Who we are and what we do
Bala Law Group, LLC is a boutique law firm based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, easily accessible to residents of the Greater Philadelphia area.
The firm was established in May of 2012 by two attorneys, Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy, who, at the time, had nearly 30 years of collective experience practicing law in premier Trust and Estate Groups based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They met while working together at the 100+ year old storied Philadelphia law firm, Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, and both remained with the firm until it ceased operations in 2009. In December 2014, Marianna F. Schenk joined the firm as a Member. Marianna is a former partner of the Philadelphia office of Duane Morris LLP as well as a colleague of Rebecca and Amy from Wolf Block. Marianna has over 20 years of legal experience at large law firms in both Connecticut and Pennsylvania, concentrating exclusively in the area of trusts and estates.
At Bala Law Group, LLC we are focused on providing cutting edge, sophisticated, and cost-effective estate planning and related legal services to business owners, executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, retirees and other individuals who expect to accumulate more wealth than they will expend during their lifetimes. We are prepared to efficiently help you develop and implement an estate plan to optimally meet your financial needs and objectives, as well as those of your family and other individuals and organizations you wish to benefit.
Our expertise also includes trust and estate administration. We have extensive experience representing trustees and personal representatives (i.e., executors and administrators) with all facets of trust and estate administration, including sophisticated post-mortem income tax planning and preparation of the estate and inheritance tax returns due at death for federal and state compliance purposes.
We also provide counsel to fiduciaries and beneficiaries with respect to court proceedings, including estate and trust accountings and disputes among interested parties. When possible, we strive to broker an amicable settlement and avoid costly litigation.
We also welcome the opportunity to advise and assist beneficiaries and fiduciaries under estate plans created by other lawyers when a "second opinion" or new relationship is being sought due to conflicts or other reasons.
Our mission is to be accessible and responsive to you and your family when you need our guidance and services. We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and our availability to our clients. At our firm, your needs will always be our number one priority. Thus, our motto - "We will be there for you".
Our services include:
Estate, Gift and Tax Planning
Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills
Multi-Generational Wealth Planning
IRA and Qualified Retirement Plan Distribution Guidance
Closely-Held Business Planning
Charitable Gift Planning
Estate and Trust Administration
Prenuptial Agreements (and Postnuptial Agreements)
In addition, we maintain relationships with carefully selected attorneys and other professionals outside of Bala Law Group, LLC who are available to assist us in meeting clients' needs beyond our areas of expertise. When requested by our clients, we work with those individuals as a team to deliver seamless service in all areas of the law.