Estate Planning, Probate Estate Administration and Real Estate Law Services in Pittsburgh, PA
Estate Planning Experts
American Wills & Estates is a locally founded, owned and operated law firm with a practice limited to Estate Planning, Probate Estate Administration and Real Estate law.
Professional Legal Experience
Our attorneys have over 85 years of combined legal experience assisting families with competency, compassion and care during their times of need. We strive to ensure that your Estate Planning, Probate Estate Administration, Real Estate and other legal needs are handled in a timely, professional and, most importantly, affordable manner. We have eight offices conveniently located throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Speak with an Estate Planning Attorney in Pittsburgh, PA
When you meet with us, you will speak directly with an attorney whose number one concern is protecting you, your future and your family’s specific estate planning and estate administration needs. We will speak to you in plain English and answer any questions that you may have about either the probate or estate planning process.
Maximize the Assets Passed to Your Loved Ones
All of our estate plans are created with an aim toward minimizing after-death estate taxation and maximizing the amount of net assets that you will be able to pass on to your loved ones.
Our probate estate administration services our designed to quickly and compassionately assist families with all of the issues, financial and otherwise, surrounding the resolution and disbursement of a loved one’s estate. We offer extremely affordable legal fees and provide most of our legal services on a flat fee basis. Contact us today to schedule your free legal consultation.
Estate Planning in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
Meet the Members of the Firm
Thomas J. Dempsey, Jr. – Partner
A partner in our Pittsburgh office, Mr. Dempsey provides our clients with outstanding representation in the Allegheny County Orphans’ Court Division, as well as other Orphans’ Courts, where he litigates in the fields of guardianship, fiduciaries, and estates. As an expert on Orphans’ Court practice and procedure, he has educated attorneys, laymen, and local hospitals’ medical and social work staff on guardianship issues. Mr. Dempsey is also skilled in civil litigation, having served as law clerk to both the Honorable Ronald W. Folino and the Honorable Bernard J. McGowan of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Dempsey is a founding member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Elderlaw Committee and an elected member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Probate and Trust Section Council. He has served on the Allegheny County Bar Association Judiciary Committee and is an investigative panel member for the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission.
A past editor of Pennsylvania Negligence, published by the George T. Bisel Company, Mr. Dempsey has authored or co-authored educational materials for many Pennsylvania Bar Institute continuing legal education seminars. He also contributed materials to a joint education and public service project of the Allegheny County Bar Association Elderlaw Committee and the Allegheny County Medical Society. In addition, Mr. Dempsey has presented numerous seminars and symposia as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute faculty on various complex elder law topics. His knowledge and experience in all aspects of Orphans’ Court litigation is invaluable in assisting clients in estate planning and administration.
In acknowledgment of his accomplishments, he has recently been appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee.
Mr. Dempsey graduated from the Duquesne University School of Law Evening Division in 1987. He is a member of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.
Branden Fulciniti – Partner
A Partner with many years of successful practice experience, Mr. Fulciniti represents clients in the areas of real estate, business formation, tax, commercial transactions, estate planning, trusts, estate administration and Marcellus Shale.
Mr. Fulciniti received his Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 2007, and earned a B.S. in Biology from James Madison University in 2002.
Mr. Fulciniti is admitted to practice before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association.
In the realm of business law, Mr. Fulciniti specializes in counseling individuals and companies with respect to a broad range of transactional matters and has particular expertise in commercial real estate transactions, the formation and structuring of business entities, drafting and negotiating internal governance documents, and the transfer of family businesses.
In addition, Mr. Fulciniti has broad experience in advising clients in all aspects of estate planning and estate administration. He works closely with clients in the preparation of estate plans, including revocable and irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, and charitable gift/trust planning.
Paul Giuffre – Partner
Paul is a lifelong resident of the Allegheny County area. Giuffre attended Duquesne University on an academic scholarship and earned his law degree from the Duquesne University School of Law in 1991.
He began his career as a prosecutor with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Using the trial and courtroom experience he gained there, Giuffre moved on to private practice and began representing clients in a wide variety of criminal and civil litigation matters. As a partner in a Downtown Pittsburgh firm that focused on medical malpractice and personal injury cases, Paul both settled and tried to verdict six and seven-figure case. Giuffre has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, a Top Attorney in Allegheny County, and a Best Attorney in Pennsylvania. Paul is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates and is an invited member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County – an invitation based on an assessment of his skill, professional standards, and ethics.
Giuffre is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, and Duquesne University Law Alumni.
Edward C. Spontak – Senior Counsel
With over 20 years of experience in the Pittsburgh legal market, Edward represents clients in estate planning & administration, litigation, and business matters.
Edward’s litigation experience includes complex matters regarding commercial and contract disputes, construction, environmental issues, and estate, guardianship and fiduciary issues. His estate planning & administration experience includes family trusts, credit shelter trusts, special needs trusts, insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, and elder law matters. His business experience includes business formation, succession planning, and issues concerning 501(c)(3) exempt status for nonprofit organizations.
Addison Walter – Attorney
Addison’s practice focuses primarily on estate planning and estate administration matters. Addison has represented a diverse group of clients and is dedicated to tailoring estate plans to each client’s individual needs, taking the time to understand their goals to develop a comprehensive plan and ensure their families are secure.
Prior to joining Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace, LLP, Addison worked as an associate attorney at a firm whose practice focused solely on estate planning and administration. During this time, he gained valuable experience working directly with clients to develop their estate plans by preparing wills, irrevocable trusts, and special needs trusts. He has also represented clients through the probate process and prepared Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax and Federal Income and Estate Tax documentation.
Addison received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Temple University in 2016. He earned his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2020. While in law school, Addison worked for both the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio. He also served as law clerk to the Honorable M. Teresa Sarmina in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
Addison is licensed to practice law in the state of Pennsylvania and is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Probate and Trust Law Section.
Addison and his wife Laura live in Squirrel Hill, where they enjoy cooking, hiking, and spending time with their goldendoodle, George.
Lloyd A. Welling – Of Counsel
Attorney Welling received his undergraduate degree in Journalism and Communications from Point Park University in 1986 and his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 1992. He started the law firm of American Wills & Estates in 1997 and has practiced exclusively in the areas of Probate Estate Administration, Estate Planning and Real Estate law since that time. When not working, Lloyd can be found cheering on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates; Golfing… badly, or walking his three rescue dogs on the streets of Mt. Washington.
