Adam M. Ansari
Adam M. Ansari
Adam M. Ansari is a Member at Clark Hill PLC in Chicago, where he concentrates in tax, estateplanning, and business structuring matters. He is a member of the Illinois State, South Asian, and American Bar Associations. He is a Current Leadership Member of the ABA’s Real Property Trust & Estate Section (Past Fellow) and Past Chair of its Solo and Small Firm Practice Group. He has been recognized as among the Best Lawyers in America’s Ones to Watch for Tax Law (2022 – 2025) and Trusts and Estates (2021 – 2025), as a Rising Star in Tax Law by Illinois Super Lawyers (2016 – 2023), and as an Estate Planning & Probate Law Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine (2016 – 2023). Mr. Ansari received his BA from Boston University, his MBA from Dominican University, his JD from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, and his LLM from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
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.
Beth K. Flowers
Beth K. Flowers
Beth K. Flowers is the Owner of Flowers Law, LLC, in Edwardsville, where she concentrates her practice in estate planning, estate tax planning, and probate and trust administration. Flowers has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer (2020 – 2025). She is a member of the Madison County Bar Association and the Estate Planning Counsel of St. Louis. Flowers received her B.A. from Truman State University and her J.D. from Saint Louis University Law School.
Afton L. Gauron
Afton L. Gauron
Afton L. Gauron is a Partner at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC in Chicago, where she is Chair of the Private Client Services Group and Cochair of the Culture Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and is a Legislative Liaison of the Chicago Bar Association’s Trust Law Executive Committee. Ms. Gauron received her BA from Gonzaga University and her JD, cum laude, from the Loyola University 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.
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.
Mallory A. Kallabat
Mallory A. Kallabat
Mallory A. Kallabat is a Senior Attorney at Clark Hill PLC in Birmingham, AL, where she provides personal legal services to clients in the areas of estate and business planning, probate and trust administration, charitable planning, special needs planning, and related tax matters. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star (2024), by DBusiness as a Top Lawyer, and as among the Best Lawyers in America’s Ones to Watch for Trusts and Estates Law (2022 – 2025). Ms. Kallabat received her BA from Wayne State University and her JD from the Wayne State University Law School.
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.
Jennifer A. Mendel
Jennifer A. Mendel
Jennifer A. Mendel is a Partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on private client trusts and estates, as well as tax and nonprofits. She is a member of the Chicago, Illinois State, and American Bar Associations and serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Estate and Gift Taxes for the ABA’s Taxation Section. Ms. Mendel received her BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her JD from the University of Denver College of Law.
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.
Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy
Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy
Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy is a Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Chicago, where she concentrates in estate planning, personal tax planning, and business succession planning. She has been recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Woman in Law (2024), by Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates (2024 – 2025), by Leading Lawyers (2014 – present), by Illinois Super Lawyers for Estate & Probate (2011 – 2016, 2021 – present), and by Marquis Who’s Who Top Lawyers (2020). Ms. Pleshivoy received her AB from the University of Chicago and her JD and LLM from the Chicago-Kent College 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.
Meghan E. Tepas
Meghan E. Tepas
Meghan E. Tepas is a Partner at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on trust and estate litigation. She is an Illinois State Bar Association’s Trusts & Estates Counsel Member and has been recognized as an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers and as among the 40 Under 40 by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Ms. Tepas received her BA from the University of Michigan and her JD from the Indiana University Maurer School 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.

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Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits 2025 Edition

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Adam M. Ansari

Joe Blumberg

Beth K. Flowers

Afton L. Gauron

Robert S. Held

Michael Held

Castles R. Hollis

Ryan M. Holmes

Cindy M. Johnson

Mallory A. Kallabat

Kenneth T. Little

Jennifer A. Mendel

Ben A. Neiburger

Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy

Sandra M. Schildgen

Meghan E. Tepas

Steven B. Weinstein

Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits 2025 Edition