With two decades’ worth of consistent, real-time courtroom experience in an area of law that is constantly evolving, he maintains up-to-the-minute knowledge on both substantive and procedural matters, including federal and state estate tax issues, powers of attorney (POA) disputes, estate administration and healthcare facility claims.
David also advises clients on numerous estate, trust and guardianship administration matters. He is acutely aware that his clients are coming to him in the worst of times—the death of a loved one, a contested will, a guardianship dispute—but with a sense of empathy and a fierce commitment to achieving results, he works hard to mitigate his clients’ stress during these difficult times in their lives through understanding their needs and concerns as well as delivering reasonable, sound and meaningful advice.
In addition to his extensive litigation and considerable administration experience, David also assists his clients in addressing various estate planning concerns, helping them to craft robust plans that take into account considerations such as structured guardianship provisions for disabled persons and updating wills and trusts, living wills and POAs for healthcare and property. He has also shared his knowledge on probate and estate planning matters with corporate clients and financial advisors on topics ranging from the fundamentals of estate planning to estate planning considerations for parents of twins and the LGBTQ+ community. David also speaks to community groups on estate planning, probate estate, and trust and guardianship disability issues.
Notable matters include:
- Successfully representing his client in the landmark Illinois Supreme Court case, Estate of Robert E. Boyar v. Grant Dixon – which set the precedent that the doctrine of election would not be automatically applied to probate cases if a beneficiary receives property under a will or trust.
- Settling the civil portion of a case involving the poisoning death of an Illinois lottery winner, in which his client received between 80 and 90% of the estate’s liquid assets and was highly publicized in local, national and international news outlets.
- Administering multimillion dollar probate and trust estates that included numerous beneficiaries, both individual and charitable.
- Litigating and settling a guardianship matter to halt certain medical procedures from being administered at a local hospital.
- Representing an elderly individual on a contested plenary guardianship proceeding and settling with the Public Guardian’s Office on a less restrictive, limited guardianship of the estate plan to assist the client with her needs.
- Other representative matters include:
- Administering numerous intestate and testate probate estates, guardianship proceedings and trust litigation matters;
- Handling multiple will and trust contests based on lack of mental capacity, breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence, tortious interference with expectancy of inheritance and other issues;
- Litigating both guardianship and decedent estates to verdict successfully;
- Settling family disputes at pre-trial mediation hearings; and
- Preparing a significant number of estate plans, including the creation of pour-over wills, trusts and POAs for healthcare and property.
In 2018, David was awarded the distinction of Super Lawyer from Super Lawyers’ magazine, after five consecutive years of being named an Illinois Rising Star. For the past six years, Leading Lawyers magazine has named him to its Leading Lawyers list, after three consecutives years as an Emerging Lawyer.
David leads Chuhak & Tecson’s 18-attorney Estate & Trust Administration & Litigation group. Active in firm activities, David has chaired Chuhak & Tecson’s Finance Committee and has previously served on the Litigation, Recruitment, Management and Business Development & Marketing Committees. in addition to serving on the firm’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Council.
Active in the community, David is on the Board of Building Appeals for the Village of Deerfield and is a member of the Probate Practice Committee/Trust Law Committee for the Chicago Bar Association. He is a former member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section for the American Bar Association.
When he is not focusing on his practice, David enjoys spending time vacationing with his family and unwinding on the golf course.
