Joshua A. Weinshank focuses his practice in the areas of Trust and Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Probate administration. In 2017, he oversaw the opening of Cramer & Anderson’s office in Ridgefield, where he is the Resident Partner.
Attorney Weinshank advises clients on ways to effectively and efficiently preserve and create intergenerational wealth by addressing their tax and personal concerns. His approach to estate planning takes into account clients’ entire portfolios and goals. Attorney Weinshank works with his clients to implement strategies to reduce estate and gift taxes, as well as addressing income tax concerns through the management of capital gains and the appreciation of assets.
Attorney Weinshank also focuses on asset protection and Title XIX (Medicaid) Planning. He effectively advises clients on ways to preserve their assets while qualifying for governmental assistance programs.
His experience in the area of probate law, and estate and trust administration, has earned him a winning record representing beneficiaries and fiduciaries in contested probate proceedings in the Connecticut Probate Courts.
Attorney Weinshank is the Fairfield County Trust and Estate Planning and Administration Group Leader for the firm. He choreographed a vision to grow the firm’s business by bringing Cramer & Anderson’s sophisticated team approach and personalized advocacy to clients throughout Fairfield County.
Attorney Weinshank makes community-minded activism a priority, and several of his roles come under the umbrella of the Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN), now part of Nuvance Health. This past winter, Attorney Weinshank was named the new Chair of WCHN’s Legacy Society, which recognizes donors who include WCHN or its Hospitals in estate plans through wills, trusts, annuities or other charitable giving vehicles.
He was also recently named to the Patient Advisory Council, adding to a list of WCHN roles that includes membership on the Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital Foundation Associate Board of Directors.
In Ridgefield, Attorney Weinshank is a member of the Finance Committee of the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association (RVNA), and has served on the Board of the Ridgefield Playhouse, as well as its Finance Committee.
In 2016 and 2017, Attorney Weinshank was a member, and also co-Chair, of the Planned Giving Committee formed by Ability Beyond, the pioneering Bethel-based organization that “helps thousands of people with physical and mental disabilities discover their abilities and become a part of their communities.”
Attorney Weinshank won a prestigious 40 Under 40 award from the Fairfield County Business Journal in May 2019, and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in both 2018 and 2019. In 2017, he was named a New Leader in the Law as part of the Connecticut Law Tribune’s annual statewide Professional Excellence Awards.
Attorney Weinshank joined Cramer & Anderson after years of practice with a large law firm located on Connecticut’s Fairfield County shoreline.
He received an LL.M. in Estate Planning and Elder Law from Western New England University School of Law. He also received his J.D. from Western New England University, where he received five CALI Excellence Awards in various subjects and was the assistant editor of the University’s Law Review.
While in law school, Attorney Weinshank cycled across the country to raise money for Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research, Inc. A competitive skier and coach for many years at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, Attorney Weinshank is an avid outdoorsman and sports enthusiast. He lives in Ridgefield with his wife, Steffani, and their two young daughters.
Education:
Western New England School of Law (Masters of Law: Estate Planning and Elder Law)
Western New England School of Law (J.D.)
Assistant Editor of Law Review
CALI for Excellence Awards: Contract Law, International Business Transactions, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, and Civil Procedure
University of Connecticut (B.A.)
Admitted to the Bar:
Connecticut, 2009
Minnesota, 2011
Professional Associations:
Member, Finance Committee, Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association
Chair, Legacy Society, Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN)
Member, Associate Board of the Danbury and New Milford Hospital Foundation
Member, Patient Advisory Council, WCHN
Managing Director, The Stevek Foundation, Inc.
Former board member, Ridgefield Playhouse
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Connecticut Bar Association
Published Articles:
Co-Author, “Beneficiary Trustee: Settlor Intent and the Embedded Conflict” ALI-ABA Course of Study, Representing Estate and Trust Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries, Chicago IL July 14-15, 2011
Co-Author, “The Wealth Transfer Ramifications of Federal Recognition: The Advantages and Drawbacks” NBI Course of Study, Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Hartford, CT Octobe
