Maritess has been practicing law for over 20 years. She started her career at two boutique law firms in downtown Chicago that specialized in estate and business planning for high net worth individuals and families. It was there that she honed the skills and expertise to identify a clients’ objectives and to employ innovative strategies to meet their goals. She then joined a sole practitioner in the suburbs where she headed up the Estate Planning and Probate Division. In 2003, she became a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, a national exclusive organization dedicated to promoting excellence in estate planning. She is one of only a handful of Academy members in the Chicagoland area.

Maritess earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and a minor in Communications, at Northern Illinois University. She worked for the United Airlines Credit Union (now Alliant Credit Union) right out of college. 18 months later, she enrolled at John Marshall Law School where she earned her law degree, while working part-time at Weiss & Block Chartered. She also earned a Masters of Science in Accountancy degree from Rosary College (now Dominican University). During her tenure at both graduate programs, she certainly learned the art of multi-tasking, and was able to graduate within 3 years. Maritess’ education was just the foundation she needed to be able to effectively advise her client on business and estate planning issues.

Maritess was born in the Philippines, and came to the United States when she was 5 years old. She grew up primarily in Skokie, and graduated from Niles West High School. She currently lives in Rolling Meadows with her husband, Gary, and their children, Zachary, Nathaniel and Jocelyn. In 2017, the family grew even more when they adopted their Peekapoo, Cinnamon. Maritess enjoys spending time with her family, attending their many sporting events, hanging out with her girlfriends, hosting extended family events and watching a bit of reality TV.