Lorraine K. Cavataio
Lorraine K. Cavataio
Lorraine K. Cavataio is a Shareholder at Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C., in its O’Fallon office. She focuses her practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, litigation, business law, and real estate. Cavataio is a Certified Public Accountant and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She has been chosen as a Super Lawyer (2015 – 2022) and is listed as part of the Estate Planning and Probate Division for Illinois. She also serves on the Board of Mackrell International, which provides international opportunities to lecture. Cavataio also is a frequent lecturer for IICLE^®, local bars, and business organizations. She received her B.S. from the University of Kansas and her J.D. from the Washington University School of Law.
Darcy J. Chamberlin
Darcy J. Chamberlin
Darcy J. Chamberlin is Principal at Chamberlin Law Group in Oak Brook, where she concentrates her practice on estate planning, probate, and trust administration. Ms. Chamberlin is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Special Needs Alliance, and National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She earned both her J.D. and B.A. from Indiana University.
Patricia Cline
Patricia Cline
Patricia Cline is President of Values Forward for Health LLC and focuses on life care planning and care management. Cline is a Midwest Chapter Board Member of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and a member of the Illinois Guardianship Association and the Association for Bioethics and Humanities. She received her bachelor’s from DePaul University, her MSW from Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and both her master’s and doctorate from DePaul University.
Heidi E. Dodd
Heidi E. Dodd
Heidi E. Dodd is a Partner at Dodd & Wambold in O’Fallon, where she concentrates her practice in estate planning and elder law and special needs planning. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (Past President of the Illinois Chapter), a member the Illinois State Bar Association, and a board member and Secretary of AgeSmart. Dodd received her BS from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, her MA from the University of Illinois at Springfield, and her JD from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Janna S. Dutton
Janna S. Dutton
Janna S. Dutton is a Principal at Dutton & Casey, P.C., in Chicago, where she concentrates in estate planning, probate, and elder law issues, including guardianship and financial exploitation matters, trusts and estate planning, Medicaid planning and applications, and probate and estate administration. She is certified by the National Elder Law Foundation as an elder law attorney and has held this certification since 1995. Prior to opening her private practice in 1989, Ms. Dutton was the Project Director of Senior Citizens Legal Services with the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. Ms. Dutton is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Illinois Chapter; the Chicago Bar Association, Elder Law Committee, Trust Law Committee; and the Council of Advanced Practitioners (CAP) of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. The CAP is an invitation-only membership for experienced Certified Elder Law Attorneys with an AV rating. Ms. Dutton completed her undergraduate education at Wheaton College and received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.
Michael H. Erde
Michael H. Erde
Michael H. Erde is Principal at Michael H. Erde, P.C., in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning, elder law, and probate. Mr. Erde is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and its Chicago Chapter. He is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Mr. Erde is Former Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Elder Law Committee and the Founder and Former Chair of the CBA’s Asset Protection Planning Committee. He received his B.S. from Washington University and his J.D. from the University of Illinois and has graduate credits in taxation from The John Marshall Law School.
Ashley H. Herschberger
Ashley H. Herschberger
Ashley H. Herschberger is an associate at Levin & Perconti in Chicago and focuses her practice on nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, and personal injury. Ms. Herschberger has been selected by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star (2015, 2016) and is a board member of Indiana University’s Alumni Association. She is a member of the American, Illinois State, and Chicago Bar Associations. Ms. Herschberger earned her B.A. from DePauw University and her J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Shay Jacobson
Shay Jacobson
Shay Jacobson of Jacobsen Consulting in Homer Glen practices nurse life care planning. She is a Certified Nurse Life Care Planner and a National Master Guardian. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners, the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, and the National Guardianship Association. Ms. Jacobson, a Registered Nurse in Illinois, received her B.S.N. and M.A. in nursing from the University of Iowa.
Kenneth Kugelberg
Kenneth Kugelberg
Kenneth Kugelberg had already enjoyed a successful career in public service prior to graduating from The John Marshall Law School. His career in public service began with the Clerk of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court and included the Naperville Police Department and the Office of the DuPage County State’s Attorney. At the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Mr. Kugelberg was a member of the management team and developed, implemented, and supervised a department overseeing office-wide compliance with statutes, court rules, and office policies. In this capacity, he authored reports on projects, gave presentations, and provided training to staff, management, and other agencies. After being sworn into Illinois State Bar, he started his own practice as a criminal defense attorney, but now focuses on estate planning, guardianships, and probate with Generation Law, Ltd.
Nancy R. Larson
Nancy R. Larson
Nancy R. Larson is a Partner with Harter, Larson & Dodd in Belleville, where she concentrates her practice on estate planning and elder law. Ms. Larson is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Academy of Special Needs Planners/Elder Law Answers, and the Illinois State Bar Association. She received the SWIC Generation of Success award (2006) and the Alzheimer’s Association’s Person of the Year award (2006). She graduated from St. Louis University School of Law.
Steven M. Levin
Steven M. Levin
Steven M. Levin is the Founder and Senior Partner at Levin & Perconti in Chicago, where he has concentrated his practice in catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, group home abuse, and nursing home abuse for five decades. In 2026, he secured a $45.5 million settlement against a group home for abuse of a resident. He has been named to the Leading Lawyers Top 250 Attorneys in Illinois list for 2026, the Best Lawyers in America, and Illinois Super Lawyers’ Top 100 list. He is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Chicago Bar Association. Levin received his undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his JD cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Helen Mesoloras
Helen Mesoloras
Helen Mesoloras is a Partner at Dutton Casey & Mesoloras, P.C., in Chicago, where she focuses on elder law. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mesoloras received her BA and JD from DePaul University.
D. Rebecca Mitchell
D. Rebecca Mitchell
D. Rebecca Mitchell is the Founder and Principal of the boutique law firm Office of D. Rebecca Mitchell in Chicago. She brings over 30 years of legal experience to her current concentration in assisting individuals and families to address the legal issues that accompany disability, including planning for access to and financing of services, programs, and long-term care, the establishment and administration of special-needs trusts, asset preservation, healthcare decisions, financial management, powers of attorney, guardianship, and the protection of vulnerable persons from exploitation and abuse. She has also accepted appointments as volunteer guardian ad litem in the Circuit Court of Cook County and has served as a volunteer mentor/advisor for staff and attorneys at the Center for Disability and Elder Law and for students and faculty at the Loyola University Elder Law Clinic. Ms. Mitchell has served the Illinois Chapter, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, for more than 15 years in various capacities, including president, treasurer, secretary, and board member. She also served two terms as chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association Elder Law Committee. She has been a member of the Multi-Disciplinary Advisory Team for the Elder Abuse program at Metropolitan Family Services for more than 14 years. She has spoken before a variety of professional and community groups on topics including guardianship, special-needs trusts, disability and nursing home planning, powers of attorney, and elder abuse and has coauthored articles for the Illinois Bar Journal and Exceptional Parent magazine. Prior to entering private law practice, Ms. Mitchell managed a legal services program serving senior citizens throughout the City of Chicago, served as Chief Counsel to the Illinois Office of State Guardian and General Counsel to the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, and worked as an advocate for individuals with disabilities and as a child protection caseworker. She earned her J.D. degree from the State University of New York College of Law at Buffalo, graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University, and attended Colegio La Paz in Aguascalientes, Mexico, as a Rotary International Exchange Student.
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.
Bhavik R. Patel
Bhavik R. Patel
Bhavik R. Patel is CEO and Chair of the Executive Committee of Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C., in St. Louis, where he concentrates in wealth and tax planning and administration business and corporate planning, special needs planning, probate and trust litigation, FINRA litigation, and trademarks. Patel is adjunct faculty at Washington University School of Law. He received his B.B.A. magna cum laude from Georgia State University, M.B.A. with high honors from the Illinois Institute of Technology-Stuart College of Business, LL.M. from Washington University School of Law, and J.D. with honors from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock School of Law.
Cary R. Rosenthal
Cary R. Rosenthal
Cary R. Rosenthal is Principal at Rosenthal & Associates P.C., in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in estate planning, business succession planning, and taxation. He has practiced in the Chicago area since being admitted to the Illinois bar and the federal bar. He began his career litigating business matters, including contract claims, shareholder disputes, and fraud litigation, and later began representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Illinois Department of Revenue. He concentrates on helping clients avoid the perils of lawsuits, income taxation, and transfer taxes by using forms of entities that maximize benefits and minimize potential problems; using a variety of vehicles to ensure that a family business, often a family’s largest asset, succeeds to the next generation; engaging in comprehensive tax planning; providing probate and guardianship representation; and, as a last resort, using bankruptcy and other insolvency vehicles. Mr. Rosenthal graduated from Washington University School of Law.
Brian N. Rubin
Brian N. Rubin
Brian N. Rubin is Founder of Rubin Law, A Professional Corporation, in Buffalo Grove, where he focuses his practice on special needs planning. Rubin is on the Board of Directors of Clearbrook, which serves over 8,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Past President of the Special Needs Alliance, a national nonprofit association of special needs planning attorneys; and a member of the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and his J.D. from Illinois Institute of Technology Kent College of Law.
Bryan J. Schrempf
Bryan J. Schrempf
Bryan J. Schrempf is a Senior Counsel at Danna McKitrick, P.C., in St. Louis, where he works in trusts and estates, closely held business, and civil litigation. Mr. Schrempf is licensed to practice in Illinois, Missouri, and the U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri and Southern and Central Districts of Illinois. He received his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law.
Lauren Sherman
Lauren Sherman
Lauren Sherman is President of Lifecare Innovations, an Arosa Company, and Lifecare Guardianship, in Burr Ridge. Ms. Sherman is a National Master Guardian and a certified case manager. She is member of the Advisory Counsel for Age Guide (Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging), the National Guardianship Association, and the Aging Life Care Association. Ms. Sherman received her both B.A. and her MSW from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Linda M. Strohschein
Linda M. Strohschein
Linda M. Strohschein is the Principal of Strohschein Law Group, LLC, a boutique estate planning and elder law firm in St. Charles. She concentrates her practice on estate and long-term care planning, guardianship, estate and trust administration, and probate litigation. Ms. Strohschein is certified as an elder law attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. Although CELA is not required by the State of Illinois, this title is earned through a multifaceted process and the attorney must successfully pass a comprehensive certification exam to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of elder law. She is a frequent speaker on a variety of estate planning and disability topics. Ms. Strohschein is a current member of the Kane County Bar Association. In addition, she is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and serves as the Treasurer of the Executive Board for the Illinois chapter. Ms. Strohschein received her B.A. from George Mason University and her J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.
Theresa Medeiros Varnet
Theresa Medeiros Varnet
Theresa Medeiros Varnet is Of Counsel for Spain, Spain & Varnet P.C. in Chicago, and Of Counsel for Fletcher Tilton PC, Worcester, Massachusetts, and concentrates her practice in the areas of probate, guardianship, and special-needs planning. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Cochair of its Special Needs Law Section. She is also a member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners. She received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, her MSW from the University of Connecticut, and her J.D. from DePaul University.

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Special-Needs Trusts (ARCHIVED 2016 EDITION)

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Lorraine K. Cavataio

Darcy J. Chamberlin

Patricia Cline

Heidi E. Dodd

Janna S. Dutton

Michael H. Erde

Ashley H. Herschberger

Shay Jacobson

Kenneth Kugelberg

Nancy R. Larson

Steven M. Levin

Helen Mesoloras

D. Rebecca Mitchell

Ben A. Neiburger

Bhavik R. Patel

Cary R. Rosenthal

Brian N. Rubin

Bryan J. Schrempf

Lauren Sherman

Linda M. Strohschein

Theresa Medeiros Varnet

Special-Needs Trusts (ARCHIVED 2016 EDITION)