Sarah

In her trusts and estates practice, Sarah Chang helps individuals, families, and closely held business owners identify their goals with regard to safeguarding and transferring their assets, and then develops and implements strategies to achieve those goals in a way that considers tax and non-tax objectives.

Sarah provides practical, plainspoken advice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, probate, and business succession planning to clients of various backgrounds and economic statuses, including ultra-high-net-worth individuals. No matter the size or complexity of a trust, estate, or company, Sarah tries to demystify the estate planning and administration processes so those she represents understand their options and can make informed decisions.

Sarah draws on her strong writing skills to create thorough, forthright, and legally sound estate plans, agreements, and other documents. Her mission is to craft an estate plan that fulfills a client’s wishes for the distribution and investment of their wealth and leaves nothing to interpretation so as to prevent future rancor among relatives and other potentially chaotic outcomes.

Sarah brings a personal and engaging approach to her practice to develop strong relationships with those she represents and often ends up working with multiple generations of the same family. Sarah’s prior career as a social worker taught her to meet clients “where they’re at” by listening closely to their concerns. This benefits her when working with clients in the wake of major life events, such as marriages, divorces, relocations, changes in health, the arrival of children and grandchildren, the death of family members, purchases and sales of real estate and companies, and business structurings, restructurings, and succession planning. Sarah often provides such advice in tandem with the firm’s corporate, tax, and real estate departments.

Working from Chicago and Wilmette, Sarah can conveniently serve clients in Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, and other Chicago northern suburbs.

Before attending law school, Sarah served for several years as a forensic social worker for a New York City public defense firm and a nonprofit that provided clinical services to children previously incarcerated at Rikers Island. Prior to that, Sarah taught English and led agricultural and economic projects as a Peace Corp Volunteer in Mali, West Africa.

These experiences formed Sarah’s foundational belief in meeting people exactly where they are and finding the right answers for the people she serves.