Homewood Probate Lawyers

I have been practicing for over 25 years. First job was as in-house counsel for Playboy Enterprises, Inc. Went into private practice in 1994.

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.

Attorney engaged in the Private Practice of Law as a Solo Practitioner in the areas of real estate and housing law, eviction and real estate litigation, family law, divorce and child support/custody, probate and guardianship, commercial law, and litigation. Experience in government, corporate and private practice environments. Broad range of experience in other areas including: corporate law, intellectual property, business management, litigation, government legal environments, compliance, and real estate acquisitions. Practicing Illinois Attorney for 27 years and Arbitrator for the Cook County Court system since 1990. Extensive experience in management, administration, negotiations and contracting. Both South Suburban and Chicago Office...

Mark Varboncouer is the founder of Varboncouer Law. Mr. Varboncouer is an experienced trial attorney who previously spent 10-plus years with Kirkland & Ellis LLP (“one of the nation's largest and most prestigious law firms”/ “known for its world-class litigation practice”/ “one of the ‘Fearsome Foursome’ — the four firms most likely to strike fear in opposing counsel”); and 4-plus years with another highly-prestigious 1,000-plus attorney law firm, McGuireWoods LLP, where he litigated a variety of issues: contracts, non-competes, tortious interference, unfair competition, fraud, licenses and complex intellectual property issues (e.g., patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, false advertising etc.)....

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...

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,...

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...

Michael A. Otte concentrates his practice on estate planning, trust administration, and contested and litigated estates and trusts. Additionally, Michael's particular area of focus is in elder law matters, including Medicaid planning, Medicaid appeals, guardianship, contested guardianships, nursing home contract review, general elder law matters requiring litigation or other court involvement, and other issues affecting the legal needs of older people. Michael has given dozens of both public and private seminars on his areas of experience in order to educate the public and fellow attorneys on important estate planning and elder law concepts. Michael is a member of the Chicago...

Izabela concentrates her practice in estate and trust planning, probate, and estate and trust administration and litigation. Izabela also assists clients in planning for disability and special needs. Izabela also handles guardianship proceedings and serves as a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem for the Cook County Circuit Court. Additionally, Izabela has experience with domestic and international income tax and business planning, and corporate and individual tax controversies. She also advises clients on business succession matters, wealth transfer and preservation, and corporate, partnership and limited liability company transactions, including drafting various business arrangements and agreements. Izabela was named as an Illinois Super...

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.

Marques A. Eason is an attorney serving clients on the South Side of Chicago and throughout the South Suburbs in matters involving real estate property and a range of other legal issues. His areas of concentration include residential and commercial real estate, probate, and estate planning. Eason has 10 years of legal experience, including three years as a licensed practicing attorney in the State of Illinois where he founded his own practice, The Marques Eason Law Group, in 2017. He also worked for seven years as a paralegal on cases involving real estate, contract, and family law, including with the Law...

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...

Darren Findling is the President and Founder of The Probate Pro. The Probate Pro is the leading probate and trust law firm in Michigan, Ohio Florida, and Illinois. As the President of The Probate Pro, PLC, I take great pride in being the leading probate and trust law firm providing administration, litigation, and planning services. Most of my day-to-day operations are dedicated to representing individuals in contested probate and trust matters, Will contests, the embezzlement by fiduciaries, exploitation of the elderly, and disputes in probate and trust files. When I am not working on my own cases, I try to...

After having worked for years to represent banks in the processes of Foreclosure and being the fourth generation of lawyers in my family attending this type of case, I want to inform you that my office is focused on providing assistance to those which are suffering the ravages of this system and the bad economy. You like me, are being affected by the banking system, which is why my office has found a way to protect and fight for you, using the same legal system that banks use against you. Remember that you have rights and you shall...

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....

Arthur J. Data III is an attorney located in Palos Hills, IL. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Purdue University in 2003 and his Juris Doctor from Michigan State University College of Law in 2007. While at Purdue, Mr. Data held many different leadership positions within the Purdue Residence Hall Council. While at Michigan State, Mr. Data was a Senator in the Student Bar Association and President of the Christian Legal Society. Mr. Data currently resides in Palos Heights, IL. He is very active at St. Alexander's Catholic Church as a lector, eucharistic...

Hello. My name is James J. Siwek and I have 32 years of legal experience in a number of different legal fields. At this point in time, I have restricted my practice to family and probate law, but I have wealth of information from my practice in other areas of law as well which is often quite helpful in the resolution of various legal issues. My family law practice consists mainly of divorce and paternity cases, child custody (parenting time), parental decision making, child support, maintenance, domestic violence, and a number of other issues related to family law. My probate practice consists...

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 have been practicing law for over 35 years. I graduated 3rd in my class from law school, so I had the opportunity to work at one of Chicago's largest law firms on Michigan Avenue, Ross & Hardies, right out of law school. At that time my experience was mostly in the area of personal injury law having clerked during law school for one of the nations top personal injury lawyers, Leonard M. Ring & Associates. In April of 1991 I started my own firm that has continued to prosper under the philosophy of providing, "Quality,...

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.

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.

Melissa Fernandez (Marin) graduated from DePaul University in 2015 where she received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Political Science. Melissa went on to receive her law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 2019 with a certificate in Family Law where she graduated Cum Laude and maintained herself on the Dean's list for all three years. From a very young age, Melissa knew that she was passionate about family law. As a child of divorced parents, Melissa brings a unique perspective to the firm having experienced the breakdown of her family at a young age....

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...

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), ...

Located in Glenview, Illinois, Attorney Matthew A. Livingston is an experienced attorney who concentrates his practice on estate planning, probate & trust administration, real estate, and business formation. As the founder of The Livingston Law Office, Attorney Livingston works diligently to provide peace of mind to his clients. Representing individuals, families, and businesses throughout Cook County and Lake County, call Attorney Livingston at 847-544-6657 or visit his website to schedule a free initial consultation.

Jonathan Anderson is the owner and founder of Anderson Attorneys, PC. For more than 35 years, Jon Anderson owned Anderson & Associates, P.C. which grew to be a leading law firm with 12 attorneys in four offices who represented clients in divorce, family law, estate planning, probate, bankruptcy, and debtor/creditor relations and other matters. In June 2022, he sold Anderson & Associates, P.C. In 2023, he founded Anderson Attorneys, PC, a smaller, high-quality, specialized, boutique law firm that focuses on financially sophisticated divorce litigation and estate planning, and probate matters. For over 35 years, Jonathan Anderson...

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...

John Lynch became interested in debt relief and bankruptcy before he went to Law School. John was employed at Eastern Airlines in Miami, Florida, which at that time was the second largest airline in the US. Eastern Airlines filed for bankruptcy in 1990 and by 1991 it had closed its doors. John knew so many people that could not find work, had cars repossessed and faced mounting debt. Then, in 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida and Pan Am airlines also closed its doors. By that time John was a Paralegal and owner of a Title Company. He worked as...

Under Contract? Need a Lawyer? We excel in assisting clients buy and sell all types of real estate,including, but not limited to single family homes, condos, co-ops and multi family apartment buildings, in Chicago and the surrounding metro area (suburbs). We identify and quantify potential issues, evaluate risk and provide prompt guidance so that our clients can make educated and concrete decisions as they navigate the process of buying or selling real estate.

REAL Law Group, P.C. is a boutique law firm established in 2015 with the idea that effective representation requires both a professional commitment and personal approach that...