Overview

Sheila works with clients to help them preserve and protect their wealth – and plan for its stewardship in the future. She takes the time to understand each client’s unique circumstances and goals. She then works compassionately and creatively with clients to devise estate plans that are tailored to their needs, utilizing appropriate tax planning strategies.

Sheila regularly lectures on estate planning and charitable giving topics. She is a co-author of the chapter on revocable trusts in Eckhardt’s Workbook for Wisconsin Estate Planners, an estate-planning guide for Wisconsin lawyers.

Experience

Solutions in action

  • Estate planning, including wills, trusts, and powers of attorney
  • Marital property, including prenuptial agreements
  • Trust and estate administration
  • Gift and estate taxation
  • Charitable planning
  • Business succession planning

Credentials

  • The University of Iowa College of Law, Juris Doctor (J.D.), Order of the Coif, 1995, with high distinction
  • The University of Iowa, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Phi Beta Kappa, 1992, with highest distinction

  • Wisconsin

  • Best Lawyers®, Women in the Law (Madison, WI), Trusts and Estates, 2022-present
  • The Midwest’s Best Lawyers©, Trusts and Estates law, 2021
  • Best Lawyers®, Trusts and Estates, 2008-present

Engagement

  • Board Member and Member of Planned Giving Committee, Agrace Hospicecare Foundation, Inc.
  • Member, Madison Estate Council
  • Member, Wisconsin Association of Charitable Gift Planners
  • Leadership Greater Madison 9
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, State Bar of Wisconsin, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and Elder Law Section

  • Past Director, Madison Public Library Foundation, Inc.
  • Past Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Madison, Inc.
  • Past Director, The Business Forum and The Business Forum Foundation

Insights