Putting an estate plan in place in Fort Wayne?
An estate plan is a gift to the people you leave behind: it decides who inherits, who makes decisions if you cannot, and how much your family pays in time, taxes and conflict. A Fort Wayne estate planning lawyer builds a plan that fits your family and holds up under Indiana law. The attorney you choose affects whether your wishes are honored smoothly or contested later.
Estate planning ranges from a simple will and powers of attorney to trusts, elder-law and Medicaid planning, and estate administration. Below are Fort Wayne-area firms and attorneys that appear consistently across Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, Avvo and Expertise.com, with verifiable focus in wills, trusts and probate. Most offer a consultation and can tailor a plan to your family and assets.
How we picked these 10: We reviewed peer rankings (Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell), directory listings, bar recognition, and verifiable practice focus. Firms that appeared consistently across independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Comprehensive estate planning and administration within a full-service firm
Founded in 1876, Barrett McNagny is one of the oldest and largest firms in northeastern Indiana, with a dedicated Estate Planning Group handling wills, trusts and charitable giving.
Practice focus: Estate planning and administration with elder law and Medicaid planning
A Northeast Indiana firm with roots dating to 1901, the present partnership was formed in 1984 and maintains offices in Fort Wayne, LaGrange and Warsaw.
Practice focus: Estate planning and administration within a multi-office regional firm
Founded by the late Leigh L. Hunt in 1950, the firm operates offices in Fort Wayne, South Bend and Indianapolis and handles estate planning and administration.
Practice focus: Estate planning, elder law and business succession
Attorney Daniel D. Bobilya, a 2001 graduate of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, has been recognized by Super Lawyers and has more than two decades of practice.
Practice focus: Estate planning, trusts and estate administration
Formed as Shine & Hardin in 2000 from a practice dating to 1980, the firm's partner Thomas A. Hardin is a past chair of the Allen County Bar Association's Probate, Trust and Tax Section.
Practice focus: Estate planning, trusts and elder law
Principal Robert Grubbs has roughly two decades of experience, and the firm's practice spans revocable and irrevocable trusts, charitable and estate-tax planning, probate and Medicaid.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate and elder law
Attorney Robert A. Grubbs has dedicated over 20 years to elder law, estate planning, special-needs planning, guardianships and probate, and is a member of the Allen County and Indiana State Bar Associations.
Practice focus: Estate planning, estate administration and estate/gift tax
Founded by Jeanne Longsworth in 2007, who previously practiced for more than 20 years at a leading Indiana firm before opening her own office.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate and elder/long-term-care law
A Fort Wayne firm serving families for more than 45 years, with attorneys who are members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Practice focus: Wills, estates, elder law and Medicaid planning
Principal R. Scott Perry has more than four decades of experience, and the firm carries over 80 years of collective legal experience and is a Better Business Bureau accredited business.
Tell us about your situation and we will match you with vetted estate planning attorneys in Fort Wayne. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →Match the firm to your situation. A straightforward will, powers of attorney and a health-care directive are well within reach of a focused estate planning attorney, often at a flat fee. A blended family, a business, special-needs planning, or significant assets calls for a lawyer who builds trusts and coordinates tax and elder-law strategy.
Ask whether the plan is flat fee, whether it includes the core documents and funding of any trust, and whether the firm also handles probate and Medicaid planning if your family needs it later. A Fort Wayne attorney who practices in the Allen County courts regularly knows how local probate actually works.
The firms above are a starting point, not a verdict. The right lawyer for you depends on your facts, your budget, and how you want to be treated. Use these five signals to compare them.
Relevant, recent experience. “We handle everything” is a weakness, not a strength. You want a lawyer who works estate planning matters in Fort Wayne week in and week out, not one who takes them occasionally between unrelated matters. Recent, repeated experience with work like yours is the single best predictor of a good outcome.
Straight talk about your situation. A good lawyer tells you what is strong and what is weak in your situation at the first meeting, not just what you want to hear. If everything sounds easy and the outcome sounds guaranteed, be skeptical — real matters have real risks, and an honest lawyer names them.
Communication you can live with. Most complaints about lawyers are not about losing — they are about silence. Ask who returns your calls, how fast, and whether you will reach the actual attorney or only a screener. Set that expectation before you sign, because it rarely improves later.
Fees in writing, in plain English. You should leave the first meeting knowing exactly what you will pay, what it covers, and what could cost extra. A clear written fee agreement is a sign of a well-run practice; a vague “dont worry about it” is a sign to keep looking.
Local knowledge. A lawyer who works with Fort Wayne clients and Fort Wayne institutions regularly knows the practical realities, the local offices and courts, and which approaches actually hold up. That practical knowledge is hard to fake and easy to verify — just ask.
A basic plan usually includes a will, a financial power of attorney, and a health-care directive, which together name your beneficiaries and the people who act for you. Where it makes sense, a revocable living trust can keep assets out of probate and manage them if you become incapacitated. Funding the trust — retitling assets into it — is the step people forget, and it is where a good lawyer earns their fee.
When someone passes, the work becomes estate administration: probating the will in the Allen County courts, paying debts and taxes, and distributing assets. A clear plan makes this faster and cheaper, and many disputes are simply the result of a plan that was never updated.
A basic will-based plan with powers of attorney and a health-care directive is often a flat fee of roughly $300 to $1,200 for an individual or couple. A trust-based plan is more involved and commonly runs $1,500 to $4,000 or more depending on complexity and funding.
Probate and estate administration are usually billed hourly or as a percentage of the estate. Paying for a clear plan now is far cheaper than the probate fights and delays a missing or outdated plan creates, which is the whole point of doing it.
Guaranteed outcomes. No ethical attorney can promise a specific result. If a firm guarantees how your matter will end before reviewing your file, walk away.
The disappearing senior lawyer. You meet a name partner at intake, then never speak to them again while a junior runs the file unsupervised. Ask in writing who your day-to-day lawyer will be.
No verifiable track record. “We have handled thousands of matters” is marketing. Real evidence is named experience, peer recognition such as Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers, and a clean record with the state bar.
Pressure to sign immediately. A reputable firm gives you the engagement letter in writing and time to read it. High-pressure intake is a sign of a volume mill, not a careful practice.
Vague fee terms. “Dont worry about the cost” is a red flag. Every legitimate firm puts the fee, what it covers, and what triggers extra charges in writing.
Most firms on this list offer a free or low-cost initial consultation. Use it, take notes, and compare at least two firms before you sign.
No Indiana estate or inheritance tax. Indiana repealed its inheritance tax, so most Fort Wayne estates face no state death tax — though large estates may still owe federal estate tax, which planning can address.
Probate runs through Allen County. Estates are administered in the local courts, and an attorney who practices there knows the process and how to use Indiana's simplified procedures for smaller estates.
Plan for incapacity, not just death. Powers of attorney and health-care directives matter while you are alive, and elder-law and Medicaid planning are central for many Fort Wayne families, so the strongest firms handle both.
If you are dealing with an estate planning matter in Fort Wayne right now, a few moves protect you while you take the time to choose the right lawyer.
Write down what you need. Put the dates, names, documents and goals on paper while they are fresh. A clear summary makes your first consultation far more productive and helps the attorney quote you accurately.
Gather your documents. Keep the agreements, filings, correspondence and records connected to your situation in one place. The strength of most matters comes down to what you can show, not just what you can say.
Do not sign or agree to anything under pressure. You are always allowed to say you want your own lawyer to review something first. A reputable Fort Wayne firm respects that; anyone who does not is telling you something.
Book two consultations. Most firms above offer a free or low-cost first meeting. Talk to at least two before you commit, and choose the lawyer who explains your options clearly and answers your questions without rushing you.
Tell us what is going on. We will match you with vetted Fort Wayne firms from the list above. Most respond within one business day.
Most people need a will, powers of attorney and a health-care directive at minimum. A trust adds value for avoiding probate, planning for incapacity, blended families, or larger estates. A lawyer recommends the right mix for your situation.
Indiana's intestacy laws decide who inherits — typically your spouse and children in set shares — regardless of your wishes, and the court appoints an administrator. A will lets you control the outcome instead.
A basic will-based plan is often a flat fee of roughly $300 to $1,200, while a trust-based plan commonly runs $1,500 to $4,000 or more. Get the scope and what's included in writing.
Usually a will, a financial power of attorney, and a health-care directive or appointment of a health-care representative. Many plans also add a living will and beneficiary designations.
No. Indiana repealed its inheritance tax, and the state has no estate tax. Large estates may still owe federal estate tax, which a lawyer can help plan around.
The will is filed in the local court, an executor is appointed, debts and taxes are paid, and assets are distributed. Indiana offers simplified procedures for smaller estates, which an attorney can use to save time and cost.
A document naming someone to handle your finances (financial POA) or health-care decisions (health-care representative) if you cannot. It operates while you are alive and is a core part of any plan.
Review it every few years and after major life events — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a big change in assets, or a move. An outdated plan is one of the most common causes of family disputes.
Yes. Assets properly titled in a revocable living trust generally pass outside probate, which can save time, cost and privacy. The key is funding the trust, which your lawyer handles.
Online forms can miss Indiana-specific requirements and rarely coordinate beneficiaries, taxes and incapacity planning. For anything beyond the simplest situation, a lawyer helps ensure the plan actually works when it is needed.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Read the listings, check the bar record, and call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one how many matters like yours they have handled in Fort Wayne in the last three years. The answer tells you most of what you need to know. — The LawFirmSquare team