When most people think of estate planning, they immediately think about a will. But Sarah, a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Practice Group, understands the complexity of a complete estate plan to ensure that a person’s wishes are carried out, which goes much further than a will.
While she has helped many clients draft their wills, she is also qualified at developing comprehensive estate plans and has a broad array of experience with estate and trust administration. This area of her practice includes:
– Drafting of wills
– Drafting of power of attorney documents
– Drafting health care power of attorney documents and living wills
– Trust creation
– Trust administration
– Special needs trust establishment
Clients working with Sarah can expect a thoughtful, inclusive approach that encompasses the full picture of their needs – paired with open communication and timely, reliable responses.
Her work often takes her to Orphans’ Court, where she assists clients regarding the intricacies of special needs trust administration and guardianships of the person and of the estate. Those are legal tools that allow a person or entity to make decisions for another person of any age who is incapacitated or has certain special needs. Sarah’s elder law and special needs planning practice is focused on preserving dignity and autonomy for vulnerable individuals and their families. She offers guidance on long-term care planning, Medicaid eligibility, guardianships, and planning strategies tailored to individuals with disabilities, with compassion and deep knowledge of the legal landscape.
Sarah is also a member of the firm’s Business Practice Group. In her business practice, Sarah deals primarily with the needs of nonprofit corporations, including religious entities and youth sports organizations. Her work advising nonprofit corporations includes:
– Entity formation
– Compliance
– Bylaw review
– Real estate transactions
– Asset acquisitions
– Dissolutions
Sarah and her husband Brian live in Birdsboro with their daughters Maggie and Gracie. Her family can often be found enjoying the outdoors while camping in central Pennsylvania or spending time at the Jersey shore.
MEMBERSHIPS
- Berks Estate Planning Council, Board member
- Dauphin County Bar Association
- Schuylkill County Bar Association
- Berks County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys
PRESENTATIONS
- “Financial Planning, Assigning Beneficiaries and Becoming Knowledgeable on Important Forms” – Panelist, Greater Reading Chamber Alliance Women2Women Event (June 2023)
- “Attorneys’ Duties to Protect Client Data”, Lancaster Bar Association Webinar (June 2020)
- “COVID-19 Estate Planning Opportunities”, Herbein + Company Webinar (May 2020)
- “Board Governance” Leadership Berks County (November 2012-18)
- Transactional Law; Berks County Bar Association Law Explorer Post (January 2012)
- “Entity Selection” Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce Small Business Summit (April 2011)
- The Struggle of Punitive Damages in Arbitration: How to Get What you Want Out of an Arbitration; The Journal of American Arbitration
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Legal intern for the Honorable John E. Jones III of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, 2004.
RECOGNITIONS
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) (2024)
- Lehigh Valley Business “Women of Influence” Honoree (2023)