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Joshua Weinshank- Partner

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. 

He also specializes in asset protection techniques to preserve clients’ wealth from not only taxes but third-party creditors as well, such as lawsuits, divorce, and government program qualifications, as well as many other forces that may affect a client’s wealth. Attorney Weinshank achieves this through retitling of assets, LLCs, and trusts. He also focuses on choosing the best state jurisdiction to achieve maximum protection, which includes moving trust and assets situs to states like South Dakota, where clients might find better asset protection, privacy, and tax relief.  

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.

At the close of 2021, for example, Attorney Weinshank was named Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital Foundation, as well as the Norwalk Hospital Foundation. The hospitals are flagships for Nuvance Health, the health care system serving western Connecticut.

Attorney Weinshank was first named to the Associate Board of the Danbury Hospital & New Milford Hospital Foundation in 2017. He also serves as Chair of the Legacy Society for Danbury and New Milford hospitals, which recognizes donors who include the hospitals in their estate planning. Additionally, he has served on the health system’s Patient Advisory Council.

In 2021, Attorney Weinshank also was named a corporator for Union Savings Bank, the $2.7 billion mutual bank headquartered in Danbury, and in the spring of 2022 he joined the Board of Directors of Meals on Wheels of Ridgefield. He is also a Director of the Kermit & Patricia Adler Foundation Inc.

In Ridgefield, Attorney Weinshank is a member of the Development Committee of the RVNAhealth and former member of the Finance Committee, 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.:

In 2022, he won a Distinguished Leaders award from the Connecticut Law Tribune (CLT), following his 2017 New Leaders in the Law award from the CLT. Attorney Weinshank also 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.

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, Development Committee, RVNAhealth
  • Former Member, Finance Committee, RVNAhealth
  • Vice Chairman, Board of Directors for the Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital Foundation, and Norwalk Hospital Foundation
  • Chair, Legacy Society, Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN)
  • Former Member, Associate Board of the Danbury and New Milford Hospital Foundation
  • Director, Kermit & Patricia Adler Foundation Inc.
  • Corporator, Union Savings Bank
  • Board Member, Meals on Wheels of Ridgefield
  • Managing Director, The Stevek Foundation, Inc.
  • Former board member, Ridgefield Playhouse
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • 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 October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cramer & Anderson's office in Ridgefield.

Cramer & Anderson's office in Ridgefield.

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