Daniel J. Kollias received his law degree from Notre Dame Law School 1999. He is also a 1995 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned a B.A. in Economics.
After graduating law school, Dan worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. While there, he prosecuted dozens of criminal appeals in the Illinois Appellate Court. He also handled countless juvenile abuse and neglect cases at all stages in the legal process, from temporary custody through trial, disposition, permanency, and frequently, termination of parental rights and adoption.
After leaving the State’s Attorney’s Office, Dan successfully owned and managed a restaurant and bar in Elmhurst. He sold the business in 2002, and returned full time to the practice of law, opening an office in Wheaton as a sole practitioner. In 2009, he merged his practice into Mullen, Winthers & Kollias, P.C., where he was a partner for five years. Since 2014, he has been a partner in Kollias P.C.
Dan focuses his practice on family law, business planning, and estate planning. In the field of family law, he has represented thousands of clients in cases involving divorce, child custody, child support, maintenance, removal, and complex property division. Dan’s experience, both as a business owner and an attorney who handles business planning, provides him with unique insight into the particular issues which arise when small business owners find themselves going through a divorce.
Dan is also certified as a guardian ad litem in DuPage County. He is routinely appointed to investigate and report to the court regarding the best interests of the children in contested cases of child custody, visitation, and removal.
Dan represents family law clients in the appellate courts. On appeal, his clients have prevailed on issues such as post-divorce challenges to paternity; the non-modifiability of agreed orders; the classification of property as marital or non-marital; and whether money received from family members during a divorce should be treated as a loan or a gift. Some of those cases have established new legal precedent in Illinois, including the following:
In the field of business planning, Dan represents clients at all stages of the business life cycle, from business structure, organization, and formation, to succession planning, shareholder and operating agreements, purchase and sale of ownership interests, purchase and sale of assets, and dissolution. He also acts as registered agent for numerous clients, ensuring that routine matters like corporate minutes and annual reports are diligently maintained and filed in a timely manner. In the field of estate planning, Dan counsels clients on how to ensure that they and their loved ones are provided for in the event of incapacity or death, and how to minimize the effects of the estate tax. He prepares wills, simple and complex trusts, and powers of attorney.
Dan is an active member of the Du Page County Bar Association, and has given presentations at family law seminars. Dan speaks Greek fluently.
Prior Employment
- Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office 1998 – 2001
- Rule 711 Intern, Felony Trial Division 1998
- Assistant States Attorney 1999 – 2001
- Criminal Appeals Division
- Published Appellate Court Decisions
- Juvenile Abuse & Neglect Division
- Law Offices of Daniel J. Kollias, P.C., 2003 to 2009
- Mullen, Winthers & Kollias, P.C. 2009 – 2014
- Kollias P.C. 2014 to present.
Foreign Languages
- Greek