Benjamin L. Jerner

Benjamin L. Jerner is the managing partner and founder of Jerner Law Group, P.C. He has practiced law in Philadelphia for over 20 years, concentrating his practice on estate planning, probate and estate administration, adoption and legal issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients.

Practice Areas

Adoption, Estate Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Transgender Legal Issues

Bar Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• Third Circuit Court of Appeals
• Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• District Court of New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey

Education

• Juris Doctor cum laude, Temple University School of Law

Honors and Affiliations

Ben is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s LGBT Rights Committee, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association Family Law Institute, and the National LGBT Bar Association’s Transgender Law Institute. Ben has served on the boards of directors of the Women’s Law Project, the Mazzoni Center, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Committee on the Legal Rights of Lesbians and Gay Men, the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia, and the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Ben served as lead counsel in the Pennsylvania same-sex marriage case In re: Burgi-Rios. Ben has presented for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Equality Forum, the National LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Law, the Mazzoni Center’s Transhealth Conference, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Thomas Jefferson University: Jefferson Medical College, the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund Advisory Council, the Pride Center of New Jersey, and Philadelphia Family Pride.

Publications

Benjamin L. Jerner & Leora Cohen Schiff. “Defining Parental Rights in Pennsylvania in the 21^st Century.” The Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, Vol. XCI, No. 4, Oct. 2020 at 133-141.

Benjamin L. Jerner & Anna K. Pachner. “Selected Legal Issues Affecting the Transgender Community.” Representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Clients in Pennsylvania. Ed. Kirby G. Upright. Mechanicsburg: PBI Press 2008; rev. ed. 2016. 63-86. Print.

Jerner, Benjamin. “Transgender Clients.” Representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Clients in Pennsylvania. Ed. Kirby G. Upright. Mechanicsburg: PBI Press 2008; rev. ed. 2013. Print.

Stan A. Pelli & Benjamin L. Jerner. “Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples in Pennsylvania Following Windsor.” Estate Planning Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vol. XIV, No. 6, Fall 2013, at 1, 3-5. Web.

Stan A. Pelli & Benjamin L. Jerner. “The Changing Planning Landscape Post-Windsor.” Philadelphia Estate Planning Council, Vol. XXIII, No. 2, Winter 2013 – 2014, at 16-19. Web.

Jerner, Benjamin. “Culturally Competent Representation.” Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy.  Eds. Jennifer L. Levi & Elizabeth E. Monnin-Browder. Bloomington: Authorhouse, 2012. 1-15. Print.

Selected Speaking Engagements

Planning for the “Real” Modern Family, Montgomery County Estate Planning Council, Blue Bell, PA. Presenters: Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq. and Tiffany L. Palmer, Esq. (June 7, 2017)

Transgender Law: The Legal Issues Surrounding Gender Identity, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Philadelphia, PA. Panelists: Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq., Barrett Marshall, Esq. and Sara Jacobson, Esq. (November 3, 2014)

Perspectives on the Impacts of the Supreme Court DOMA Ruling, Wells Fargo Private Bank, Philadelphia, PA.  Panelists: Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq., Stanley A. Pelli, Esq. and Dennis Springer (May 13, 2014)

Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples in a Post-Windsor World, Estate Planning Council of the Lehigh Valley, Allentown, PA.  Presenters: Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq. and Tiffany L. Palmer, Esq. (April 3, 2014)

Wealth Planning for Same Sex or Unmarried Couples, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, PA.  Panelists: Jacquelyn S. Boyer, JD, LLM, Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq. and Amy Steerman, Esq. (March 20, 2014)