Harrison Attorneys Contribute to IICLE’s 2026 Edition of Litigating Disputed Estates, Trusts, Guardianships, and Charitable Bequests
Five Harrison attorneys have contributed to the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education's Litigating Disputed Estates, Trusts, Guardianships, and Charitable Bequests 2026 Edition. The handbook unpacks the complex, wide-ranging task of litigating and settling disputes involving estates, trusts, wills, guardianships, and charitable bequests with specialized but workable analysis.
HLLP Contributions:
Chapter 4 — Trust Contests
Samantha E. Weissbluth and Madeleine J. Minton
Chapter 6 — Contested Claims Against Decedents’ Estates, Trusts, and Other Nonprobate Assets
Samantha E. Weissbluth and Patrick J. Bushell
Chapter 9 — Admission of Wills to Probate
Samantha E. Weissbluth and Sarah M. Barnes
Chapter 19 — Attorneys’ Fees in Trust and Estate Administration (FORMER TITLE: Attorneys’ Fees: An Assessment of the Current Standards for Fee Awards)
Emily J. Kuo
Find the handbook here.
Sarah Barnes concentrates her practice on advising clients in estate and trust administration, estate planning, and probate matters, including decedent and guardianship estates. She represents numerous individual and corporate fiduciaries charged with trust and estate administration and guides them through the probate process when required.
Patrick Bushell focuses his practice on representing individuals, families, and financial and medical institutions in a wide range of contested and uncontested estate and trust matters including estate planning, fiduciary consulting, and estate and trust administration and litigation. Pat served as a Vice Chair and Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Estate Planning Committee where he hosted and moderated seminars and panels and spoke on various estate planning and estate administration topics, including the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, special needs planning, asset protection, ethics in representing clients with diminished capacity, and a judicial probate Q&A panel.
Emily Kuo counsels high-net-worth individuals and families on lifetime transfer tax reduction strategies, creates testamentary plans for clients in a broad spectrum of family situations, and represents fiduciaries in the administration of decedents’ estates and trusts. For over 25 years, she has worked closely with family offices and wealth advisors to implement planning techniques and find practical solutions in sensitive circumstances. She has extensive experience in federal estate tax compliance and related post-mortem planning.
Madeleine Minton counsels individuals, family groups, and owners of privately held businesses in their estate, tax, and business succession planning and philanthropic endeavors. Her practice focuses on three essential and complementary components of private client practice: estate planning, administration, and litigation. Madeleine guides beneficiaries and fiduciaries through all stages of routine and contested guardianship, probate, and trust administrations with compassion and efficiency.
Sam Weissbluth is one of Chicago’s premier estate and trust litigation attorneys with over 20 years of problem-solving experience helping clients resolve sensitive family disputes and complex matters. Sam is widely cited as an authority on estate and trust litigation, and she co-authored the original IICLE treatise on this subject, a practical guide for Illinois attorneys. She has also used her vast knowledge to serve as an expert witness in matters involving trust and estate litigation.
Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education
The Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE®) was formally created as the Institute on Continuing Education of the Illinois Bar in 1961. The Illinois State Bar Association organized the Institute as part of the Illinois Bar Foundation. In 1968, the Institute was reorganized as the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education pursuant to a joint effort of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. IICLE® is now an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the professional development of Illinois attorneys.
Harrison LLP
Harrison LLP is a national law firm that assists clients in defining and achieving their private wealth goals, delivering peace of mind through sophisticated and practical legal counsel. Founded in 2003, the firm advises fiduciaries, high net worth families, and family offices on estate planning, trust administration, charitable guidance, tax controversies, trust and estate litigation, succession planning, and family law.
