FMS LAW GROUP - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Legal Assistant

Jillian joined FMS Law Group LLC in October 2022 as Legal Assistant to FMS partners, Kathryn T. McCarty and James G. Riley. Jillian assists with e-filing, creating and organizing client files, calendaring and keeping track of court dates and deadlines, managing discovery, drafting pleadings and letters, performing legal research, dispersing weekly reports, and other necessary tasks. Prior to joining FMS Law Group, Jillian gained 2 years of experience working as a Legal Assistant in Family Law.

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Judge James G. Riley ( Ret. )

Judge James G. Riley (Ret.) joined FMS Law Group in 2017 after 20 years as a Cook County Circuit Court Judge. Judge Riley concentrates his practice in the areas of probate (including guardianship and decedent's estate) administration and litigation, estate planning, and also serves as a mediator for contested estate, trust and guardianship matters. Judge Riley spent his first one and a half years as a Judge in the Chicago Traffic Center and his last eighteen and a half years in the Probate Division. Judge Riley presided over all aspects of the Probate Division, including minor estates, adult guardianship estates, and decedent estates. He retired as the Supervising Judge of the Probate Division, a position he held for his last six years as a Judge. Throughout his tenure in the Probate Division, he was a constant guest speaker and lecturer on probate matters with the Chicago Bar Association, the Southwest Bar Association, and the West Suburban Bar Association. He was and still is an active member of the Probate Rule and Forms Committee of the CBA. Prior to being elected to the bench, Judge Riley was an owner of Riley Riley & Riley in the Southwest Suburbs of Cook County, a general practice law firm practicing in the areas of misdemeanor criminal work, real estate, land development, contract and construction dispute, condominium development, zoning and land use, family law and probate. Riley Riley & Riley was the largest family law firm in Illinois comprised of Judge Riley's father and four other siblings. Judge Riley graduated from The John Marshall Law School in May of 1982.

Job Titles:

• Managing Partner

Kathryn concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning; estate, trust and guardianship administration and litigation; and estate and gift tax matters. She assists in the development of appropriate estate plans by drafting wills, revocable trusts, durable powers of attorney for health care and for property, irrevocable trusts (including insurance trusts, generation-skipping trusts, and trusts for minors) and related documents. Kathryn has represented both individual fiduciaries and financial institutions with respect to probate and non-probate administration and post-mortem planning, including disclaimer planning and tax reporting issues. Kathryn has lectured, has been published on estate planning issues (including durable powers of attorney), and was an editor and contributing author of 21st Century Estate Planning: Practical Applications by Roy M. Adams, (Cannon Financial Institute, 2002). Prior to co-founding FMS Law Group LLC, Kathryn had practiced at a mid-sized boutique trusts and estates law firm, then in the trusts and estates practice group of a national law firm, and then as a Partner at a firm focusing in estate planning, probate and guardianship matters. Education Northwestern University, 1994, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology Northwestern University School of Law, 1997, Juris Doctor

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Attorney

Meg concentrates her practice in the areas of elder law, probate administration and litigation (including guardianship and decedent's), trust administration, and estate planning. Meg is a skilled litigator who has handled countless cases involving elder abuse and financial exploitation, Medicaid appeals and contested guardianship matters. Meg has also frequently been appointed as Guardian ad Litem in guardianship cases. Meg was previously an adjunct professor at Robert Morris University and taught paralegal classes on the subjects of torts, domestic relations, and legal environment of business. Meg also has previously regularly lectured at Benedictine University on legal issues affecting the elderly. She has also lectured for the Chicago Bar Association and McHenry Bar Association on the issues of probate and special needs planning, as well as mental health and the law for PESI. Meg is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. Meg served on the Village of Lisle Planning and Zoning Commission from 2014 through September 2015 and also served on the Lisle School District 202 School Board from September 2015 through 2021, serving as the School Board President from 2017-2021. Meg is currently serving as a Trustee for the Village of Lisle, having been elected in 2023. Prior to joining FMS Law Group LLC, Meg was an Assistant Public Guardian with the Cook County Public Guardian's Office in the Juvenile Division and was an associate at a law firm focusing on probate, guardianship, and mental health law. Education The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1991, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science & Psychology, Dean's List, Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society) De Paul College of Law, 1994, Juris Doctor, with Honor, Order of the Coif (honor society)

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Director of the Beverly Improvement Association
• Judge James G. Riley ( Ret. )

Mark concentrates his practice in the areas of Estate Planning; Estate, Trust and Guardianship Administration and Litigation; and Commercial, Residential and Construction Real Estate transactions in the context of Estate, Trust and Guardianship Administration. In addition to representing individuals and their families, Mark represents many financial institutions in their capacity as Executor, Trustee and Guardian and handles all aspects of Estate, Trust and Guardianship Administration and Litigation. Additionally, Mark is regularly appointed by the Probate Court as Guardian ad Litem in both Minor Guardianship Estates and Adult Guardianship Estates, as well as Court-appointed counsel for Respondents in Adult Guardianship Estates. Mark has also been appointed as Special Administrator by the Probate Court in a Decedent's Estate. Mark is a long time Director of the Beverly Improvement Association and a current Board Member of the Christ the King School Foundation.

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Founding Partners

Paul concentrates his practice in the areas of probate (including guardianship and decedent's estate) administration and litigation, estate planning, elder law, mental health law, and general litigation. Paul has been appointed as Guardian ad Litem and attorney for respondents in guardianship cases and as Guardian ad Litem, Special Administrator and Administrator in decedent's estates. Paul has litigated hundreds of contested trials. Paul was previously an adjunct professor, guest lecturer and has lectured extensively on guardianship and mental health law at Loyola Law School. He has also lectured at DePaul College of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law, presented several dozen lectures and seminars in Illinois on guardianship, estate planning and mental health law, and has been published on guardianship and confidentiality issues. Prior to co-founding FMS Law Group LLC, Paul was an Assistant Public Guardian with the Cook County Public Guardian's Office in the Juvenile Division and was a Partner at law firms focusing in probate and guardianship matters.