Scott Keifer founded St. Louis Estate Planning in 2015 to focus exclusively on helping clients establish quality and cost-effective plans. When he was young he accompanied his parents to an estate planning attorney in downtown St. Louis. He was struck by the fancy law office in the tall building, the wood paneled walls in the conference room and windows overlooking other expensive buildings. He wondered how much his parents were paying to support all of this overhead. He thought, "Why can’t all of this overhead be reduced and the savings passed along to hard working people like my parents?" This thought is the basis of St. Louis Estate Planning.
Having a small law firm gives Scott the ability to give his clients better service and a professional work product without the unnecessary overhead. Scott spends more time with his clients than most other attorneys, only sells them solutions they need, and does so at a lower cost than other law firms.
Scott graduated from Truman State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and passed the Missouri Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam in 1994. In 1997, Scott graduated from University of Missouri School of Law and passed the Missouri Bar.
Scott and his wife, Claire, have been married since 2002 and have two daughters and one son. They live in South St. Louis County and are members of St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church. Scott enjoys his free time with his wife and kids (even though they are teenagers), as well as volunteering for the Boy Scouts. Scott’s (non-family related) highlight each year is taking a backpacking trip with his life-long friends on amazing trails in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, California, and Utah.
Tracy Brown joined the St. Louis Estate Planning team in December of 2022. Previously, she worked as an attorney for the Public Defender’s Office for almost 27 years, defending indigent clients accused of crimes. After Tracy retired as a public defender, she began her career as an estate planning attorney. Tracy’s past experiences and good listening skills help her create estate plans that meet the specific needs of a wide variety of clients.
Tracy grew up in St. Louis and graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia, later earning her law degree from St. Louis University. She currently lives in South St. Louis County with her husband and two dogs. Tracy enjoys spending her free time going to estate sales, knitting, and searching for the best pizza in St. Louis.
Mark Winchester joined the St. Louis Estate Planning team in May of 2023. As an attorney, Mark knows that a discussion about estate planning, while important, can be a difficult one to have. This is why Mark endeavors to put his estate planning clients at ease by taking the time to listen to their questions and concerns about their unique situation. Mark feels that the best part of his career as an estate planning attorney is seeing the relief in the faces of his clients when they realize that developing their estate plan doesn’t have to be stressful or difficult.
Mark was born and raised in southeast Missouri and received his undergraduate degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 2000. In 2019, Mark began the journey of earning his law degree and in 2022, Mark graduated magna cum laude from the Saint Louis University School of Law in the top 5% of his class. Mark is also a member of The Woolsack Honor Society at SLU Law. During law school, Mark earned recognition for academic excellence in several courses, including disability law and client counseling, and served as a Faculty Fellow.
Away from the office, Mark enjoys spending time with his wife, Cameo, their five children (ranging in age from 10 to 23), and his two cats (Sally and Mustacha) at their home in Saint Charles, Missouri. Mark also enjoys a fun evening of karaoke with Cameo and their friends and loves singing alternative and country songs from the 1990s.
Emily Slaten is an experienced estate planning attorney who has served hundreds of clients in the St. Louis area with their estate planning needs. She thoughtfully counsels her clients, listening to their unique family situations and then crafting an estate plan to meet their specific needs. She is committed to making the process as straightforward as possible and to giving her clients the peace-of-mind that their estate planning goals will be met.
Emily grew up in Southeast Missouri and graduated from St. Louis University in 2007. She received her law degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2010, where she graduated at the top of her class. After graduation, she clerked for the Honorable Frank Sullivan, Jr. on the Indiana Supreme Court. She moved back to St. Louis in 2013, and she and her husband, Andrew, have two young sons. Outside the office, Emily enjoys exploring St. Louis playgrounds and attractions with her sons, planning family trips, reading, exercising, and gardening.
Donna, our paralegal, grew up in northern Illinois and attended the University of Illinois where she received a bachelor's in legal studies. She has more than 20 years of experience as a paralegal. Donna has been with St. Louis Estate Planning since early 2017 and has assisted over 1500 families in the creation of their estate plans. She is our resident probate expert and is highly skilled in navigating the Missouri probate court system. Donna enjoys talking to people and helping them set up individualized estate plans. Her objective is to make sure all of our clients' questions are answered and clearly understood. Donna adores spending time with her family and friends, as well as playing pickleball, reading, photography and exploring parks with her dog.
Our client services and success coordinator, Emily, grew up in St. Louis, earned a master’s degree in education from Webster University (bachelor’s from Mizzou) and taught for seven years. After staying home with her children, she loves being back at work to assist clients with their questions and estate planning needs. Emily has been with the company since early 2019 and has assisted over 1000 families with their estate plans. Her attention to detail helps our firm run smoothly. Emily's goal is to see that all of our clients have a positive experience during the estate planning process. She enjoys creating art, visiting museums, hiking and spending time with her husband and their children.
Our client care coordinator, Michelle, earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Missouri State University. Michelle grew up in St. Louis, but lived in Wisconsin for thirteen years. Her work experience includes assisting commercial accounts in advertising sales and working for a construction firm as an administrative assistant and marketing coordinator. After her family relocated to St. Louis, she became an active parent volunteer and teacher's aide. Michelle started at our company in early 2021 and has assisted over 700 families with their estate planning needs. She works behind the scenes, making sure we deliver a flawless product to our clients. Michelle is a sports fan who enjoys walking, playing golf and spending time with family and friends.
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