Sarah M. Barnes is an attorney and member of the Trusts & Estates group at Harrison & Held, LLP.  Sarah concentrates her practice in the areas of estate and trust administration, estate planning, and probate, including decedent and guardianship estates.

Sarah represents numerous individual and corporate fiduciaries charged with trust and estate administration and guides them through the probate process when required.   Sarah also handles controversies that arise during the administration process and frequently appears in court to handle both routine and contested matters.   She often advises fiduciaries and beneficiaries on cost-effective solutions under the Illinois Trust Code when dealing with obsolete estate planning documents, or ambiguous terms within those documents.

Sarah also regularly handles trust and estate litigation matters in probate and chancery court.  Sarah uses her litigation experience in her estate planning and administration practice to foresee potential challenges and to take steps to mitigate issues that may arise during the administration phase.

Sarah received her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law where she was regularly named to the Dean’s List and received the CALI award for excellence in Legal Writing IV, Civil Litigation.  Prior to law school, Sarah graduated from Michigan State University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.