I will always remember the weight of the burden I carried knowing my decisions as a young judicial law clerk would directly impact the lives of the people in the courtroom. I helped draft the court’s opinions on matters of modest estates as well as multi-million-dollar disputes because the parties forfeited control over what they spent a lifetime building. The stories of despair, resentment, and grief played out daily, but I grew to appreciate my role, and having the probate Judge as a mentor was a rewarding experience.
Nevertheless, I spent the first few years after law school finding my path.
I spent several years at government regulatory and oversight agencies like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). My experiences at the CFTC and SEC, where I refined my skills in research and writing, were invaluable as a foundation for my future in private practice.
After a short period with a litigation law firm in Northern Virginia, I founded Tesfaye O’Neill Law & Financial, a firm devoted to matters of the family: family law and family immigration. I found satisfaction in helping individuals navigate the labyrinth of courts and the legal system, but that satisfaction was frustrated by the growing number of clients who ended up helpless and vulnerable to the laws stripping them of their ability to make the most essential decisions in their lives – decisions which could impact their family for generations.
It was not long before it dawned on me that Estate Planning would be the answer to our client’s needs and a natural extension of our family-focused practice. Not long after successfully implementing estate planning at the law firm, my family and I were hit hard by the unexpected loss of a loved one. We were trapped in a state of paralysis over having to deal with courts in different states and uncooperative financial institutions. My family’s experience is not a unique one; families all over experience the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately, many families, like mine, react to life events instead of planning for them.
I found myself in the same compromised state my clients often encountered. My experience with the probate courts helped me steer my family through our ordeal, but we did not survive it unscathed. My path to becoming an estate planning attorney had begun with the revelation that my clients were better served by incorporating estate planning into our family practice. However, my plans were upended by personal tragedy, and my experience compelled me to reexamine why I do what I do.
Today, estate planning is not merely a part of our practice in matters of the family. It is now exclusively what I do and what we practice as a firm. I focus my skills to help clients circumvent the courts and the complex financial systems designed to strip them of their dignity instead of fighting through them.
I am an estate planning attorney because educating our community and helping people design personalized estate plans to keep them out of the courts, keep their matters private, and protect their wealth, is not purely a business model – it is a mission, forged out of personal tragedy and fueled by the satisfaction of helping families find peace of mind.
Background
I grew up in Grundy, Virginia, and Silver Spring, Maryland. Presently, I reside in Alexandria, VA with my wife and three children.
Credentials and memberships
- American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Board of Governors
- National Acadamy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Virginia State Bar
- American Bar Association
- Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia