Compassionate Counsel
Lukenbill & Lukenbill Provides Help for Clients in Need
Writer / Angela Cornell
Photographer / Jubilee Edgell
Attorneys Ken and Adam Lukenbill solve problems for their clients. They provide contracts and purchase agreements for business clients. Many with real estate questions, whether as buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords or homeowners, have turned to Lukenbill & Lukenbill, LLP and found answers. Those who have been affected by medical malpractice have found satisfaction in the counsel and diligence offered.
A large number of cases processed at Lukenbill & Lukenbill are transactional family matters, including estate planning, wills and trusts, Medicaid planning, and farm and business planning. As such, the Lukenbills are in a unique position to provide comfort, care and compassion when clients need it most.
People come to us when theyre having a difficult moment in their lives, says Adam, who is Kens son. Theyre either facing their own mortality, or theyve lost a loved one, or theyre transitioning out of a business or farm theyve been part of for their whole careers. A lot of emotion is attached to that. We try to emphasize being compassionate to help people through those circumstances.
Ken has been a lawyer for more than 50 years. After passing the bar, he worked for the attorney general for a couple years in Indianapolis.
I was doing quite a bit of traveling doing that job, Ken says. I got acquainted with one of the partners at the law firm. I interviewed and they hired me.
After moving his practice to Plymouth in 1972, Ken met and married the love of his life.
Adam has fond memories of growing up around the law firm, and the next generation is making similar memories.
They like to get into the office supplies and color, Adam says. Thats what I used to do when I was a little kid. I had no idea what went on there, I just knew that everyone was nice and it was a fun place to go.
As he grew and learned more about his dads work, and how much it benefited the community, he decided to make it his own vocation. In law school his dream was to join the Navy. Life took a different turn and he moved back to Plymouth, and has been working with his dad ever since.
I always thought I was going to work in the military or get a job with the state department, or something that was more James Bond-y, but it didnt pan out, Adam says with a chuckle.
Instead, he has a drawer in his desk dedicated to notes hes received from clients through the years thanking him for his help.
When Im having a rough day, I haul those out and read them, he says. Thats what keeps me going.
After Adam moved back to Plymouth, the father-son team opened their own practice in 2011. Since then the practice has grown, and currently services most of north-central Indiana with more than 200 active cases on file.
The Lukenbills strive to help their clients feel at ease from the moment that they walk through the door.
We really try to go out of our way to calm them, to help them understand that were going to take care of them to the best of our ability, Adam explains.
Ken and Adam both appreciate the multiple benefits of having a small, hometown niche law practice that specializes in estate planning. One benefit is getting to know their clients on a personal level.
With transactional law you get to sit down and get a clearer picture of who they are, what theyre trying to accomplish and what their lifes story is, Adam says.
One of the firms niche estate planning services targets farms and businesses. Both represent unique advantages and challenges, whether its a storefront thats been open for 15 years and has a lengthy client list, or a three-generation farm that has acreage and machinery.
We help people find tax-efficient and family-efficient ways of getting those assets from one generation to the next so you dont have a major tax problem, and we try to minimize any family conflict that might be there, Adam says.
The first time a client walks through the door, its for an initial consultation. Adam or Ken will work through what the assets are and who is in the family.
Depending on what comes from that, we go down lines of questioning – we call it the rabbit hole – what their goals are, what their worries are, and then we try to figure out which of our tools will help them, Adam says.
After that initial meeting theyll draft a basic document. At the second appointment, theyll look it over together to verify that it fits the clients needs and desires. When the document is approved, the client signs it and will receive a copy. They will also receive a letter from Lukenbill & Lukenbill that summarizes the whole process, any problems that were resolved, and everything that was accomplished.
For wills in particular, Adam says the client should return and review the document at least once every three to six years.
The law changes sometimes, he explains. Once you sign them, most of the documents we do for people are good for some years, but its not bad for them to dust it off occasionally.
At the end of the day, Ken and Adam find satisfaction in their customers peace of mind.
A lot of them thank us for helping them through the difficult time, Adam says. Thats the most common thing people say. The one that really touches me is when they tell us that theyve come to think of us as family or close friends.
Lukenbill & Lukenbill is located at 501 East Jefferson Street in Plymouth. Reach out to them by calling 574-936-2007 or by emailing general@lukenbill-law.com. Visit them online at lukenbill-law.com.
