About Us: A Family Serving Families

Every law firm claims to be "different." Every law firm claims to care about their clients' needs above all else. Every law firm claims to have "the world's greatest attorneys."

We stake a more modest claim:

We are a family that operates a small business helping other families and small businesses establish and maintain rock-solid legal foundations that support the lives and dreams they're building.

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Family First

Like most families, it has been a long and winding road to where we are today. We were married in 2000, just after the Y2k bug blew up (or maybe it didn't) all the world's computers. I was running IT departments for hospitals, and Michelle had just finished college.

Not long after, with a baby on the way, we both decided that it was important for us that someone, in our case Michelle, be a full-time parent for our kids. That decision and the values we hold that led to it have been central to every decision we've made together ever since.

"Make money by doing good things and build cool stuff.

Let's do some good together and build a cool life for you while we're at it."

— Owen

Lawyer Second

Then my work told me I had to implement this new law called HIPAA. Believe it or not, this led to a new love affair... the law.

You see, I had always been fascinated with The Way Things Work (not just the book, but for real too). It turns out that one way of being a lawyer is to know how things work and use that knowledge to serve your community.

So off to law school in Denver while starting our first business selling Jeep accessories online, working as a full-time tech consultant helping spend $16 million in federal grant money, and still driving the kids (three now) to school every morning.

Building Businesses

Shortly after passing the bar, one of my clients asked me to join their small, family-owned private equity firm. They bought and operated technology-forward healthcare service companies, and it seemed like a natural fit.

Together, we bought and built companies until I realized that the private equity game isn't in my blood the way building around passion is. It was also time to stop driving 90 miles to work every day.

Meanwhile, Michelle had started a part-time job, mostly as something to do, and it wasn't working out very well. So we decided to start a business where the two of us could build something together.

Putting it All Together

When it comes to family-owned businesses, it's super important not to forget the "family" part. That means our business needed to be able to serve families as well as businesses.

Families come in all sorts of configurations, colors, backgrounds, and economic conditions. As people who value serving others, Michelle and I wanted to be able to provide a high-value experience to any family, not just upper-middle-class or wealthy families. And we didn't want to help take them apart as a so-called "family lawyer."

We aim to be able to meaningfully serve any family. I like to say, "we can get you from the outhouse to the penthouse."*

Personal Family Lawyer Logo

The Perfect Partnership

I'm excited to announce that I've joined the Personal Family Lawyer® network, which perfectly aligns with the approach to legal services we've always believed in.

This partnership strengthens our commitment to serving families at every stage of life. The PFL philosophy mirrors our own: transparent fixed fees, personalized service, and going beyond document preparation to create meaningful legal solutions that truly protect what matters most.

The PFL Promise:

Planning that works to keep your family out of court and out of conflict while protecting everything you care about from predators and the government - keeping it all in your chosen family's hands.

While we've always aimed to make legal services affordable and accessible to everyone—from the outhouse to the penthouse—the PFL system has equiped us with additional systems and processes to deliver even more value to the families we serve.

The Personal Family Lawyer approach reinforces our existing commitments while adding these valuable dimensions:

3-Meeting Process

A structured approach that ensures your planning gets done right and nothing falls through the cracks—complementing our commitment to thoroughness and personalized service.

Proven Systems

Access to battle-tested estate planning systems that enhance our ability to serve you—aligning perfectly with our goal of delivering high-value experiences to all families.

3-Year Review Process

Regular plan reviews ensure your plan stays up-to-date as your life changes—because we believe legal planning should evolve with your family's journey.

Our Unique Approach

That's why we chose to build the array of services we offer:

Heart-centered Bankruptcy

Helping folks in debt crisis find the right solution. We understand that financial challenges can happen to anyone, and we approach each case with compassion.

Special Flavor of Estate Planning

Building solid foundations for families' futures. Our estate planning goes beyond just document preparation to help you protect what matters most.

Unique Small Business Program

Helping entrepreneurs build on strong legal ground. We understand small businesses because we've built them ourselves.

Accessibility & Transparency

Fixed Fees

Almost everything we do for our clients, we offer at a fixed fee. If we can't offer you a fixed price, we will always commit to a budget set by you.

We Come To You

We keep our costs down by not maintaining a permanent office. We will even come to your home to meet with you.

For Everyone

We think this transparency, affordability, and accessibility make our services available to people who may not think they can actually hire a lawyer.

Ready to Build Something Together?

Whether you're facing financial challenges, planning for your family's future, or building a business, we're here to help you create a solid foundation.

* Actually, I have dozens of sayings I try to live by, but this is the one that applies here. As we work together, you can find out about The Belly Button Principle, and how "good enough ain't," and all the others.