Thomas Shanahan

After graduating from State University of New York, Cortland College, Tom Shanahan began his career at the CBS Television Network. From there, he worked in government for numerous elected officials, including New York City Mayor David Dinkins, Public Advocate Mark Green, and New York State Governors Spitzer and Paterson. He has served as a Judicial Delegate and was elected District Leader in Midtown Manhattan in 2018. He has been actively involved in civic and community affairs for most of his life and serves on the board of numerous not-for-profit organizations.

Tom has been practicing law since 1997 and is admitted in New York State, Florida, and all federal courts in those states. He maintains a law office in Midtown Manhattan in New York City and in Wilton Manors in Florida. Tom is “of counsel” to Trantalis & Associates, a well-respected Fort Lauderdale area firm specializing in Wills, Trusts, and Estates. Tom’s passion for estate planning arose over a fifteen-year period during which he became a caregiver and the primary advocate for two family members. He realized how families and individual lives can be damaged when a loved one fails to properly plan for the future. He is committed to helping traditional and non-traditional families develop an estate plan that protects their interests both in the present and in the years to come.

Tom is a member of the Elder Law Litigation Section Committee and Elder Law & Estate Planning Committee of the Florida Bar. He is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a Graduate of the Elder Law College (2025), certified as Personal Family Lawyer (“PFL”) by the New Law Business model, and a member of Wealth Counsel.

For more than two decades, Tom litigated civil rights, employment and other commercial disputes. He has numerous precedent setting court decisions, including from the New York State Court of Appeals (the highest Court in New York) and United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has received numerous awards and honors for his advocacy, including the Holding Power Accountable Award given to him by Common Cause in 2002, proclamation citing his outstanding advocacy by the New York City Council in 2004, and the IMPACT Award given to him by the Gay City News in 2023 for his decades of advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.

Although Tom still litigates to a limited extent and maintains business and corporate clients, his practice is primarily geared towards wills, trusts, estates, and assisting clients with elder law planning. He lives in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City and Fort Lauderdale in Florida.