Brian R. Dolan | Northbrook Estate Lawyer

I was a military kid following my Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant father from the East Coast to the West before settling in the heartland of suburban Kansas City where I spent most of my formative years.  Whenever I have lived elsewhere, I always missed that friendly, cooperative, helpful, and hard-working Mid-Western character.  Following in the family tradition of service, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy, mostly as a Navy paralegal, during which I found myself again on both coasts and overseas, twice being deployed to war-torn (now former) Yugoslavia, ultimately ending up at the Legal Service Office at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center just north of Chicago, where I fell in love with the city and its environs.

During my service, I was three times decorated with the Navy Achievement Medal and twice honored by Admiral’s Letters of Commendation.  When my enlistment ended, I stayed in Chicago to finish my undergraduate degree at Northwestern University where I frequently made the Dean’s List and was granted a Schiff Scholarship.  Fulfilling a promise to my wife, a life-long Chicagoan, after graduation, we moved to south Florida to attend law school, after which I entered practice with a small, family-owned firm practicing probate, trust administration, estate planning, wills & trusts and guardianship.

After over 20 years in South Florida, my wife and I recently returned home to the Chicago area, where I have hung my own shingle.  I continue to practice in the areas of probate, trust administration, estate planning, wills & trusts and guardianship.

As a student at the Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, I received a Florida Bar Foundation Public Service Fellowship and a National Academy of Public Interest Law Fellowship to represent the elderly in various issues confronting seniors as an intern in the Senior Citizens Law Project at Legal Aid Services of Broward County.

I have been active in civil life by regularly handling pro bono cases, being recognized as Attorney of the Month by the Legal Aid Service of Broward County.  Additionally, I served as a member and chairman of the Oakland Park (FL) General Employees’ Retirement Fund.

Being a long-time scuba diver, I have taken pleasure in participating in beach and waterway cleanup activities in Florida and will continue to do so here in Illinois. I have also affiliated with the Ocean Watch Foundation and was a member of The Dive Bar, a voluntary bar association for scuba diving attorneys.

I have been married to Marjie going on 25 years.  We have hundreds of children, and growing, through Marjie’s work as an educator and administrator in early childhood education.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Owner	Law Offices of Brian R. Dolan, LLC	Northbrook, IL	Present

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University	J.D.	Law School	2002
Northwestern University	Bachelors		1999

State / Court	Date
Illinois	2020
Florida	2002

• Professionally, I am a member of the Florida Bar, Illinois Bar, and Broward County Bar Association.  I am proud to have served on the Florida Bar Military Affairs Committee, looking out for issues concerning military members and their families, and Grievance Committee 17A, protecting citizens from the excesses of unscrupulous attorneys.

• I am proud to have been rated by my peers as an AV Preeminent attorney with Martindale-Hubbell®.  The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada. According to their website, “AV Preeminent is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.”  I am likewise proud to have been recognized as a “Rising Star” by the editors of SuperLaywers magazine.  I have also earned a Superior (10/10) rating by Avvo.com.

• In re Guardianship of Delphine Lavery
  Termination of guardianship and return of civil rights, imposition of surcharge on guardian, removal of protected homestead status of part of guardian's urban real estate, and successful collection of surcharge judgment.

• Herrilka v. Yates, 13 So. 3d 122 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
  Saved client's home from forced sale.

• Kotler v. Paoli, 36 so. 3d 685 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)
  Estate remained closed and free from attack on validity of will admitted to probate.

• Broward County Barrister | "Is Homestead Property Ever a Probate Asset?" | 2015
  Florida Bar Journal | “Virtual Adoption: Not Just for Netizens” | 2009

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