Joe Blumberg
Joe Blumberg
Joe Blumberg is Of Counsel to ArentFox Schiff in Lake Forest, where he focuses on trusts and estates. He is a member of the Illinois State and Missouri Bar Associations. Mr. Blumberg received his BA from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and his JD, cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Missouri School of Law.
Kenneth A. Goldstein
Kenneth A. Goldstein
Kenneth A. Goldstein is a Partner at HMB Legal Counsel in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on estate planning, asset protection, and federal income tax law. He is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Goldstein received his B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Iowa and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
Robert S. Held
Robert S. Held
Robert S. Held is an attorney at Held Law Offices, in Chicago, who represents corporate and individual fiduciaries — as well as beneficiaries — in complex estate and trust litigation, guardianship matters, and commercial litigation. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and Past Chair of its Trust Law Committee’s Insurable Interest Subcommittee, its Federal Taxation Committee, and its Estate and Gift Taxation Subcommittee. He received his B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, his MBA from Eastern New Mexico University, and his J.D. from DePaul University.
Michael Held
Michael Held
Michael Held is an associate with Held Law Offices in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on litigation. He is also a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. Mr. Held received his BA from Boston University and his JD from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Grant R. Hendricks
Grant R. Hendricks
Grant R. Hendricks is a Partner at Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC, in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on trusts and estates. He has been named an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star (2016 – 2018), is an Executive Member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Trust Law Committee, and is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council, for which he served as Co-Chair of the Technology Committee (2018 – 2020). Mr. Hendricks received his B.S. from Indiana University and his J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law.
Castles R. Hollis
Castles R. Hollis
Castles R. Hollis is a Partner with Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, where she focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. She is a member of the ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership. Ms. Hollis received her BS, her JD, and her MS in Taxation from the University of South Carolina.
Ryan M. Holmes
Ryan M. Holmes
Ryan M. Holmes is a Member at Clark Hill PLC in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in estate tax planning, probate and guardianship administration, and probate, trust, and guardianship litigation. He was recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star (2014 – 2017) and is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and Chicago, Illinois State, Wisconsin, and Michigan Bar Associations. Mr. Holmes received his BA from Knox College and his JD from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
Cindy M. Johnson
Cindy M. Johnson
Cindy M. Johnson is a Managing Member at Johnson Legal Group, LLC, in Chicago, where she focuses on creditors’ rights in bankruptcy and postjudgment enforcement. She is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the Illinois Creditors Bar Association, and the Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association and was appointed to the panel of Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees for the Northern District of Illinois in 2014. Ms. Johnson received her BA with honors from the University of Chicago and her JD from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Kenneth T. Little
Kenneth T. Little
Kenneth T. Little is an associate at BakerHostetler LLP in Costa Mesa, CA. He is a member of the American Bar Association. Mr. Little received his BBA from Howard University, his JD from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and his LLM from Georgetown University Law Center.
Ben A. Neiburger
Ben A. Neiburger
Ben A. Neiburger is a Founder of Generation Law in Elmhurst, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning and elder law. He is a member of the national Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and he has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer in Elder Law (2007, 2009 – present) and as IICLE^®’s Volunteer of the Year (2010). Neiburger served as Chair of IICLE^®’s Board of Directors in 2018. He is also a CPA. Neiburger received his B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Neiburger is an avid triathlete competing in races across the globe. So far, he has raced 5 of the 10 most difficult “extreme” triathlons in the world (finishing 3 of them, and he didn’t die). In 2025 he competed in a 3000-mile bike race while his team raised more than $250,000 for charity. He spends time during these races ruminating about the application of powers of attorney if something should happen.
Ayssa J. Palacios
Ayssa J. Palacios
Ayssa J. Palacios is an associate at Clark Hill PLC in San Antonio, Texas, where she focuses on tax law. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas Tax Section Leadership Academy, a pro bono attorney for the U.S. Tax Court Pro Bono Program, and a training coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Adopt-a-Base program. Ms. Palacios received her B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Texas — Pan American, her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, and her LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Hallie J. Ritzu
Hallie J. Ritzu
Hallie J. Ritzu is the Founder of Olive Avenue LLC in Chicago, where she focuses her practice in estate planning and advising. She is an Advisory Board Member of the Center for Practice Engagement and Innovation at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and an adjunct professor of legal practice at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. Ms. Ritzu received her B.A. from the College of Charleston, her M.A. from Middlebury College, and her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Sandra M. Schildgen
Sandra M. Schildgen
Sandra M. Schildgen is a Partner at Wilson & Wilson Estate Planning & Elder Law LLC in Deerfield and LaGrange, where she focuses on elder law, estate planning, Medicaid eligibility planning, and trust and probate administration. She is the President-Elect of the Veterans’ Legal Aid Society of Illinois and a former board member of Life’s Plan, Inc. Ms. Schildgen received her BA from Columbia University and her JD from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Steven B. Weinstein
Steven B. Weinstein
Steven B. Weinstein is Chair of the independent investment advisory firm Altair Advisers LLC in Chicago, which he founded in 2002 after nearly two decades with Arthur Andersen. He is a member of the CFA Society Chicago, the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and the American Bar Association. He received his BA with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University and his JD, cum laude, and MBA with distinction from Northwestern University.
Mary-Ann Wilson
Mary-Ann Wilson
Mary-Ann Wilson is a Partner at Harrison & Held, LLP, in Chicago, where she concentrates her practice in estate planning and estate and trust administration. She is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in estate planning (2006 – 2015). She presented Buy-Sell Agreements and Sales Strategies for Succession Plans and Other Estate Planning Techniques Uniquely Applicable to Small Businesses at IICLE^®’s BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY BUSINESS course (2010 and 2011). Ms. Wilson received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she was a member of the Law Review and the Order of Coif.

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Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits (ARCHIVED 2023 EDITION)

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Joe Blumberg

Kenneth A. Goldstein

Robert S. Held

Michael Held

Grant R. Hendricks

Castles R. Hollis

Ryan M. Holmes

Cindy M. Johnson

Kenneth T. Little

Ben A. Neiburger

Ayssa J. Palacios

Hallie J. Ritzu

Sandra M. Schildgen

Steven B. Weinstein

Mary-Ann Wilson

Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits (ARCHIVED 2023 EDITION)