Skip to Main Content
Overview

Jessica works with individuals, families and business-owners to plan for the biggest moments in each phase of life.

Jessica counsels clients on complex estate and wealth planning, estate and trust administration, and business succession planning. From preparing for marriage to planning for retirement and beyond, Jessica’s combination of technical expertise and real-world practicality allow her to provide customized strategies tailored to each clients’ needs.

Jessica works directly with individuals and families to determine the type of planning best suited to their needs and priorities. Customized planning using revocable and irrevocable trusts, including Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts, Beneficiary Defective Grantor Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, and Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, are central to Jessica’s practice.

In addition to establishing trusts, Jessica also modifies existing irrevocable trusts to address unintended tax consequences, changes in family situations and other unanticipated circumstances that may necessitate a change of course. Her experience in this area has made her adept at analyzing and implementing the best available method to make the desired changes, without unnecessary judicial intervention or administrative hassle. Jessica is proficient with trust decanting, nonjudicial settlement agreements, nonjudicial modifications and judicial reformations of irrevocable trusts.

Jessica is also proficient at drafting premarital agreements. The decision to marry brings significant financial and legal consequences, and a properly structured premarital agreement can help couples ensure mutual expectations regarding their respective property rights and protect premarital assets in the event of a divorce. Jessica deftly guides clients through the sensitive conversations and decisions that are required to protect existing and future wealth at this critical stage of life.

Alongside her estate planning and trust work, Jessica also has extensive experience with sophisticated charitable planning vehicles. She guides clients in achieving their charitable and wealth transfer goals, helping them implement tax-efficient strategies to financially support causes they care about. She has formed and advised on Private Foundations, Private Operating Foundations, Public Charities, Charitable Lead Trusts and Charitable Remainder Trusts.

Jessica’s practice includes advising clients on matters that are deeply personal, and clients appreciate the care and compassion with which she approaches every issue. She truly loves working in a field where she can know clients personally and where she can have a tangible effect on their lives and their families’ futures. Jessica values the trust clients place in her and takes pride in her ability to competently navigate even the most delicate and complex issues.

Industry

Services

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Trusts and Estates, 2024
  • Missouri Bar Pro Bono Wall of Fame, 2020-2021

Education

  • J.D., Washington University in St. Louis
    • CALI Award for Legal Ethics
    • Order of the Barristers
    • Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, sources editor
  • B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
    • cum laude
    • Political Science

Admissions

  • Missouri

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis


*Contact Jessica to set up an in-person consultation by appointment in the St. Louis office.
Case Studies
BLAQUE Advances Educational Equity With Legal Support From Husch Blackwell

We assisted in the formation of a new not-for-profit dedicated to improving the academic, economic, social, emotional and life outcomes of African-American children in public schools.

Outside the Office

Jessica enjoys spending time with her husband, kids and dogs.

They like visiting family in California, Colorado and throughout the Midwest. In St. Louis, Jessica cooks with her family. She’s also an avid reader of nonfiction and spends time outdoors as a bicyclist and runner.

Community Leadership

Jessica places a high priority on pro bono work, providing counsel through the following organizations:

  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (including pro bono estate planning for healthcare workers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic)
  • Sappington House Foundation
  • Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
  • Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts