Pope County Probate Lawyers

Brian J. Banahan has been practicing law in DuPage, Kane and Cook County Illinois for over 20 years. He began his legal career and learned his way around the courtroom in 1997 as a full time 711 prosecutor with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. From there, Mr. Banahan moved to serve as chief legal counsel and Deputy Public Administrator for DuPage County for 17 years. In that job, Mr. Banahan managed, administered, litigated, settled, and closed hundreds of decedent’s estates and an extensive number of related legal matters in nearly every area of the law. In the process, he...

In estate planning: We all need an estate plan, yet we all need something different. Tracy's goal is to provide clients with a plan that addresses the unique needs of the individual and family. Tracy’s practice is focused on estate planning such as drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney for healthcare or property, and counseling clients on the administration of estates. Tracy guides individuals to plan for the future giving them the comfort of knowing they have clearly disseminated their wishes to family.

Attorney Kezy is a compassionate attorney who understands the emotions involved in divorce and family law matters. Mark L. Kezy, who is no stranger to the courtroom focuses on providing straight forward, common senses solutions as an alternative to expensive, protracted litigation, while promising aggressive, uncompromising representation in Court when compromise is no longer an option.

For over 26 years, Margaret Szymansky has provided experienced representation to clients through Probate and Trust Administration proceedings. She assists clients in effective resolution of existing claims and transfer of assets. Margaret guides executors, trustees and personal representatives of the estate and assists them in the successful closure of the estate. She further concentrates her practice in the area of Estate Planning such as: Wills and Trusts including Special Needs Planning for disabled individuals and guardianship proceedings, Elder Law with a focus on Medicaid issues, and Real Estate law. For her dedication, leadership, and excellence in legal service, she has...

John Pankau graduated from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, and Chicago Kent College of Law with High Honors. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois and owns The Law Office of John Pankau, P.C. in Itasca, Illinois. Prior to and while attending law school, John and his wife Carole owned and operated a family business in Bloomingdale. John is an active member of his community, presenting educational seminars at local libraries and banks. Today, his practice concentrates in the areas of real estate, estate planning and administration, probate, and local government law.

Mr. White has practiced law for thirty years. He graduated from Indiana University in 1986 and received his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 1989. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar, and admitted to practice in the Federal Court in the Northern District of Illinois, in 1989. While attending law school, he was a law clerk with the law firm of Carey, Filter, White & Boland. He became an associate of that firm upon graduating, and in 1996 became a partner.

Mr. White served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Summit Homes beginning...

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)

John Lara handles a wide-range of legal matters including civil litigation, real estate, estate administration, and bankruptcy.

As a civil litigator John zealously advocates for our clients. He engages in complex litigation including, contract disputes, forcible entry and detainer actions, foreclosure defense, collection matters, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suits, administrative hearings and various tort proceedings.

John facilities commercial and residential real estate transactions while aggressively negotiating favorable terms and conditions for our clients.

John is an integral part of Fornaro Law and embodies the firm’s “never give up” attitude. John graduated from Benedictine University and then earned his Juris Doctor from the John...

Michael J. Swanson is an experienced courtroom attorney who knows how to navigate the court system to aggressively represent his clients and maximize favorable outcomes. Prior to joining the law firm of Swanson & Sackett P.C., Michael served as the Managing Attorney in the Madison County State's Attorney's Office child support division. In this role, he handled thousands of cases each year and gained extensive courtroom experience. Michael earned his Juris Doctorate at Saint Louis University and his bachelor's degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), which he attended following his six-year enlistment with the U.S. Air Force....

Fred is a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel, an honor bestowed upon very few attorneys. He focuses in the areas of estate and tax planning, trust, estate and probate administration, and business structuring and counseling. Fred enjoys helping people accomplish their personal goals. He has an extensive background assisting clients in the transfer of small businesses and farms during their lifetime or at death while minimizing taxes and expenses. Many of his estate plans are sophisticated and involve using wills, trusts, limited liability companies, family limited partnerships and other closely held entities. He has...

Attorney Robert (Bob) Canfield was born and raised in Rockford, IL. He graduated from Guilford High School in 1965. After joining the Army in February of 1968, he went on to Army flight school and graduated 2nd in his flight class. He spent a year in Vietnam flying CH-47 Chinook helicopters for the 101st Airborne Division and then returned to Fort Rucker, Alabama, as an Instrument Flight Instructor.

Following active Duty, he attended the University of Minnesota where he received his BA in psychology in 1976 and his Law degree in 1978. After taking and passing both the...

Marcia worked with the Federal Communications Commission as an attorney in the Mass Media Bureau and as Branch Manager in the Common Carrier Bureau from 1982 through 1987, and at MCI Telecommunications as a senior attorney from 1987 through 1994. Thereafter, she worked as a consultant until joining Kaplan & Greenswag LLC in January 2007.

Marcia is admitted to practice in Illinois and the District of Columbia and is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Marcia also serves on the Northbrook Plan Commission.

Along with his years of experience, Lake County divorce attorney Van A. Schwab has a solid educational basis for his divorce and family law practice. After receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, he received his law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law. Because of recent, up-to-date training, Mr. Schwab is a certified divorce mediator, and is prepared to handle family law issues through collaborative law methods. He has published an article on cohabitation in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Licensed to practice family law in the states of Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey, he...

Brian is proud to continue the tradition of personal services performed by Brainard Law Offices LLC, the oldest law firm in Charleston. We have the advantage of years of experience, both from debtor, creditor, and trustee perspectives, which enables our firm to provide superior bankruptcy services for our clients. We believe each client deserves individual attention.

Carin Brio started her practice at one of the largest real estate law firms in the State of Massachusetts as one of a handful of associates who represented clients in over 200 real estate cases every month. Since then, she has added estate planning, probate, family law, and other areas of law to her practice and helped hundreds of clients with the legal matters that are important to them. Now based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, Carin and her staff work diligently on their cases - whether it is a contested divorce case, setting up a trust for your family, or...

Lisa Knauf is an attorney that combines her legal expertise with real world experience. She had a successful sales career before going back to school to attend Northern Illinois Univ. College of Law for her law degree, She is licensed to practice law in Illinois and is the owner of Knauf Law Office PC in Addison Illinois, which merged with Pankau Law in January 2020. The Knauf Law practice concentrates in the areas of estate planning, including wills, living trusts, and powers of attorney, probate administration, real estate and elder law. Lisa is an active member of her community, having served...

Brent Glenn graduated from The University of Chicago Law School in 2000. He began his career at top law firms in Chicago and Washington, D.C. including Winston & Strawn and Sheppard Mullin. At that time, he concentrated his legal career on commercial real estate matters including real estate finance of both borrowers and lenders, commercial real estate sales, purchases and leases. In addition, he provided real estate support in corporate transactions valued at more than a billion dollars.

In 2017, Brent opened his own practice in Barrington, Illinois. In addition to commercial real estate, his practice now includes a...

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...

Barbara has been practicing law in the St. Louis Metro East area for over 27 years, concentrating in the areas of family law, real estate law, criminal defense and general civil practice.

She completed both her undergraduate degree and Juris Doctorate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. During law school, she clerked on the Court of Appeals in Eastern Missouri and worked at a personal injury law firm.

After graduating, she worked at the Law Firm of Lucco, Brown, and Mudge in Edwardsville, Illinois. Additionally, Barbara was the lead attorney in the Domestic Violence/Child Support Enforcement Unit of the Madison County...

Andrewe W. Johnson was born in 1970, in Canton, Illinois. Andrewe graduated from Lewistown Community High School in Lewistown, Illinois. He attended Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, from 1988 to 1990, before transferring to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Rhetoric. Andrewe attended law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving his Juris Doctor degree with Honors in 1995. During law school, Andrewe served on the staff of the North Carolina Law Review and worked with the University of...

Perry Smith received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Education from Loyola University of Chicago in 1977 and a Juris Doctor degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, in 1985. He is also a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer.

He began working for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office in late 1985. During his time in that office he worked in the Traffic, Misdemeanor, and Felony Review Divisions before spending more than three years in the Felony Trial Division. He left that office at Labor Day 1990 and began his association with Bernard Wysocki....

As a an attorney with over 20 years of expereince, I can provide quality legal services in a cost effective manner in the areas of Probate, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Health Care and business matters. Every matter is unique and I take the time to find solutions that work for each client's situation and goals.

Ben Schneider is a client focused which means that it is important to him to cultivate a personal relationship with each of his clients. By doing this, he is able to give each new client’s case individual attention and analyze every legal issue thoroughly and completely.

Ben Schneider acts as the one of the principal bankruptcy attorneys for Schneider & Stone where he focuses on individual Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings as well as business Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 filings. Ben also practices in the areas of family law and litigation and is the point attorney for divorce and...

Attorney who helps bring peace and comfort to his clients by providing the individuals and businesses with solutions to help protect their interests and pursue their dreams and aspirations.

At Gilmartin Legal, our mission is to provide the best legal results at the most reasonable cost, and to effectively communicate with clients through every stage of their representation.

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Gilmartin Legal is committed to giving each client complete attention. To us, there is no such thing as a small issue. We treat each and every case with care and individualized attention. Every client is important, and we make sure to treat each and every case with respect and thoroughness. When you bring your legal matter to Gilmartin Legal, you can feel confident...

Chris graduated from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, in 2012 with a Bachelors of Science in Education degree in Sports Management and minors in Business and Political Science.
Chris graduated from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law in May of 2016 and sat for the Bar Examination in July of 2016. Chris was admitted to the Illinois Bar in November of 2016. During law school, Chris held several internships: one with a Civil Litigation firm in Glenview; another with the City of Naperville, where he had his 7-11 License and assisted the City Prosecutor in Traffic Court and DUI Court; and...

Stella Day is a seasoned litigation attorney with a focus on probate and guardianship matters. She brings her wealth of experience to Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg, LLC, following a successful tenure at the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. With over 16 years in the field, Stella has adeptly handled a variety of complex felony and misdemeanor cases, including DUI, Aggravated Battery, Sexual Assault, and Murder. Her track record includes successful litigation in numerous jury trials and evidentiary hearings across different courtrooms. Stella has also extensively dealt with cases involving mental health and competency issues. As a guest speaker on trial...

Anthony R. Scifo is a duly licensed attorney in the State of Illinois, admitted in November 2007. He is experienced in the practice of civil litigation, particularly family law litigation and probate litigation. Anthony is an experienced and Court approved Guardian ad Litem for the Family Law Divisions of Kane County, DuPage County, Kendall County, and DeKalb County. Further, he is a Court approved Guardian ad Litem for the Adoption Division and the Probate Division in Kane County, Illinois. Anthony is also an experienced and Court-Approved Family Law Mediator in DuPage County, DeKalb County, and Kendall County. In November...

Stan R. Weller is a practicing attorney in the Southern Illinois/Metro East St. Louis area. He established the Weller Law Firm in 2006 after a number of years in private firms, as well as a period with the Illinois Attorney General’s office working in the Sexually Violent Persons Unit. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1992 and his Juris Doctorate degree from the Southern Illinois University of Carbondale in 1998. He is a certified mediator, arbitrator, and former guardian ad litem, but concentrates his practice in the areas of family law and...

William R. Pokorny represents management in a wide range of labor and employment matters. He concentrates his practice on litigation and counseling in areas including discrimination, disabilities, ERISA and employee benefits, employment contracts, covenants not to compete, wrongful discharge, wage and hour law, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and labor relations. He represents employers before state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Mr. Pokorny has experience with a wide variety of clients, including manufacturers, utilities, hospitals and healthcare providers, insurance companies, financial services...

Gregg focuses his practice in the areas of probate administration and litigation, estate planning, elder law, and real estate. In addition, Gregg is a guardian ad litem appointed by the Circuit Court of Cook County, not only in the probate area, but other divisions including domestic relations division and law division.

Gregg is an active member of the legal community, where he is serving or has served in several leadership roles within the Illinois Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Gregg is a past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Probate Practice Committee, where he served two years as Chair....

Liz Nohren has been practicing law for over 20 years. Her first 5 years were spent at a commercial litigation firm in Chicago, where she thrived and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of a city practice. However, Liz felt a pull to return home to the family firm in Shelbyville and join her father in practice. She remained lead counsel on a couple trials, including a construction litigation jury trial, and completed that work by commuting to Chicago for approximately 8 months after her move at the firm's request. Since moving home to Shelby County, Liz...

I am a personable and caring attorney who aims to serve those in need.

My office is located in Coles County, but happy and able to serve those as far north as Champaign-Urbana, or as far south as Effingham.

Nicole M. Soltanzadeh is a principal at The Law Office of Nicole M. Soltanzadeh, where she advises clients in estate planning, estate and trust administration, and real estate negotiations. She works with clients of large, medium, and small estates, providing each client with high-quality and practical representation.

Early in her career, Nicole earned substantial experience as a litigator, advocating for her clients routinely in state and federal court, and at the trial and appellate levels. She has skillfully brought hundreds of cases to closure through mediations, settlement conferences, and trials.

Nicole graduated with honors from The George Washington...

I founded Corporate & Estate Legal Services, Ltd. to focus on business contracts, commercial litigation, estate planning and probate cases. I have decades of experience handling civil litigation and commercial contracts. I represent both plaintiffs and defendants. I have a broad spectrum approach to B2B litigation. I can negotiate deals, document agreements, litigate, pursue post judgment collection, and prosecute or defend judgments on appeal. I was a scholastic debater in high school and college. I am very comfortable with contract litigation, declaratory judgments, decedent's estates, and business torts. My experience affords me the luxury of handling all phases...