CHICAGO ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

The Chicago Estate Planning Council has been an outstanding source of information about estate planning developments, analysis and techniques for its members since 1938.

Council membership is carefully selected from Chicago area professionals, and is comprised of attorneys, certified financial planners, certified public accountants, chartered financial consultants, chartered life underwriters, and trust officers-all pooling their knowledge and technical expertise for the advancement of informed estate planning.

The principal objectives of the Council are:

To foster a better understanding of the proper relationship among estate planning specialists from different disciplines and to bring those specialists together in one association;

to further the education of members and the public in matters of estate planning;

to encourage the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct.

AUSTIN FLEMING AWARD

The Austin Fleming Award is presented annually to a person highly regarded by practicing estate planners for his or her expertise in the field, and who has made a significant contribution to the improvement of estate planning practices.

Austin Fleming was trust counsel at The Northern Trust. A tireless innovator in the trust and estate legislation and education area, he was a tremendous believer in continuing education. Fleming gave a tremendous amount to the estate planning community. When he retired, it was decided to pay tribute to him by creating this distinguished service award in his honor. “Mr. Fleming’s contribution to legal scholarship and the development of the law in trusts and estates serves as a goal to be reached by all who practice in this arena.”

Mr. Fleming’s contribution to legal scholarship and the development of the law started as far back as 1929 when he co-authored an article for the Michigan Law Review on whether a judgment concludes non-partners of whose interests the plaintiff had no notice. Mr. Fleming wrote articles on various legal topics beginning in the 1920s and continuing through the 1970s. He contributed much to legal understanding and development over a long period of time.

It is particularly interesting to note that some of the topics on which Mr. Fleming wrote, such as apportionment of estate taxes and the varying standards of prudence applicable to fiduciaries, are as alive and significant for us today as they were when the articles were written.

Mr. Fleming received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his JD in 1929. He served on the staff of the general counsel of the Office of Price Administration during World War II and joined The Northern Trust in 1945. While retiring from the bank’s legal department in 1974, he continued as Of Counsel until his untimely death on January 1, 1979.

2022 Award Recipient - Barry L. Finkelstein

Barry L. Finkelstein is a financial advisor with New York Life, working with clients from all walks of life on their financial security, investment and retirement planning objectives and needs, including the funding of their estate planning objectives with life insurance plans.

Finkelstein represents New York Life and other leading insurance companies for a wide variety of life insurance, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance and annuity products.  He is a Member Agent of The Nautilus Group, an exclusive team of tax attorneys and allied professionals supporting approved New York Life Agents, their clients and their clients’ advisors; and he also represents Eagle Strategies, a Registered Investment Advisor and fee-based Wealth Management and Financial Planning Firm. 

Finkelstein has Forty-four years of education and experience in the financial services field; and has a Master’s of Science in Financial Services along with eight (8) financial planning designations, (including the CLU and CFP designations) representing 43 graduate-level courses in the field.

Finkelstein has served as president of both the Chicago Estate Planning Council and The Greater North Shore Estate and Financial Planning Council; on the Professional Advisory Committee of both the Jewish Federation and the Chicago Community Trust and was named to Forbes’ list of ‘America’s 250 Top Financial Security Professionals.’

He has been approved by the University of Chicago to offer Financial Planning for their faculty and is a former College Professor with a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature

2021 Award Recipient - Marguerite Griffin

Marguerite H. Griffin is a Senior Vice President and Director of Philanthropic Advisory Services at The Northern Trust Company. She is responsible for the delivery and growth of Northern Trust's philanthropic advisory services to Wealth Management clients. She specializes in administering charitable trusts and private foundations, creating legacy philanthropy plans and facilitating family philanthropy educational retreats. She advises individuals and nonprofit organizations regarding impact investing, strategic philanthropy, international philanthropy, family succession planning, board development, governance and risk management.

Prior to her current role, Marguerite was a Senior Trust Administrator and Relationship Manager in the Personal Trust Administration Department where she managed large, complex trusts for individuals and families, charitable trusts and private foundations. Her duties involved working with sophisticated estate plans, sensitive family situations and complex property transfers.

Prior to joining Northern Trust as a Vice President in November 1999, Marguerite was a Vice President and Trust Administrator within the Private Clients Division of First Chicago, Bank One. Before joining First Chicago, Bank One, she practiced law as an Associate with Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz where she specialized in estate planning, probate administration and tax-exempt organizations. She was a law clerk for the Honorable Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. of the Michigan Supreme Court.

 

2020 Award Recipient - Suzanne Shier

 

This year’s recipient, Suzanne Shier, is especially worthy of this award.  She embodies the traits that Austin Fleming himself, and the award named in his honor. 

For those of you who have a professional or personal relationship with Suzanne know that she’s approaches every subject and challenge with grace and with a lens on how to help achieve the intended goal or improve a what might be viewed as a challenging situation.   She places special emphasis on strategies, legislation, trends and developments focusing on how they may impact clients and their families. I personally had the pleasure of working closely with Suzanne for years while she was in private practice.  I, my colleagues and our clients benefited from the guidance and strategic advice she provided to every unique situation.   

Suzanne has, and continues, to help those of us in the profession by sharing her wisdom through education, publications and individual conversations.  In addition to being a frequent CEPC speaker, Suzanne’s insights are frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNBC.com and other publications.

Suzanne joined Northern Trusts in 2012 and recently retired from Wealth Management after 8 years with the company. While at Northern Trust, Suzanne led and grew the Wealth Planning and Wealth Advisor Practice nationally, and most recently engaged in the launch of the Corporate Executives segment of The Northern Trust Institute. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Suzanne spent 26 years as a partner at Chapman and Cutler LLP in Chicago, ultimately leading the firm’s Trusts and Estates practice, representing individuals, charitable organizations and corporate fiduciaries in a full range of wealth planning, tax and fiduciary matters.

Suzanne graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree with distinction in economics and sociology. She received her law degree, cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and a Master of Laws in taxation (LLM) from the DePaul University College of Law.

Suzanne is a Fellow of the American College of Estate and Trust Counsel, an Academician of The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Professionals.

She enjoys being actively involved in the civic community, presently serving as an officer of the Boards of Chicago Scholars Foundation, Hope College and Kids Hope USA. As an Adjunct Professor in the Northwestern University Law School LLM in Taxation Program, Suzanne teaches estate and gift taxation and international estate planning.

 

PREVIOUS AWARD RECIPIENTS

2019 Christine Albright

2018 Brian T. Whitlock

2017 Thomas W. Abendroth

2016 Anne-Marie Rhodes

2015 David A. Handler

2014 Eileen B. Trost

2013 Susan T. Bart

2012 LOUIS S. HARRISON

2011 RICHARD M. HORWOOD

2010 WILLIAM C. WEINSHEIMER

2009 LANNY D. LEVIN

2008 ELLIOTT M. FRIEDMAN

2007 ROBERT I. URY

2006 ROBERT E. HAMILTON

2005 LYMAN W. WELCH

2004 KAREN K. MACKAY

2003 DAVID B. HIRSCHEY

2002 JUDITH W. MCCUE

2001 CAROL A. HARRINGTON

2000 HOWARD M. MCCUE III

1999 DONALD M SCHINDEL

1998 DONALD A. GLASSBERG

1997 J. TIMOTHY RITCHIE

1996 DONALD R. DANN

1995 JOHN T. HAYES

1994 ARTHUR W. BROWN, JR.

1993 MORTON J. BARNARD

1992 HERBERT J. DAVIS

1991 MARSHALL ZISSMAN

1990 CLAIREEN L. HERTING

1989 WILLIAM R. SUTTER

1988 JAMES M. TRAPP

1987 ADDIS E. HULL, III

1986 BYRLE M. ABBIN

1985 HUGO J. MELVOIN

1984 FREDERICK H. STITT

1983 WALTER R. DAHL

1982 J. GORDON HENRY

1981 WILLIAM K. STEVENS

1980 MILLARD J. GRAUER

1979 HARRY I. GROSSMAN

1978 JAMES N. ZARTMAN

1977 DANIEL M. SCHUYLER

1976 STUART A. MONROE

1975 JAMES M. CORCORAN, JR.

1974 AUSTIN FLEMING