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Managing Partner
Colleen L. Sahlas

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Attorney Colleen L. Sahlas is the managing partner of The Law Offices of Hoy & Sahlas, LLC.  She joined her father’s firm in 2000, and became a partner in 2006.  


For almost 25 years, she has focused her legal practice in estate planning, decedents’ estates, business, and real estate.

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​Probate and decedent's estates administration can be confusing and daunting.  Mrs. Sahlas aims to compassionately guide her clients during their grief and loss. 

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Mrs. Sahlas is the winner of the 2025 IICLE Outstanding Achievement in Estate Planning Award. This annual award  celebrates and acknowledges the exceptional contributions and distinguished accomplishments of Illinois attorneys who exemplify professionalism, innovation, and dedication in the field of estate planning and serves as a symbol of the profound impact the recipient has had on safeguarding and preserving the legacies of individuals, families, and communities.

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In late summer of 2025, her anticipated probate manual for Illinois lawyers, "Practical Probate: An Essential Guide for Illinois Decedents’ Estates in Independent Administration," will be published by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.  Featuring 14 prominent co-authors and a Foreword by Cook County Presiding Probate Judge Daniel B. Malone, she is the General Editor and primary author.

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From 2024-25, Mrs. Sahlas was the Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association.  The Council is influential in proposing changes to State legislation, and educates Illinois attorneys through its newsletter and continuing legal education courses. She was recently recognized in the June, 2025 Illinois Bar Journal article, "Probate Pitfalls," praising her efforts and achievements as Chair and as a co-presenter of a highly attended ISBA webinar on Probate Pitfalls. While acting as Chair, she commissioned her council members to amend the Illinois Small Estate Affidavit to allow estates with personal property totaling $150,000 (raised from the current $100,000) to avoid probate, and in addition, allowing all motor vehicles to avoid probate.

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This legislative bill, known as SB 83, has already passed the house and the senate, almost unanimously. It currently awaits the signature of Gov. Pritzker to sign it into law. Mrs. Sahlas served on the ISBA Standing Committee on Legislation from 2024-2025, and also served on a 6-member Legislative Committee with the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association which successfully amended the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act and was signed into law in May, 2022.

 

In 2022, Mrs. Sahlas received a 5 Year Service Award for her services as the former Managing Editor of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Newsletter.

 

From 2020-2022, she served on the Board of Directors of the DuPage County Estate Planning Council and has been a member since 2016. 

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An author and speaker, Mrs. Sahlas has presented webinars with the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) and with the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).  She has authored materials for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) including Attorney Fee Service Agreements with IICLE's Formulaw Library.  She has been published in the American Bar Association’s Probate & Property Magazine, and had numerous articles published in the Illinois State Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Newsletter and the Illinois State Bar Association’s Real Property Newsletter.

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The July, 2014 Illinois Bar Journal (IBJ) awarded her with the “Best of ISBA Newsletters,” for her article, “6 Strategies to Better Represent Sellers of Real Estate,” which was chosen from nearly 40 different newsletters that produce over 200 articles annually.  

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Mrs. Sahlas has a passion for practicing law and enjoys getting to know her clients, whether young or in advanced years, single to married, and blended families.  To learn more, read the "Spotlight" article of the Oct., 2020 issue of the Illinois State Bar Association's Trusts & Estates Newsletter. 

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​Mrs. Sahlas grew up in Oak Park, IL. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the John Marshall Law School (n/k/a University of Illinois at Chicago Law School) in 2000, and passed the bar exam immediately thereafter.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. During law school, she clerked for a Chicago private insurance defense firm  and interned for 1 1/2 years with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office prosecuting as a Section 711 student attorney in several trials, prevailing in all. 

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A classically trained Mezzo-Soprano, she is a former member/soloist of Chicago Choral Artists and the historic Apollo Chorus of Chicago.  Mrs. Sahlas has completed Berlitz language courses and is at an intermediate language level in German, Greek, and French. She and her husband, Nicko, a former professional chef, celebrate 25 years of marriage in 2025.

Education

May, 1993

Bethel University

Bachelor of Arts, May, 1993, from Bethel University, (f/k/a Bethel College) St. Paul, Minnesota

May, 2000

The John Marshall Law School

Juris Doctor, May, 2000, from The John Marshall Law School, (n/k/a University of Illinois at Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois

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Leadership, Awards & Distinctions

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Publications

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