Department profile
Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP

Trusts & Estates

USA: Spotlight Guide 2026 : Columbus


Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP

About

Provided by Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP

CPM’s Trusts & Estates Practice provides comprehensive planning and administration services tailored to the unique needs of individuals, families, and business owners. We guide clients through estate planning, wealth transfer strategies, probate and trust administration, and elder law matters. Our attorneys develop customized plans to minimize tax burdens, preserve assets, and ensure that personal, philanthropic, and business succession goals are met.

We serve high-net-worth individuals, family business owners, corporate executives, retirees, fiduciaries, and charitable organizations. Our practice spans industries and life stages, from young professionals building wealth to families navigating generational transitions.

Recent highlights include:

  • Designing an integrated estate and business succession plan for a multi-generational family enterprise.
  • Administering a complex estate with cross-jurisdictional assets and charitable bequests.
  • Establishing a special needs trust to safeguard long-term care and government benefits.
  • Restructuring family trusts to enhance tax efficiency and protect against creditor claims.

Specialisations include estate and tax planning, probate and trust administration, charitable giving, elder law, Medicaid planning, business succession, asset protection, and planning for special needs beneficiaries.

Chambers Review

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Trusts & Estates - Columbus

Spotlight

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What the Team is Known For

Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP is home to a robust trusts & estates practice. The Columbus-based group is known to work with high net-worth individuals, creditors, beneficiaries and fiduciaries in estate litigation. The group is routinely sought out for its expertise in ownership and breaches of fiduciary duty disputes. The team's attorneys are also experienced estate mediators, and have additional strength in guardianships matters.

Notable practitioners

Geoffrey Kunkler is a key contact for the firm's estate planning practice.

Members

Provided by Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP

  • Alan Acker

  • Misty Aldrich

  • Brandon Borgmann

  • Michael Cleary

  • George Hoffman

  • Adam Huffman

  • Jane Higgins Marx

    Head of Department

  • Bryan Hogue

  • Geoffrey Kunkler

  • Drew Pinta

  • Kaitlyn Pontious

  • David Swift

  • Alan Veatch

What success is built on

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