Winnebago County Probate Lawyers

Since entering private practice, Attorney Smith has maintained a general practice with a concentration in family law. He has been a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and Winnebago County Bar Association for over forty years each. Attorney Smith is currently a member of the family law section of each of these associations. He is currently on an advisory panel for the American Bar Association. He has been a presenter to other attorneys locally on family law and child related topics.

For over forty years Attorney Michael J. Smith has provided experienced family law representation. Family law...

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...

Attorney Faye M. Lyon P.C., divorce attorney Rockford IL. Faye was born in and has been a life-long resident of Rockford Illinois. She has been practicing law since 1987, focusing and specializing in the area of family law, which not only encompasses dissolution of marriage or divorce work, custody and child support, but also includes wills, trusts, estates, juvenile, paternity, guardianships, collection matters and real estate. Attorney Lyon is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Winnebago County Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association, having served as President from 1991-1993. As a member of the Winnebago...

My legal practice is primarily focused on Personal Injury, Estate Planning, and Probate Law. With a wealth of experience spanning over thirty-five years in each of these areas, I have consistently taken on a leading role in litigation, mediation, and settlement negotiations. In my capacity as the lead attorney, I diligently prepared for and handled 10-15 trials annually. This involved a range of tasks, including interviewing witnesses, managing interrogatories, responding to requests for production and admissions, conducting and defending depositions, crafting interlocutory motions, and preparing and presenting requested instructions in jury cases. Together with my two partners, we successfully expanded our law...

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...

Kevin G. Drendel Cornell College, cum laude, and a 1991 graduate of Northern Illinois University College of Law, magna cum laude. While at Northern Illinois University, he was a member of the Law Review, and published an article in the University’s scholarly (NIU Law Review 73, 1990). He also received the West Publishing Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. He is admitted to practice in front of all Illinois State Courts and the U.S. District Court, the Northern District of Illinois. Kevin is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Kane County Bar Association: Director (1999-2000), ...

Christine’s focus as an attorney is on helping her clients through the most difficult situations life offers. Whether her clients are facing criminal charges, the end of a marriage, issues related to children, or end of life concerns, Christine’s passion for helping them through these issues is evident through her honesty, patience, and ability to make even the most complex legal issues make sense to her clients. Christine attended the Northern Illinois University College of Law, where she graduated cum laude with Juris Doctorate degree. During her tenure at NIU College of Law, she earned a Certificate in Criminal Practice. She...

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...

Aaron J. Lytle is one of the firm's suburban Chicago attorneys who practices in several key areas: estate planning and wealth protection, wills and trusts, probate administration, trust administration, business planning, taxation, real estate and special needs planning for children with disabilities. Mr. Lytle has spent several years working in the business sector on corporate issues relating to succession planning, valuation, acquisitions and generating capital. Before joining AHR, he worked for companies such as American Express and Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase).

Mr. Lytle also previously served on the Board of Trustees for DayOne Reliance, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that...

Owner and Principal Attorney at DLAW, PC As an attorney with more than 25 years of legal experience, Deanna Aguinaga Walker enjoys the flexibility that having her own law practice gives her. She is able to become personally involved with each of her clients, and she appreciates the opportunity to assist them on a wide range of legal matters. Deanna earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the Northern Illinois University School of Law in 1995. Since then, she has dedicated her career to meeting the needs of her clients. When you work with Deanna, you can expect her to provide legal advice...

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...

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...

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...

Richard Schmack was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Berwyn, Illinois. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois in 1977 with double majors in Political Science and History. In 1980 he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Upon graduation from law school in 1980, Richard was admitted to the Illinois Bar and the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the Federal Trial Bar. Richard has made DeKalb County his home since1985. He, his wife, Jackie, who is his office manager, and...

have been a licensed attorney and practicing attorney since 1995. Although I have practiced in Kane, DuPage and Cook counties, I currently limit my practice to McHenry County. I focus on issues affecting families and represent spouses, parents, children and disabled adults in divorce, post decree, paternity, adoption, juvenile, probate and guardianship matters. I am a trained Guardian ad Litem and Child’s Representative and appointed by the court in divorce or probate matters. I am also a trained Collaborative Attorney and mediator. Although I no longer accept court appointments for mediation, I use these skills in my roles as negotiator,...

Ralph Elliott has been engaged in the practice of law in Freeport, Illinois since 1981. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Bachelor of Science Degree, Summa Cum Laude, earning Phi Beta Kappa recognition in 1978.He graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1981. Ralph is admitted to the practice of law in the state of Illinois, the federal courts for the Northern District of Illinois (including the Trial Bar), the Central District of Illinois, and the Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Robert Medansky is an experienced Divorce and Family Law Attorney providing clients and their families throughout Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, and McHenry Counties in Illinois with quality guidance and legal representation. He is a skilled negotiator and accomplished trial attorney who is widely recognized and respected for his integrity and vigorous advocacy to protect his client’s rights and interests. Since 1986, Mr. Medansky has successfully represented numerous clients in complex financial and high-conflict divorce matters. He approaches every family law matter with compassion, integrity, and a focus on personal service. As a skilled negotiator, he takes a strategic...

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...

Jack C. Slingerland received a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.

Jack is the city Attorney for Genoa, IL. He has served as a DeKalb County Assistant State’s Attorney, as the DeKalb County Public Defender, and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois. He served as a member of the legislative staff of the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael J. Madigan.

Jack has been in private practice of law for more than 23 years, and now is the co-owner of Slingerland & Clark, P.C. He is admitted to practice in federal...

Christina Willman earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2018. She received a degree in Agribusiness, Cum Laude, upon graduating from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo in 2015. While in law school, Christina was a member of the Jessup International Moot Court team. In addition, Christina was a student attorney in the Clinical Law program, focusing on estate planning and general litigation. She also has completed legal internships at Vermeer Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial and agricultural equipment in Pella, Iowa, and the Michigan Farm Bureau.

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Andrew Kelleher, a co-founder of Kelleher + Holland, LLC, had a vision of legal services deeply rooted in high-level client services from the very inception of his career. He believes that nothing replaces old-fashioned hard work. That hard work has been focused on putting the client’s best interests first for 25 years. Andy concentrates his practice in trust and estate law, business law, tax law, and asset protection planning for high net worth business owners, executives, and individuals. He enjoys the never-ending challenges of solving complex estate and tax planning puzzles for his clients. Being both an attorney and a CPA,...

David R. Freriks, JD, MLIS

Mr. Freriks is a graduate of the University of Illinois and the Chicago-Kent School of Law. He was admitted to the Illinois and Federal Bars in 1980. During law school, he clerked for the late Honorable Brian B. Duff (1930-2016), United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In addition to his law practice, he has held administrative and management positions with the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State; Baker & McKenzie, the largest law firm in the world; the Association of Legal Administrators; the Thomson Reuters...

Robert Holland concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate and trust administration, taxation, corporate transactional work, business planning, asset protection, commercial real estate transactions and prenuptial agreements. His experience as both an attorney and a CPA enables him to offer a blend of legal and financial advice for over a decade. Bob’s business planning practice includes representation regarding the formation and operation of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, including ownership agreements, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, and not-for-profit planning.

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. • Personal Injury

I am a lifelong Chicagoland resident with a passion for helping families plan their estates so their loved ones are cared for upon their passing. I utilize wills, trusts, powers of attorney for property and healthcare, with the goal of both ensuring that assets pass to your intended loved ones and to make sure that the right people are acting on your behalf if you are unable to make decisions. For families with a recently deceased loved one, I will represent the appointed fiduciaries in administering the estate, be it probate administration or trust administration. I am licensed to practice in...