Trusts Estates Lawyers
9,591 verified trusts estates attorneys across the United States. Find experienced Trusts Estates counsel to evaluate your case, explain your options, and represent you through every stage of the legal process.
Douglas MacMillan Borthwick is a lawyer practicing civil litigation, business litigation, personal injury and 7 other areas of law. Douglas received a...
As a litigation attorney, Mr. Loew’s primary areas of practice include trust and estate litigation (including will and trust contests), fiduciary liti...
Jeffrey Matthew Bases is a lawyer practicing litigation, business law, personal injury and 4 other areas of law. Jeffrey received a B.A. degree from U...
Anastasia Salmon is a Shareholder with Drobny Rosenthal Law Offices, PC. She is licensed to practice law in both California and Nevada.
Lauriann Christina Wright is a lawyer practicing business litigation, probate litigation, real estate and 9 other areas of law. Lauriann received a B....
Timothy Patrick Murphy is a lawyer practicing estate planning, estate administration, elder and 6 other areas of law. Timothy received a B.A. degree f...
Colin Tobias Smith is a lawyer practicing estate planning, estate administration, probate and 3 other areas of law. Colin received a B.A. degree from ...
Philip S Sousa is a lawyer practicing estate planning, estate planning for parents of handicapped children, estate planning for unmarried couples and ...
Gina Louise Lera is a lawyer practicing trusts and estates, estate and gift taxes, trusts and estates litigation and 2 other areas of law. Gina receiv...
Mr. David M Kim is a lawyer practicing litigation, real estate, probate litigation and 4 other areas of law.
Debra M. Doyle is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, tax, tax & business group and 2 other areas of law.
Terence Mark Sternberg is a lawyer practicing business litigation, real estate litigation, trust litigation and 3 other areas of law. Terence has been...
Merrianne Elizabeth Dean is a lawyer practicing business law, conservatorships and business disputes, contracts and 12 other areas of law. Merrianne r...
Robert S. Cohen is a lawyer practicing commercial foreclosure, creditors' rights & bankruptcy, equipment & vehicle leasing and 2 other areas of law.
Michelle Ann Martin is a lawyer practicing estate planning for parents of handicapped children, estate planning for unmarried couples, estate planning...
Lani Michele Goodman is a lawyer practicing litigation, trusts & estates, insurance and 3 other areas of law. Lani received a degree from Chapman Univ...
Raymond Joseph Koenig III is a lawyer practicing elder law, estate planning & probate, government & public affairs and 7 other areas of law. Raymond r...
John Frederick Karch is a lawyer practicing asset protection, international asset protection, trusts and estates and 28 other areas of law. John recei...
Leticia Hernandez is a lawyer practicing probate & trust, corporate, estate planning and 6 other areas of law. Leticia received a B.B.A. degree from F...
John Beuford Laszlo is a lawyer practicing taxation, trusts & estates, probate and 9 other areas of law. John received a B.S. degree from Valparaiso U...
Randall Ray Wilson is a lawyer practicing business law, taxation, trusts and estates and 4 other areas of law. Randall received a B.S. degree from Uni...
Ms. Ingrid Maria Evans is a lawyer practicing elder law, personal injury, class action and 14 other areas of law.
Phi Beta Kappa. Morehead Scholar.
Gregory Kevin Lachona is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, estate planning, probate and 2 other areas of law. Gregory received a degree from Golde...
Seth William Krasilovsky is a lawyer practicing litigation, probate, trust law and 1 other area of law. Seth received a B.A. degree from University of...
Jennifer F. Hillman is a lawyer practicing estate litigation, international practice group, trusts & estates and 1 other area of law.
Andrew Phan is a lawyer practicing bankruptcy, bankruptcy chapter 7, bankruptcy chapter 11 and 20 other areas of law. Andrew received a degree from Ca...
Golnar Yazdi is a lawyer practicing estate planning, trust law, wealth transfer and 4 other areas of law. Golnar received a B.A. degree from Universit...
I am the Managing Partner of Mission Personal Injury Lawyers in San Diego, Chula Vista, Carlsbad and El Paso. I have the privilege of advocating on be...
Mark John M. Ignacio is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, estate planning, real estate and 3 other areas of law.
Mark Edward Swatik is a lawyer practicing business law, elder law, labor & employment and 7 other areas of law. Mark has been licensed for 16 years.
Eric Richard Bardwell is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, trusts & estates litigation, taxation and 5 other areas of law. Eric received a B.S. de...
Christopher Edward Delaplane is a lawyer practicing real estate - general, real estate - landlord-tenant, real estate - broker/agent and 4 other areas...
Jonathan David Primuth is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, probate, probate litigation and 4 other areas of law. Jonathan received a B.A. degree ...
Elizabeth Thompson Pierson is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, tax, related controversies and 4 other areas of law. Elizabeth received a A.B. deg...
Olga Alvarez is a lawyer practicing trust and estate planning, elder abuse, estate disputes and litigation and 1 other area of law. Olga received a B....
Wayne Philips is a lawyer practicing business law, civil rights, construction law and 14 other areas of law. Wayne has been licensed for 29 years.
Kevin Clark Fields is a lawyer practicing construction law, corporate law, litigation and 2 other areas of law. Kevin received a B.S. degree from Univ...
Adam H Koblenz is a lawyer practicing litigation, corporate, real estate and 6 other areas of law. Adam received a B.A. degree from Brandeis Universit...
Lisa M. Cukier is a lawyer practicing family law, fiduciary litigation, trusts & estates and 3 other areas of law.
Fred Farid Mashian is a lawyer practicing trusts and estates, trusts & estates, real property law and 3 other areas of law. Fred received a B.A. degre...
Mr. Mark D.
Richard Howard Schwartz is a lawyer practicing estate planning and administration, wills, trusts and 10 other areas of law. Richard received a B.A. de...
Scott Martin Farkas is a lawyer practicing tax law, estate planning, business law and 3 other areas of law. Scott received a B.A. degree from Universi...
Laura Anne Zwicker is a lawyer practicing estate planning, trusts & estates. Laura received a B.A. degree from Washington University in 1988, and has ...
Kern D. Singh is a lawyer practicing trusts & estates, wills & probate, estate planning and 3 other areas of law.
Lynette Berg Robe is a lawyer practicing trusts and estates, family law, mediation and 2 other areas of law. Lynette received a B.S. degree from Unive...
Harold Kazuo Kono is a lawyer practicing estate planning, wills, trusts and 7 other areas of law. Harold received a M.A. degree from University of Cal...
Stephen Lyons Fingal is a lawyer practicing real estate, corporate law, estate planning and 3 other areas of law. Stephen received a B.A. degree from ...
Steven Duane Anderson is a lawyer practicing estate planning law, trusts, wealth transfer and 3 other areas of law. Steven received a B.A. degree from...
Loren Paul Zahn is a lawyer practicing alternative dispute resolution, bankruptcy, estate planning and 8 other areas of law. Loren received a B.A. deg...
Teresa M Kinberger is a lawyer practicing family law, estate planning, appellate law and 12 other areas of law. Teresa received a B.A. degree from Eas...
Lori Sue April is a lawyer practicing contracts & agreements, probate, trusts and 5 other areas of law. Lori received a B.S.C. degree from University ...
Sheila Michelle Muldoon is a lawyer practicing real estate, corporate, finance and 3 other areas of law. Sheila received a B.A. degree from University...
Adam Morgan Daner is a lawyer practicing business litigation, commercial litigation, real property and 5 other areas of law. Adam received a B.A. degr...
Babak Rafiei is a lawyer practicing intellectual property law, contracts, entertainment & sports and 12 other areas of law. Babak received a B.A. degr...
Melinda Marie Luthin is a lawyer practicing alternative dispute resolution, business law, civil rights and 35 other areas of law. Melinda received a B...
Jeffrey Michael Hall is a lawyer practicing litigation, business, construction and 1 other area of law. Jeffrey received a B.A. degree from University...
Peter Frederick Flaxman is a lawyer practicing estate planning, general practice, business law and 4 other areas of law. Peter received a degree from ...
Douglas Smith’s practice includes complex litigation and trial work, defense of class actions, and complex trust and probate litigation. Mr.
What is Trusts Estates?
Trusts Estates is the branch of law that governs the rights, obligations, and disputes that arise within its subject matter. In the United States, trusts estates sits at the intersection of statutes enacted by Congress, the regulations issued by federal agencies, the laws passed by all fifty state legislatures, and the body of judge-made decisions known as the common law. Because every state writes its own version of the rules, the way trusts estates works in one jurisdiction can look noticeably different from how it works in another, and that is one of the main reasons attorneys in this area focus their practice geographically — to stay fluent in the local statutes, court rules, and judicial preferences that shape outcomes.
At a practical level, Trusts Estates attorneys spend their time on three categories of work. The first is advice and prevention: counselling clients on how to structure transactions, draft documents, and conduct business so that legal risk is minimised before a dispute ever begins. The second is transactional execution: producing the contracts, filings, notices, and registrations that the law actually requires to make a decision legally binding. The third is contested representation: defending or pursuing a client's interests when a dispute escalates to negotiation, regulatory enforcement, arbitration, or litigation in court.
The clients who hire Trusts Estates lawyers range from individuals navigating a single life event to multinational corporations with complex regulatory exposure. What unifies them is the need for an experienced lawyer who knows the relevant code sections, has appeared in the relevant courts, and can translate the strategic options into language a client can act on. AttorneyQnA currently lists 9,591 verified trusts estates attorneys across the United States, each with a public profile showing their bar admissions, years in practice, and the kinds of matters they have handled — with the deepest concentration of practitioners in Alabama.
When do you need a Trusts Estates attorney?
Most people contact a trusts estates lawyer for one of two reasons: something is about to happen that they want done correctly the first time, or something has gone wrong and they need it fixed before it gets worse. The earlier you involve counsel, the more options you usually have, and the lower the cost of getting to a resolution tends to be. The scenarios below are the ones we see most often on AttorneyQnA from prospective clients searching for trusts estates representation.
Once your signature is on a contract, settlement, lease, or release, your bargaining leverage drops sharply. A short pre-signature review by a trusts estates lawyer is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Cease-and-desist letters, regulatory notices, and demand letters all start clocks. Missing the response window can convert a manageable problem into a default judgment or formal enforcement action.
Statutes of limitations, filing windows, and appeal periods are jurisdictional — courts cannot extend them as a favour. If you can identify a date that matters, you need a lawyer before that date arrives.
The moment opposing counsel appears, the conversation moves out of normal English and into procedural language. Continuing unrepresented usually means losing ground you cannot recover later.
Forming an entity, choosing a venue, structuring a deal, or selecting a remedy each has long-term consequences. A consultation at the planning stage is far cheaper than redoing it after the fact.
Multi-state matters bring conflict-of-laws questions that change which statutes apply and which court has authority. An attorney licensed in the right jurisdiction is not optional.
If any of the situations above describes where you are right now, the next step is a focused consultation. Use the Ask a Lawyer tool for short written questions, or browse the 9,591 trusts estates attorneys listed above to book a paid consultation directly.
How to choose a Trusts Estates attorney
The single biggest factor in choosing a trusts estates lawyer is fit with your specific matter. A lawyer with twenty years of trusts estates experience but no exposure to your particular sub-issue can easily be a worse choice than a five-year associate who has handled the same problem repeatedly. We recommend running every prospective lawyer through the same five-step checklist before signing an engagement letter.
- Bar admission in the correct jurisdiction. Confirm the lawyer is admitted in the state — and where relevant, the federal district — where your matter sits. The lawyer's profile on AttorneyQnA shows every bar admission on file, and the underlying state bar's "lawyer lookup" tool will confirm active standing in under a minute.
- Direct experience with your fact pattern. Ask plainly: "How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and how did they resolve?" An honest answer reveals more than years-in-practice alone.
- A written fee agreement. Whether hourly, flat fee, contingent, or hybrid, the engagement letter should specify what is included, what triggers additional charges, and how disputes are handled. Avoid lawyers who resist writing the terms down.
- Communication cadence. Decide upfront how often you expect updates, who your day-to-day contact will be, and what response time is reasonable. The number-one complaint filed with state bar grievance committees is not malpractice — it is non-communication.
- Conflict check + reputation pulse. Make sure the lawyer has run a formal conflict check, then spend ten minutes reading independent reviews and any public disciplinary history. The state bar's website is authoritative for the second; the lawyer's AttorneyQnA profile collects the first.
Once you have a shortlist, schedule consultations with two or three. Lawyers vary widely in temperament, and the right strategic match for your case is sometimes the second or third lawyer you meet — not the first.
How much does a Trusts Estates lawyer cost?
Legal fees in the United States are not regulated by a uniform schedule, so what you pay a trusts estates lawyer depends on the billing model the lawyer offers, the complexity of your matter, and the local market. There are four billing structures used in this practice area; most engagements use one, but hybrid arrangements are increasingly common.
1. Hourly billing
The default model for most non-contingent matters. Rates for trusts estates attorneys in the U.S. typically range from $150–$250/hour in smaller markets to $400–$700/hour in major metropolitan areas, with senior partners at large firms commanding $900/hour and above. Hourly billing is fairest when the scope of work is genuinely unpredictable, but it creates an incentive structure that the client has to monitor.
2. Flat fee
Increasingly used for well-defined transactions — incorporations, will drafting, single-issue filings, uncontested matters. A flat fee tells you exactly what the deliverable will cost, and the lawyer absorbs the risk of unexpected complexity. Ask whether the flat fee includes filing fees, third-party costs, and any post-filing follow-up.
3. Contingency
Where it is permitted by the rules of professional conduct — most often in plaintiff-side trusts estates work involving monetary recovery — the lawyer is paid a percentage of the proceeds, typically 33% before suit is filed and 40% after. The client pays nothing if there is no recovery. Contingency fees align the lawyer's economics with yours, but the percentage compounds across time, so very strong cases sometimes do better on hourly billing.
4. Retainer / subscription
A monthly fee that buys a defined block of access or hours. This is common for businesses with ongoing trusts estates needs — contract review, employee questions, regulatory check-ins. A subscription smooths out spending and gives the lawyer a reason to know your operation in depth.
Whichever model you choose, ask for an itemised written estimate before the engagement begins, and ask explicitly what is not covered. Surprise expenses are the most common source of attorney-client friction.
Frequently asked questions about trusts estates
How quickly can a trusts estates lawyer review my matter?
Most lawyers can schedule an initial consultation within 1–3 business days. Urgent matters — pending deadlines, time-sensitive notices, court-ordered hearings — should be flagged in your first message; many lawyers reserve emergency consultation slots for that reason. If you need a written answer faster, the Ask a Lawyer tool typically returns answers in under 24 hours.
Do I need a trusts estates lawyer in my exact city, or anywhere in my state?
Bar admission is the controlling rule: any attorney licensed in your state can represent you in that state's courts and agencies, regardless of which city they're based in. Practical proximity still matters for in-person meetings, local court familiarity, and access to the local bench and bar. For state-level filings and remote-friendly matters, an attorney elsewhere in the same state often works fine.
Will an initial consultation cost me anything?
Many trusts estates attorneys offer a free 15- to 30-minute initial consultation; others charge a flat consultation fee that may be credited against the engagement if you hire them. The lawyer's profile lists the consultation policy. Free does not always mean better — a fee-based consultation is sometimes the sign of a lawyer who treats their time, and yours, seriously.
What documents should I bring to the first meeting?
Bring every contract, notice, letter, filing, or written communication connected to the matter; a written timeline of events with dates; the names and contact details of every other party involved; and any deadlines or hearing dates you are already aware of. Even an incomplete file is more useful than a verbal summary alone.
Can I change lawyers if I am not happy with mine?
Yes. Clients can discharge their lawyer at any time, for any reason, by written notice. Your case file belongs to you and must be transferred to your new counsel. Any unpaid fees through the date of discharge remain owed; any unearned advance must be refunded. If you are mid-litigation, the court typically must approve the substitution, but approval is routine.
How long does a typical trusts estates matter take?
It depends almost entirely on whether the matter is transactional or contested. A transactional matter — a contract, a filing, a single-step transaction — can resolve in days to weeks. A contested matter — anything involving disputed facts, court intervention, or regulatory action — typically takes months at minimum, and complex cases can run multiple years. Your lawyer should give you a realistic outside estimate at intake.
Are trusts estates lawyer fees tax-deductible?
It depends on the nature of the matter and current tax law. Fees connected to producing or collecting taxable income, managing investment property, or operating a business are often deductible; fees for personal matters generally are not. Because rules change, confirm deductibility with a tax professional for the year in which the fees are paid.
What is the difference between trusts estates and the related practice areas?
Trusts Estates overlaps with several adjacent areas — see the related-practice-area grid below for direct links. Choosing the right lawyer often means picking the one whose primary focus matches the heart of your problem, even if multiple labels could technically apply. When you are unsure, list your situation in your own words to two lawyers from neighbouring areas and ask which one of them is the better fit; honest lawyers will tell you.
Find trusts estates attorneys by state
Each state link below opens the trusts estates roster for that jurisdiction, with the local statute of limitations, court-system overview, and verified attorneys.
Trusts Estates Law Firms
Main Law Firm
Winter Park
Walton Law Firm
San Marcos
Bruner Law Firm
Fort Walton Beach
J&Y Law Firm
Los Angeles
West Law Firm
Charleston
John T. Floyd Law Firm
Houston
Trusts Estates by State
All states →Find trusts estates attorneys in every US state. Each state link opens a hub with verified attorneys, the state filing deadline, and a free attorney match.