Fort Wayne, Indiana Family Law, Personal Injury, Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers

Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, L.L.P.

229 West Berry Street, Suite 400 Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 USA

 (260) 440-3530 or (877) 757-1359
 (260) 422-9038

www.skbw.com
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Law Firm Overview

At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we focus on the most efficient resolution to our clients' legal issues. We help our clients avoid conflict whenever possible and appropriate. However, we have the skill and experience to fight for our clients' interests in litigation when necessary.

Our Fort Wayne probate lawyers are part of a proud legal tradition. Our story begins with Indiana attorney Willard Shambaugh, who began practicing in his father's Fort Wayne law office in the 1920s. He became an exceptional lawyer with a legacy of success, legal innovation and the highest ethical standards in his practice.

We do not waste our clients' time, and we do not add to conflict or fight a battle that could be solved peacefully. Some conflicts, of course, cannot be solved outside of the courtroom — like some family law matters and probate litigation — but there are many instances in which we can solve our clients' legal matters outside of the courtroom, through mediation or other alternative dispute resolution approach. Our attorneys are sophisticated in legal areas that include: divorce/collaborative divorce, personal injury, business and estate administration.

We find that avoiding the courtroom through an agreed resolution, when appropriate, is often a more efficient result, and one which usually saves our clients a great deal of money and stress.

Practice Areas

Practice Areas Description

- Personal Injury

The Indiana law firm of Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, has a long history of successful personal injury litigation. Our Fort Wayne personal injury attorneys have been helping personal injury victims obtain full compensation for their injuries for more than 30 years, in cases including: car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, hit-and-run accidents, sports injuries, dog bites, slip-and-fall / premises liability, nursing home abuse, wrongful death and defective products.

- Estate Planning

Some people are reluctant to establish an estate plan, perhaps because they feel that only rich people need to plan their estates. But the fact is you do not need to have a lot of property to want to protect it. The purpose of estate planning is to provide you and your loved ones with peace of mind. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound or more of cure; with a little planning, you can pass on your wealth to the loved ones you choose, in the way you choose, and reduce or eliminate the opportunity for disputes and problems later on. It is a great service to your family to know that.

- Estate and Trusts

In our lengthy history, we have helped many Northeast Indiana clients with: estate and trust administration, extraordinary estate administration, dispute resolution and probate litigation. Whatever challenges you face as a trustee or personal representative, our attorneys and staff have the expertise and experience to help. One of our partner attorneys, Steve Williams, is an American College of Trust and Estate Counsel fellow. Steve Williams and Nate Williams are also certified estate and trust specialists.

- Complex Estate Issues

Extraordinary estate administration is one of our areas of particular focus. First and foremost, our attorneys can help you avoid the pitfalls and problems in a trust or estate administration. We represent trustees, executors, administrators, and attorneys-in-fact under powers of attorney. If you are in this position, and you see problems beginning to arise, contact us; we can help defend your interests and hopefully avoid the need for probate litigation. We have experience working with personal representatives and trustees, handling the complex issues that include: businesses, complicated taxation issues, agency problems, will contests, trust and estate disputes.

- Probate Litigation

At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we have been defending our clients' rights in probate litigation for more than 30 years. Whatever the nature of your Indiana probate dispute, lawyers from our firm have handled similar problems. We have the experience and skill to help you. We represent trust and will beneficiaries, guardianship wards and power of attorney principals. If you feel that you have not received the assets coming to you in a will or trust, or that your designated agent has committed a breach of fiduciary duty, we will do everything possible to make sure your interests are represented and that justice is obtained in your case. We have a proud history of probate litigation in Indiana. Our clients trust us to get the job done right the first time, efficiently and ethically.

- Family Law

Our Fort Wayne family law attorneys always seek to help our clients understand their rights and develop a strategy to satisfy their objectives. Many times, we help our clients find the most efficient and amicable solution. At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we get the job done right, efficiently and ethically. We handle family law matters that include: adoptions: nontraditional relationship issues, domestic partnerships, prenuptial and postnuptial agreement and paternity issues.

- Divorce / Collaborative Law

We pride ourselves on the fact that we always work toward the best result for our client. We also strive for the most efficient resolution and, when appropriate, the simplest resolution possible in our clients' cases. Our Fort Wayne divorce lawyers represent clients in all facets of divorce, including: divorce decree enforcement and modifications, division of assets, parenting plans, spousal support and maintenance. For clients who are looking for efficient conflict resolution and to minimize the additional problems caused by courtroom confrontation, we provide collaborative law representation. Collaborative law is a powerful tool for minimizing stress, time and cost in a divorce. Collaborative law is a process in which both parties agree to work out the divorce issues through collaboration, rather than confrontation.

- Charitable Entities

At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we have an extensive history of helping people with the legal issues surrounding the creation and management of charitable entities. We also have experience and expertise in helping individual clients maximize the tax benefits of charitable giving. For more than 30 years, attorneys from our firm have been helping Indiana charities help others, handling issues that include: business organization, applying to the IRS for recognition of exempt status: compliance and taxation planning and gift planning.

- Business Law

Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, has been helping local Northeast Indiana business owners and executives with their business law needs for more than 30 years. This long, rich history is a result of our commitment to getting the job done right, efficiently and ethically. This approach is not only self-gratifying for us as lawyers, but it is the only proper way to practice law. Our Fort Wayne business lawyers understand the various issues that business owners face. We can help you with issues that arise throughout the entire life of your business, from the very beginning to the end, including: entity choice, formation: business disputes, commercial transactions and wind ups.

- Tax Law

At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we have been helping people with taxation issues for more than 30 years. Our Fort Wayne taxation lawyers have the experience and knowledge to help you with your taxation needs. For many years, estate administrators, guardians, business owners, employers and others have entrusted their taxation needs to our capable lawyers. At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we have a long, rich and deep understanding of each of these levels of taxation, and the manner in which the tax laws affect our clients.

- Employers / Employees Employment Law

The most efficient way to solve a client's legal issue is preemptively. At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we have a long history of helping employers establish standards and best practices for compliance that help them avoid problems. Our attorneys have a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding the various bodies of law and the government agencies involved with employment law for employers. Employment discrimination can result in measurable damages. At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we also understand that such discrimination affects you in ways that are difficult to measure. At Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, LLP, we have been handling employment law for employees for more than 30 years, fighting for the rights of Indiana employees through negotiation, mediation and litigation.

- School Law

We are experienced in counseling public school corporations in the many facets of local, State and Federal laws and regulations which surround the education of our children. We pride ourselves in the many years of experience we have in both serving as school board members and in serving school corporations, to the end that our next generation is ready to succeed in life.

- Real Estate

We represent buyers and sellers regarding residential, agricultural and commercial real estate matters that include: purchases and sales agreements, eminent domain and other municipal property issues, easement disputes, landlord/tenant issues and the drafting of leases, boundary disputes, title searches, like-kind exchanges and real estate disputes. When disputes arise in the context of real estate, whether between individuals or businesses, we do everything we can to resolve them as amicably and efficiently as possible. Whenever appropriate, we solve disputes through mediation or other negotiation-based solution to save our clients the time, stress and expense of litigation.

- Agricultural Law

Agribusiness is a distinct subset of various areas of practice, including business organization, commercial transactions, real estate, estate and personal planning, and taxation. We are able to combine our legal knowledge and our experience on farms and in farming communities (we know more than just which make of tractor is green) to help our farm clients optimize their productivity and profitability, and also to help them plan for issues such as business succession planning.

- Mediation

When bringing a matter to mediation, it is critically important to work with an attorney-mediator who has legal knowledge and experience, not only in mediation but also in the substantive area of law in which your conflict is involved. Our Fort Wayne mediation lawyers are skilled mediators with experience in the law surrounding: divorce, personal injury, extraordinary estate administration, guardianship disputes and business disputes. With more than 30 years of experience in these substantive areas of law, we help mediating parties spot when a potential agreement would not be valid or legal. This saves our clients time, money and unnecessary risk.

Attorneys

	Mr. Edward E. Beck Attorney Civil Litigation		Mr. Michael H. Kast Attorney Commercial Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate
	Mr. Benjamin S. J. Williams Attorney Business Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate

More Information on Shambaugh, Kast, Beck & Williams, L.L.P.

Fort Wayne, Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Fort Wayne, IN Estate Planning Lawyers
Family Law and Divorce Law Firm in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Probate Litigation Attorneys in Fort Wayne, IN
Fort Wayne, Indiana Business Law Lawyers
Fort Wayne, IN Employment Law Firm
School Law Attorneys in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Real Estate Law Lawyers in Fort Wayne, IN
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