About LISA
Lisa is a trusted advisor in estate planning, business succession, and wealth preservation. She is recognized for her ability to craft plans that range from straightforward to highly sophisticated. Lisa is also deeply committed to pro bono service, regularly volunteering with programs that support military personnel, first responders, and their families. Her leadership, skill, and dedication have earned her numerous professional and community honors.
Specialties
PROBATE & ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
Admin Contact
Christina Organtini
COrgantini@HRMML.com
Lisa A. Shearman
(215) 661-0400 • LShearman@HRMML.com
Lisa Shearman chairs the firm’s Estates and Trusts Department and is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. With more than 30 years of experience, she is a highly regarded trusts and estates and business lawyer, known for developing estate plans that range from straightforward to highly sophisticated. Her practice focuses on business continuity and succession planning, estate tax reduction, and wealth preservation. She also advises clients in estate and trust administration, post-mortem planning, and the preparation of Inheritance Tax, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fiduciary Income Tax Returns. In addition, Lisa assists individuals and families with the formation and operation of tax-exempt organizations, including private foundations.
Lisa is a Past President of the Montgomery Bar Association and serves as a Zone 9 Delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association, where she is an active member of the Real Property, Probate, and Tax Section. A passionate advocate for pro bono service, she regularly volunteers with the Wills for Heroes program, providing complimentary estate planning to military personnel, first responders, and their families. She also encourages and mentors her colleagues to use their legal skills to give back to the community.
Her dedication has been recognized with numerous honors, including the PBA President’s Special Achievement Award (2015) and the Milton O. Moss Community Service Award from the Montgomery Bar Foundation (2014).
Lisa earned her B.S. from the University of Scranton (1989), her J.D. from Widener University (1992), and her LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law (1994).
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Admissions
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court of New Jersey
Education
Villanova University School of Law (LL.M. 1994, LL.M. Graduate Tax Program)
Widener University School of Law (J.D., 1992)
University of Scranton (B.S., 1989)
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Pennsylvania Bar Association
Zone 9 Delegate
Real Property, Probate and Trust Section Council Treasurer
Commission on Women in the Profession
Montgomery Bar Association
Past President
Probate and Tax Section Chair
Rules of Orphans’ Court Committee
Law Reporter Committee Chair
Montgomery Bar Foundation Fellow
Montgomery Child Advocacy Program
Liaison to Montgomery Bar Association
Montgomery County Estate Planning Council
Board of Directors
National Association of Women Lawyers
Community and Pro-Bono Activities:Wills for Heroes Foundation
Vice-President
Board of Directors
National Affiliate Director
Wills for Heroes Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Co-Coordinator
County Coordinator for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County Community College Planned Giving Advisory Council
Moot Court Judge for AAJ Regional Student Trial Advocacy Competition
Liberty & Law Civics Program sponsored by the Montgomery County Bar Association
Mount Saint Joseph Academy Special Events Committee Member
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Publications
Featured in Villanova University’s Online Newsletter, “Tax Industry Expert Reflects Upon Her Villanova Education,” October 17, 2023
“Donate Life PA Act: Organ Donation and Beyond”, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, Summer/Fall 2019
“DIY Legal Websites, Good, Bad or Really Bad”, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2016
“Durable Powers of Attorney Receive a Makeover”, HRMML Newsletter, Fall 2014
“The Importance of Beneficiary Designations in Estate Planning”, Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in Profession Newsletter, Voices & Views, Spring 2014
“What Is DOMA And How It Affects Pennsylvania Residents”, HRMML Newsletter, Fall 2013
“Gifting to Children: Consider an UTMA Account:” HRMML Newsletter, 2012
“The Doctrine of Necessaries”, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, Fall 2007
“Donate Life PA Act: Organ Donation and Beyond”, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, Summer/Fall 2019
“DIY Legal Websites, Good, Bad or Really Bad”, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2016
“Durable Powers of Attorney Receive a Makeover”, HRMML Newsletter, Fall 2014
“The Importance of Beneficiary Designations in Estate Planning”, Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in Profession Newsletter, Voices & Views, Spring 2014
“What Is DOMA And How It Affects Pennsylvania Residents”, HRMML Newsletter, Fall 2013
“Gifting to Children: Consider an UTMA Account:” HRMML Newsletter, 2012
“The Doctrine of Necessaries”, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Newsletter, Fall 2007
Speaking Engagements
PBI Estate Law Institute: “411 on 911: POLST (Portable Medical Orders), Healthcare Power of Attorneys (POAs) & Living Wills.” Fall 2023
PBI Estate Law Institute: “Drafting POAs & HCPOAs”, Spring 2019
MBA Probate & Tax Section: “Everything You Wanted to Know about Probate but were Afraid to Ask”, 2018
PBI Estate Law Institute: “Drafting POAs & HCPOAs”, Fall 2018
Course Planner and Presenter for PBI Institute Course “Powers of Appointment”, 2018
Course Planner and Presenter for PBI Bar Institute course “Elections and Disclaimers”, 2017
PBA Presentation: “Crossroads of Estates and Litigation”, 2017
MBA WIL & YLS: “Wills for Heroes – Primer on Wills & Estate Planning”, 2017
MBA TLS and Probate & Tax Sections: “Agnew v. Ross: Attorney Malpractice Claims Against the Estate Planner”, 2017
MBA Probate & Tax Section: “Everything You Wanted to Know about Probate but were Afraid to Ask”, 2017
Course Planner and Presenter for PBI Bar Institute course: “Interaction of Estates and Litigation”, 2017
Montgomery County Community College presentation: “The Trust about Estate Planning: An Interactive Conversation”, Fall 2016
PBI Estate Law Institute: “Drafting POAs & HCPOAs”, Fall 2016
PBI Bar Institute course: “How to Close an Estate: Court Accountings and Family Agreements”, Fall 2016
PBI Bar Institute course: “The Intersection of Life and Estate Planning”, 2016[Text Wrapping Break]Course Planner and Presenter for PBI Bar Institute course “Elections and Disclaimers”, 2015
PBI Bar Institute course: “Power of Attorney Update”, 2015
PBI Bar Institute course: “PA’s New Power of Attorney: What You Need to Know-Six Months After Enactment”? 2015
Montgomery County Community College presentation: “Common Estate Planning Myths ” Planned Giving Council of Montgomery County Community College Foundation, 2015
PBI Bar Institute course: “Act 95, The New Power of Attorney Act”, 2014
Montgomery County Community College presentation: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Estate Planning (but were afraid to ask), Part II” Planned Giving Council of Montgomery County Community College Foundation, 2014
National Association of Legal Secretaries Pennsylvania: “Wills for Heroes Program”, 2014
Philadelphia Legal Secretaries Association: “Wheel of Fortune vs. Family Feud – Avoid the Dispute, Prepare a Will”, 2013
Montgomery County Bar Association CLE: “An Estate Tax Odyssey”, 2013
PBI Bar Institute course: “Fundamentals of Estate Administration, – Debts and Claims”, 2013
Foxmoor Continuing Education course: “Federal Estate and Gift Tax 2013”, 2013
PBI Estate Law Institute course: “Post Mortem Estate Planning”, 2012
PBI Estate Law Institute course: “Gift Planning for Estates Under and Over $5 Million Dollars”, 2011
PBI Pro Bono Seminar course on the “Wills for Heroes Program”, 2010
PBI Estate Law Institute course: “Analyzing the Spousal Elective Share”, 2008
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Named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List for 2025 in the area of Estate Planning and Probate Law. Each year, no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
2015 Recipient of Pennsylvania Bar Association President’s Special Achievement Award.
2014 Recipient of Milton O. Moss Community Service Award, presented by the Montgomery County Bar Foundation
2012 Recognition as “Awesome Attorney” by Suburban Life Magazine
2011 Recipient of Community College of Philadelphia Outstanding Service Award
2011 Recipient of Verdina Y. Showell Award, presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
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In addition to her dedication to volunteering and giving back to the community, Lisa treasures time with her husband, two daughters, and their dog Gypsy, and finds joy in running, skiing, sailing, and boating.