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Attorney and staff profiles

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John M. O’Drobinak

Attorney (Retired)

John M. O’Drobinak has practiced law in Lake County, Indiana, since 1960. He graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1957, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, and received his Juris Doctor Degree from Indiana University in 1960. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Indiana Bar Association, and the Lake County Bar Association. He has taught at Indiana University, Northwest, and has been an Adjunct Professor at the Valparaiso University Law School, having taught in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Estate Administration and Estate Planning.

Mr. O’Drobinak is admitted to practice before all the State and Federal Courts in Indiana. He has been active in numerous civic and charitable organizations throughout his career and has served on the Board of Directors of several charitable organizations. He had been a member of the Board of Directors of a local Bank for over twenty- seven years. An attorney with a broad range of experience, Mr. O’Drobinak’s areas of concentration include estate planning, guardianships, trusts, and probate.

A widely sought speaker and seminar leader, Mr. O’Drobinak frequently makes presentations in the fields of estate planning, probate, and predisability planning. He has been interviewed on television and radio on numerous estate planning topics. He has also been a guest speaker before many civic, professional, employee and union groups on numerous occasions.

Mr. O’Drobinak has regularly served as a panelist in seminars conducted for the benefit of both judges and attorneys in the areas of estate planning, probate and guardianship practice and procedures. He served as Probate Commissioner, Lake Superior Court, Room Two, for almost 19 years, from 1977 to September, 1995. He has been a member of the National College of Probate Judges, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Probate Committee of the Indiana Judicial Conference. He currently is a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Supreme Court of Indiana. He is a Charter Member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, a nationwide group of Attorneys whose practices are primarily oriented to estate planning. He has been a panelist in the following Seminars for the Indiana State Bar Association, presented by the Indiana Continuing Legal Educational Forum:

  • “How to Avoid Probate – But Should You”, ICLEF, 1993
  • “Implementing the Plan – Probate Administration Workshop 100”, ICLEF, 1994
  • “Guardianships A to Z”, ICLEF, 1994, 1995, 1998
  • “Living Trusts vs. Wills”, ICLEF, 1996
  • “Using the Land Trust”, ICLEF, 1996
  • “Doing it Right – Probate Administration”, ICLEF, 1996
  • “Probate Litigation”, ICLEF, 1997
  • “How To Find Your Way To Probate Court, But Should You?”, ICLEF, 1997
  • “The Long and Winding Road To The Probate Court”, ICLEF, 1997, 1999
  • “Wills – Trusts Compared”, ICLEF, 1998, 2004, 2005
  • “Trusts and Estate Planning – Concepts and Techniques”, ICLEF, 1998
  • “Secrets of a Successful Practice”, ICLEF, 1998
  • “Probate/Estate Administration: Common Issues of Concern to the Bench/Bar”, ICLEF 1999
  • “Advanced Estate Planning”, ICLEF, 2000
  • “Cutting Edge Tax Issues in Estate Planning”, ICLEF, 2000″
  • “Testamentary Planning for Children”, ICLEF, 2001
  • “Hot Tips in Estate Planning and Real Estate”, ICLEF, 2001
  • “Trust Administration – A Complete Systems Manual”, ICLEF, 2001
  • “Paralegals Guide to Estate/Trust Administration”, ICLEF, 2002
  • “Trusts: Mastering and Applying to your Clients’ Needs”, ICLEF, 2002
  • “Section 529 or Education IRAs, You Choose”, ICLEF 2002
  • “Estate Planning For Family”, ICLEF, 2002
  • “Estate Planning for Family”, ICLEF, 2003
  • “Current Issues in Indiana Guardianships”, ICLEF, 2003
  • “Planning with Special Needs Trusts”, ICLEF, 2003
  • “Elder Law”, ICLEF, 2003
  • “Incentive Trusts”, ICLEF, 2004
  • “Key Issues in Trust and Estate Planning”, ICLEF, 2004
  • “What Now? How To Handle The Unusual Estate Planning Case”, ICLEF, 2004
  • “Wills vs. Living Trusts”, ICLEF, 2004
  • “Year In Review”, ICLEF, 2004
  • “Making the Choice: Wills or Revocable Living Trusts”, ICLEF, 2005
  • “Guardianships From A to Z, Revisited”, ICLEF, 2006
  • “17th Annual Year in Review”, ICLEF, 2006
  • “18th Annual Year in Review”, ICLEF, 2007
  • “Down But Not Out – Is There Life After the Banks Shut the Lights Off?”, ICLEF, 2008
  • “Using the Land Trust”, ICLEF, 2008
  • “What Now? How To Handle The Unusual Estate Planning Case”, ICLEF, 2008
  • “19th Annual Year in Review”, ICLEF, 2008
  • “Guardianship Litigation”, ICLEF, 2009
  • “The Full Spectrum of Estate Planning, Administration and Litigation”, 2009
  • “Wills – Trusts Compared”, ICLEF, 2009
  • “Year In Review”, ICLEF, 2009
  • “Unique Situations In Estate Planning”, ICLEF 2010
  • “Unique Situations In Estate Planning”, ICLEF 2010
  • “Year In Review”, ICLEF 2010
  • “Probate 101 Or Now You Have A System Too!”, ICLEF 2011
  • “120 Hot Tips in Estate Planning”, ICLEF; “Year In Review”, ICLEF 2012
  • “Estate and Trust Administration – Getting Started”, ICLEF; “Guardianships From Beginning To End”, ICLEF; “Year In Review”, ICLEF; “120 Hot Tips in Estate Planning”, ICLEF 2013
  • “Masters Series Conference – Advanced Business Succession Planning”, ICLEF; “Year In Review,” ICLEF; “120 Hot Tips in Estate Planning”, ICLEF 2014
  • “Unique Issues in Estate Planning,” ICLEF 2015
  • “Year in Review,” ICLEF, “5 Tips on Will and Trust Litigation,” ICLEF 2015
  • “The Estate Planning Trilemma: Trusts vs. Wills vs. TOD Property”, ICLEF “Year In Review,” ICLEF; “120 Hot Tips in Estate Planning” ICLEF 2016
  • “Succession & Retirement Planning”, ICLEF 2017
Amy Nowaczyk

Amy Nowaczyk

Attorney

Amy Nowaczyk is a partner at O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C. Amy’s background in psychology and law have given her a unique perspective on estate planning and elder law issues. Her education and experience have enabled her to identify the needs of her clients in order to create customized estate plans that help her clients avoid probate, control the distribution of their estate, and protect their assets from the high cost of long term nursing care. Clients frequently praise Amy’s ability to make them feel comfortable and at ease while discussing difficult subjects such as their disability and death.

Amy received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Valparaiso University, her Master Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Illinois Institute of Technology, and her Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law.  During law school, Amy clerked in the Lake County, Indiana, Circuit Court (Probate Division) for the Honorable George C. Paras.

Before her career in law, Amy practiced as an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist for a public safety consulting firm near Chicago, Illinois.  In this role, Amy developed and administered entry-level selection assessments and promotional assessments for police and fire departments across the United States.  She has been an adjunct professor at Kaplan University, Argosy University, and Purdue North Central.

Amy is a member of the American Bar Association, the Indiana Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, and the American Psychological Association.

Amy has served as a panelist in Seminars for the Indiana Continuing Legal Educational Forum:

  •  “Guardianships from Start to Finish”, ICLEF, 2013
  •  “Year In Review”, ICLEF 2014
  • “Basic Will Drafting”, ICLEF 2015
  • “Year in Review”, ICLEF 2015
  • “Year in Review”, ICLEF 2016
  • “Reality CLE – Estate Planning”, ICLEF 2017

Amy has been a lifelong resident of Crown Point, Indiana, where she resides with her husband and four children.

Cori Mathis

Cori Mathis

Attorney

Cori Mathis is an associate attorney at O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C. She has been practicing law since 2002. Cori devotes her practice to elder law, asset protection planning and estate planning. She also represents clients in guardianship proceedings and estate and trust administration. She works hard to explain complicated subjects in simple terms so that families understand their options. She has conducted many seminars for the community on elder law and estate planning issues and has served as a panelist for the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum.

Cori earned her Bachelor’s Degree cum laude from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in political science and speech communications. She received her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law.

Cori is licensed to practice law in Indiana and Illinois. She is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Indiana and the Northern District of Illinois, as well as the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Life Care Planning Law Firm Association, Indiana Bar Association, and Lake County Bar Association.

Laura-Vogler

Laura M. Vogler

Attorney

Laura Vogler is the managing Attorney at O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C. – Lafayette

Laura is always looking for the best way to serve her clients. She focuses on estate planning, elder law, estate and trust administration and guardianship. With an emphasis on long term care planning, nursing home asset protection, and Medicaid qualification, Laura strives to take away the uncertainty from an unknown and often stressful situation. Laura’s background in customer service provides her with a distinctive ability to build strong and lasting relationships with her clients.

Laura earned her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law , and her B.A. in Corporate Communications from Dominican University in Illinois. She enjoys reading, being outdoors, and spending time with her family.

Morgan Gerolimos

Morgan W. Gerolimos

Attorney

Morgan Gerolimos is an Associate Attorney with O’Drobinak & Nowaczyk, P.C.

Morgan was born and raised in Crown Point, Indiana and has remained a life-long resident with her husband and daughter. Following graduation from Crown Point High School, Morgan achieved her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business where she achieved a double major in Marketing and Professional Sales.

Returning home to Northwest Indiana, Morgan attended law school at Valparaiso University Law where she simultaneously earned a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA).  Morgan has been practicing law since 2019, and focuses her practice in the areas of business, estate planning, probate and trust administration, and guardianship proceedings.

Morgan is admitted to practice to the Indiana Bar, the Northern District of Indiana, and the Southern District of Indiana.