Tom Whelihan, Whelihan Law FirmAs an attorney for over three decades, Tom has an extensive litigation background in a variety of practice areas.  He has litigated numerous cases and has conducted trials in the state and federal trial courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania and has represented clients in several matters in the appellate courts of those jurisdictions.

Tom’s litigation practice is focused primarily on controversies involving wills, trusts, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, misappropriation and conversion, and other disputes related to the administration of estates and trusts.  He has represented both fiduciaries and beneficiaries in these types of cases.  Tom’s litigation experience includes commercial business disputes.

Tom represents clients in all aspects of estate planning and estate administration, counseling families, individuals and business owners in the range of issues surrounding the preservation and transfer of assets during life and upon death. In addition to preparing wills, trust agreements, durable powers of attorney and health care directives, Tom serves clients in trust and estate administration, including related income and death tax issues. He assists clients in planning for the disposition of assets in a tax advantaged manner as well as the succession or sale of a family business. Tom’s practice encompasses the representation and counseling of individual and corporate clients in business matters, including the planning, formation and organization of new business ventures.

Before becoming the managing member of his own firm, Tom also managed the in-house legal department of a publicly traded, nationwide financial services provider.  He has served as a court-appointed arbitrator for the New Jersey Superior Court and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and is frequently appointed by the New Jersey Superior Court to serve in various capacities, including counsel for alleged incapacitated persons, guardian for individuals judicially declared to be incapacitated and as the administrator of decedents’ estates.

After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Scranton, Tom earned his law degree from Rutgers University. He was awarded a Certification in Estate Planning and Master of Laws in Taxation from Temple University. Tom is admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, Tax and Real Property, Probate Sections, and the Burlington County Bar Association.

Admitted to Bar

  • New Jersey, 1991
  • New York 2002
  • Pennsylvania, 1990

Education

  • Temple University-James E. Beasley School of Law, LL.M. Taxation, 2008
  • Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, J.D., 1990
  • University of Scranton, B.S., 1987

Affiliations

  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • Burlington County Bar Association

Reported Decisions

  • Matter of Estate of Jones, 477 N.J. Super. 203 (App. Div. 2023)
  • Brown v. Muhlenberg Tp., 269 F.3d 205 (3rd Cir. 2001)
  • Smith v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 424 Pa.Super. 41, 621 A.2d 1030 (1993)
  • Acevedo v. Start Plastics, Inc., 834 F. Supp. 808 (E.D.Pa. 1993)