Hi! I’m Jake, the Lead Estate Planning Attorney here at Zihmer Law Firm. 

For my entire career, my focus has been exclusively on estate planning — first as a law clerk, then through Pitt Law's Elder Law Clinic, and now as an attorney who's had the privilege of helping more than 500 clients put an estate plan in place.

Estate planning is personal to me. During my first year of law school, my uncle passed away without an estate plan. Since I was the law student in the family, everyone turned to me to sort things out. I learned firsthand how much harder it is when there’s no plan – not only from a legal standpoint, but for the family who is already going through a hard time. That experience is the reason I do this — I want every family I work with to be spared what mine went through.

When you sit down with me, my goal is to make the process feel clear, not overwhelming. Clients often tell me they appreciate that I take the time to explain things in plain English, walk through every option, and make sure they actually understand the plan we're building together — not just sign where I tell them to. I want you to leave our meetings feeling confident, at ease, and that your wishes are genuinely reflected in the documents we create, in language you can explain to your own family.

I grew up in Murrysville, east of Pittsburgh, and I currently live there with my wife, Frances, our son, James, and our four cats. When I'm not in the office you'll often find me outside firing up the grill, and when the weather keeps me indoors, I’m always down for a game of chess.

I'm also an Eagle Scout, and clearly the Scout motto, "Be prepared," has stuck with me — it's more or less the whole philosophy behind estate planning.