masah S. SamForay, has earned national recognition as a force for her clients. Beyond being recognized as a Top 100 Lawyer, Masah SamForay knows the concerns of clients, intimately. She is a divorcee and working mother who understands what it means to fight for her family during a difficult divorce.

Atty. SamForay is a Co-Founder and Past-President of the Black Bar Association of Will County. She is a member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. and served on the 2017-2018 Board and as the Co-Chair of the Small and Solo Firm Committee from 2013-2016. She is a...

Attorney Dion U. Davi has extensive experience in family, real estate and estate planning throughout Illinois. DuPage family law attorney Dion U. Davi is a skilled negotiator who seeks to resolve legal disputes with a favorable settlement whenever possible. When needed, however, he has the skills and experience to effectively and zealously advocate for his clients in court.

Barbara Morton graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication in 1992. Ms. Morton followed her BA with an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Regis University in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1996. Ms. Morton received her law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan in 1998. She has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since May 1999. Her practice emphasis is in Family law issues, Real Estate, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Traffic and Personal Injury. She has represented clients in litigation matters before Federal and State Courts, arbitration and...

I work with senior citizens, their families, and small business owners to get their affairs organized, safeguard their estates, and prepare succession plans. In matters of probate or trust administration, I work with personal representatives to properly manage the administration of the estate and advise them of their legal duties along the way. My experience in these practice areas has been exclusive since I have been private practice. In 2010, I expanded my practice territory to include Lake County, Indiana by obtaining an Indiana law license.

Sarah A. Nolan is a founding partner of Suburban Law Group, LLC with over 10 years of experience. She primarily practices Family Law, including Divorce, Paternity, Child Support, and Parenting Time and handles cases in Cook County and Will County. Ms. Nolan received her Bachelor of Arts degree, Cum Laude, from the Loyola University of Chicago in 2005. In 2009, Ms. Nolan earned her Juris Doctorate from DePaul University - College of Law. She is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois.

Cheri Costa is an attorney serving the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago and Chicagoland since 2005. My goal is to provide you and your family with Legal Advice and Legal Representation that you may need throughout your life. I understand the difficulties life may bring and I wish to be your Personal Attorney there for you at those times, whether it is going through a Divorce, obtaining Child Support, Maintenance (Alimony) or Parenting Time with your Children, helping with debt situations using our Bankruptcy Laws, Preparing your Estate Plan with Trusts and Wills, buying or selling your home, or...

Christopher J. Maurer is a licensed Illinois attorney with over two decades of litigation experience primarily in the areas of divorce and family law, as well as estate planning. He practices in DuPage County, Cook County, Kane County, and the other collar counties. Chris has focused his practice in the area of family law, including divorce issues (contested and uncontested divorces, complex financial and business divorces), and paternity cases, preparation of prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements, custody disputes, establishing visitation schedules, child support calculation and alimony/maintenance determination, grandparent rights, disputes regarding removing children from Illinois, and enforcing court orders. Chris...

I'm a trial attorney with extensive courtroom experience. I also teach college classes as an adjunct professor in areas such as criminal law, criminal procedure, business law, business ethics and corrections.

My primary practice focus is family law and domestic relations litigation. My secondary areas of concentration include estate planning and probate.

* 2018 SuperLawyers Top 2.5% Rising Star
* 2018 National Advocates Top 40 Under 40 Attorneys in Illinois in Matrimonial and Family Law
* 2018 Recognized as one of the "Ten Best" Family Law Attorneys in Illinois by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys (AIOFLA)

Attorney Kelly Karczmar graduated from the University of Chicago with honors in 1994. She graduated from the John Marshall Law School in 2005, where she served in the Fair Housing Legal Clinic. Ms. Karczmar served for six years as a Human Resources Director in a Fortune 100 company. She was responsible for union negotiations, employee relations and legal compliance. Ms. Karczmar is an attorney admitted to practice in the state bar of Illinois, as well as the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She has practiced law since 2005. She is a member of...

I am Thomas Eric Ost. As a former Assistant Public Defender in DuPage County, I handled hundreds of criminal, mental health, and juvenile cases. Those cases ranged from DUIs, Domestic Batteries, and Retail Thefts to Aggravated Batteries and Murder. The police and the prosecutors seem to do their best to dehumanize defendants to everyone including to the defendants themselves. Yet in 23 years of practice, I’ve learned that most people with legal problems are not bad people. They are people who are caught up in a problem a lot bigger than they...

Trisha focuses her private practice on individual and small business transactional and compliance matters. She handles all areas of real estate law, estate planning and probate matters, and business transactions and compliance. She believes in actively listening and communicating with her clients in order to help them accomplish their goals. Before starting her own practice, Trisha worked in both a large law firm and as general counsel for a small business. While working for one of the largest labor and employment law firms in the country, Trisha gained experience counseling employers on benefit law compliance and transactions....

Services We Provide Include: • Probate & Estate Planning: Estate Administration, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills; • Business Formation & Transactional Matters: Creation of Business Entities (i.e. LLC, Corp., Partnerships) & Other Business Agreements including Mergers & Acquisitions; • Income Tax Returns: Planning & Preparation (Individuals, Partnerships, Corp., Trusts, Gift & Estate Tax, Tax-Exempt Org., Payroll & Others); and • Audits & Appeals: Representation in Problematic Tax & Regulatory Matters.

Mazyar M. Hedayat is the principal of M. Hedayat & Associates, PC, a law firm that has represented Clients for nearly 25 years in the areas of business law and litigation, bankruptcy law and litigation, real property transactions and litigation, construction law and mechanics liens, corporate law, and more. After attending the University of Chicago and University of Michigan, Mr. Hedayat received his MBA from the U.M. Ross School of Business, and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. Mr. Hedayat is a title insurance agent and operated a full-service title company for 6 years....

I am the founding attorney and owner of Qazi Law Offices. I received my Juris Doctorate from DePaul University Law School and my Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Chicago.

In law school, I became fascinated and horrified by the prevalence of human trafficking. As an intern and associate at the International Human Rights Institute, I handled cases from hundreds of victims of trafficking who lived in Latin America. As horrible as their experiences were, I realized this was my calling: I could help them regain their voices and I was determined to fight for their liberties.

As an...

Kerry Peck is the past president of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and founder of the Elder Law Committee of the CBA. He is also the managing partner of the Chicago law firm, Peck Ritchey, LLC, whose clients include families, hospitals, banks, the State of Illinois, County of Cook, and City of Chicago. He provides legal representation for trust and guardianship litigation, business planning, and estate planning.

Mr. Peck is well experienced in guiding his clients through the probate process, assisting in the transfer of assets and resolution of claims, and implementing estate plans. He is also very dedicated in...

Lisa A. Copland has significant experience in several areas of the law including domestic relations, civil litigation, probate, breach of contract and real estate law. She represents men and women in divorce cases, which includes division of property, allocation of parental responsibilities, child support and parenting time. Lisa routinely represents buyers and sellers in residential and commercial real estate transactions. Through the firm's full service approach, attorneys also assist clients in estate planning and civil litigation.

Lauren Jackson focuses her practice primarily in the areas of real estate and estate planning, although her background includes probate, contracts, corporate formation and business succession planning. Lauren’s unintimidating, caring approach has garnered her a respectable reputation all over Northern Illinois. With her dedication for efficient cost effective services, you will learn that with Lauren on your side you have a reachable attorney with your best intentions in mind. Lauren prides herself on quality work over quantity and it has proved she is a success based on past customer positive reviews. Lauren eagerly represents...

Katrine R. Fleishman’s (née Lazar) practice is focused in the areas of real estate and estate planning, including trusts, wills, and powers of attorney for health care and property. Katrine helps her clients – whether they are first time homebuyers, experienced investors or anyone in between – navigate the closing process, successfully closing hundreds of real estate transactions. She works with her estate planning clients, tailoring a plan for their future that fits their individual needs.

Katrine has been with Newland and Newland, LLP since 2015. Before joining Newland & Newland, LLP, she was an associate at a Chicagoland firm where...

47 years experience in Immigration and International Law, Complex Bankruptcy and Health law Visiting Professor of International Law DePaul University College of Law Global Faculty International Law, Faculty of Law ,University of Liverpool School of Law U.K. Advanced law degree (LL.M) DePaul University Dissertation supervisor University of Cumbria U.K. Salford University U.K.. Assistant Professor Tulane School of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, New Orleans

Janice, lovingly known by the nickname “Apple” in her family, is a passionate attorney specializing in family law. She was born in Angeles City, Philippines at the location previously known as Clark Air Force Base and relocated to Chicago, Illinois with her family when she was just three years old. Fluent in Tagalog, Janice is particularly interested in serving the legal needs of the Filipino community in Chicago. Janice graduated in 2005 with honors from the University of Chicago and earned her Juris Doctorate from DePaul University in 2012. She has been a practicing attorney in Illinois since...

Benedict Schwarz, II has limited his practice to matrimonial and family law for over 40 years. He is a past director of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and is also a trained divorce mediator; Mr. Schwarz has taught numerous 40-hour divorce mediation training and conflict resolution seminars and has also co-authored chapters on the subject in the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education publications.

In 1992, Mr. Schwarz was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as a Commissioner of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). In 2001, Mr. Schwarz was appointed the Chairperson of the Commission from January...

Charles is a shareholder at The Law Office of Lofgren & Wentworth, P.C. in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he practices business, property, and appellate litigation. After graduating from the SJ Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, he clerked for Chief Justice John Broderick of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He was then a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago before opening his own practice. He recently joined Richard Lofgren to form The Law Office of Lofgren & Wentworth, P.C., The Entrepreneur's Legal Resource. Charles' experience as an officer and director of multiple closely-held companies...

Kiley M. Whitty is a licensed attorney specializing in the areas of family law, child custody, bankruptcy, and creditor negotiations in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will and surrounding collar counties. While in law school at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Kiley earned a certificate in Child and Family Law as well as a certificate in Advocacy which aided in her success as a litigator. As an associate with Anderson & Associates, P.C., Kiley has handled complex custody cases involving issues with legal and residential custody, parenting time, allegations of abuse and neglect, and child removal. Kiley has also handled a...

Sean Robertson is an experienced business law and real estate attorney with more than 14 years of experience. He graduated from DePaul University College of Law and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he gained a strong background in taxation law during his time in law school. Sean Robertson's legal experience has been varied and has involved issues surrounding business litigation, wealth management, estate planning, divorce, and family law.

During the last recession, Sean worked to litigate a wide variety of cases involving loan disputes, business interests, creditor/debtor contracts, and post-judgment law. This background gives him the understanding needed to...

Ms. Sexauer focuses her practice on probate matters, including: elder law, guardianship, estate planning, wills, trusts, and will contests. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Stephanie speaks Spanish fluently and is regularly selected by Cook County judges to serve as a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem for disabled adults. Stephanie also serves on the Judicial Evaluation Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

Cherissa "Reese" Loire Krajniak obtained her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Marquette University before going on to attend Florida Coastal Law School. She graduated with honors in 209 and was active with the school's Pro Bono Clinic, donating more than 200 hours of legal work to underserved members of the community. While taking a full course load and giving her time to the clinic, Reese was still able to complete her Juris Doctorate program in just over two years. She passed the bar exam in 2010 and opened her own practice in downtown Chicago. After medical issues sidetracked her career for...

I have been practicing law since 2001. I graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law in May of 2001 and from DePaul University in June of 1996. My main area of concentration is family law, i.e., divorce, paternity, child support, allocation of parental responsibilities (formerly known as custody) and adoption. As a family law attorney, I understand that my clients have to make difficult decisions while dealing with complex issues and emotions. As such, I believe that the key to successful representation depends not only in understanding the underlying issues, but, also in experience and expertise in the law...

Since 1996, Illinois elder law attorney Carol A. Nolan, has been providing valuable legal advice for seniors and their families. As a skilled Wheaton estate attorney, Ms. Nolan is devoted to the rights and legal options of elderly and disabled people in DuPage County and Chicago's western suburbs. Her Lisle law office handles a wide range of financial, health care, and estate planning matters, including Medicaid applications and planning, disability planning, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), guardianships, wills, trusts, and probate administration.

Carol A. Nolan has been a frequent speaker on Elder Law, Medicaid issues, estate planning, probate and trust administration,...

With almost 20 years of legal experience, Tim O'Brien brings a mature eye to estate planning. As the father of young kids, he also understands and appreciates the needs of families with school-age children. In his work with O'Brien Estate Law, LLC, Tim works to make sure his clients don't get cookie cutter estate plans. He takes the time to understand each person's or family's wishes and builds the plan around their specific circumstances. Tim also firmly believes that an estate plan is not just something you do and put on a shelf. Each plan needs to be reviewed as...

Nick Nelson was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2008. Since then he has focused on serving his clients and offering practical legal advice that accomplishes the goals of his clients and serves their best interest. Nick's personality, knowledge, and skills have proven beneficial for clients in legal disputes ranging from divorce, civil litigation, business guidance, and negotiations. Nick has won numerous awards and recognition from the legal community, including AVVO Excellent Rating, AVVO Featured Attorney Divorce, AVVO Top Contributor, AVVO Clients' Choice, American Institute of Family Law Attorneys 10 Best for Client Satisfaction, The National Advocates Top 40 Under...

Attorney Justin J. Karubas has been a Principal at Rolewick & Gutzke since April of 2006. He obtained his law degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and was admitted to practice law by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1998. Attorney Karubas is a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign from where he has a B.A. degree in Economics, Finance. Before joining Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C., as an Associate Attorney in 1998, he was a legal clerk both at Illinois Masonic Medical center in 1997 and McKeown, Fitzgerald, Zoller, Buck, Hutchinson, & Ruttle in 1996....

Philip M. Fornaro is the managing attorney at Fornaro Law. Adopting a “never give up” attitude, Philip has become known for his ability to succeed where others fail for the last 20 years. His decision to diversify his practice in 2004 has resulted in the creation of a full service law firm which provides quality representation in a variety of legal areas. Philip follows the rule that positive energy will yield positive results. This energy is the driving force behind the success of Fornaro Law. He has become adept at creating a network and team between clients,...

Practice concentrated in the defense of tort, civil rights, and commercial claims, and in the prosecution and handling of appellate matters. Matters handled include negligence, municipal liability, Structural Work Act, premises liability, Civil Rights Act, Human Rights Act, product liability, Dram Shop Act, aviation, breach of contract, employment matters, gas explosion, patent infringement, and warehouseman's liability actions. Participated in all aspects of pretrial work, discovery, and trial preparation. Handled cases in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and other federal courts throughout the country; in the Circuit Courts of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage,...