Skip the legal fog. At Jarvis Law Office, your St. Clairsville estate planning attorney explains every clause in plain English, answers questions on the spot, and backs it up with a promise.
- “He does an outstanding job of answering questions and making complicated issues easy to understand.” – Skip D.
- “Dana the intake specialist is very kind and patient.” – Lynzie G.
- “I would definitely recommend this office to anyone looking to protect their assets from Medicaid and probate.” – Karen C.
What to expect
- A 90 minute discovery call that starts with listening, not selling.
- Clear choices between wills, trusts, and Medicaid strategies.
- Lifetime phone support so you can always ask any question.
- Instant access to our Ohio Estate Planning Glossary and five-minute explainer blogs if you want to dig deeper before we meet.
What Is Estate Planning? (And Why It Matters in Ohio)
Estate planning is the simple idea of deciding who gets what, who makes decisions if you cannot, and how to keep courts and creditors out of the middle. In Ohio, clear paperwork can save your heirs months in probate and thousands in fees.
- The core documents
- Will: names guardians and spells out who inherits personal items.
- Durable power of attorney: lets someone manage money if you are incapacitated.
- Health care directive: guides doctors when you cannot speak.
- Revocable trust: holds larger assets so they pass without probate.
- Asset Protection Trust: protects assets from being lost to a Medicaid / nursing home spenddown.
- Why it matters in Belmont County
- Probate in Belmont County averages nine months, attorneys fees around 4-6% of the value of the estate and court filing fees. According to the Ohio State Bar Association, legal costs can eat 3 to 7% of an estate.
- Ohio abolished its estate tax in 2013, but federal rules still apply above 13.61$ million per person for 2025, so high-net-worth families still need tax planning.
- The Ohio Revised Code section 2105.06 decides heirs if you die without a will, spouses and children split first, then parents, then siblings. A plan lets you choose instead of the statute.
- Real-world savings
- A St. Clairsville family recently avoided an estimated 15,000$ in probate fees by titling their farmhouse into a trust before mom passed away.
- AARP’s 2024 survey shows only 32% of Americans have an up-to-date estate plan, getting these papers done puts you ahead of two-thirds of your neighbors.
Estate planning is not just for the wealthy. It is for anyone who wants their money, real estate, and keepsakes to land smoothly in the right hands, without the probate court in downtown St. Clairsville calling the shots.
Why Local Families Trust Jarvis Law Office For Estate Planning Needs in St. Clairsville
Jarvis Law Office has three brick-and-mortar offices in Lancaster, Dublin, and St. Clairsville, working together so Ohio families can meet an attorney face-to-face.
- St. Clairsville roots. Find us at 121 E Main St. with a 4.9-star Google rating.
- Proven across Ohio. Our Lancaster office carries a 4.8-star rating, and Dublin holds 4.9. Consistency matters when you’re handing over life savings.
- Straightforward pricing. Most clients pay a single flat fee for wills, trusts, and funding. No monthly bills, no “meter running” phone calls.
- Hands-on asset transfers. Deeds, bank accounts, even the family cabin deeded into the trust, we handle the paperwork so nothing gets left outside your plan.
- Team approach. We coordinate with your existing financial advisor in Wheeling, Barnesville, or wherever you invest, keeping strategy and paperwork in sync.
- Free check-ins. Life changes, your plan should too. Quick questions don’t generate an invoice.
Clients leave our conference room saying they feel “heard,” “in control,” and “ready for whatever comes next.” That’s the mark of a solid estate plan in Belmont County.
Services We Offer in St. Clairsville
Our estate planning work falls into six clear pillars. Each one is designed to keep your money in your family, not in court files or nursing-home bills.
Medicaid and Long-Term-Care Planning
According to Genworth in 2024, Ohio nursing homes average about $10,965 a month. We use five-year look-back strategies, promissory notes, and caregiver agreements to qualify you for Medicaid without emptying your savings.
Wills Drafting and Updates
A will covers the basics, guardians for minor kids, who gets the heirloom rifle, and who closes your final accounts. We keep your document short, Ohio-compliant, and easy to revise whenever life changes.
Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts
Trusts skip probate and add privacy. A revocable trust lets you stay in control while you’re alive, while an irrevocable trust locks in asset protection. Both can move your St. Clairsville home, CDs at the local credit union, and brokerage accounts into one plan without new tax IDs.
Veteran Benefits Planning
We secure VA Aid & Attendance and pension benefits, then sync them with your trust so the extra income doesn’t disqualify Medicaid later.
Power of Attorney and Health Care Directives
If a stroke or accident sidelines you, a durable power of attorney keeps bills paid. A health care directive tells Trinity Health System doctors exactly what treatment you want. No court guardianship, no family disputes.
Special Needs and Asset-Protection Trusts
A special needs trust lets a child keep Supplemental Security Income while still benefiting from your estate. Asset-protection trusts shield family farms, oil, gas and mineral rights and proceeds, and rental houses from future lawsuits or long-term-care liens.
Probate Avoidance Strategies
Belmont County probate filings can stretch nine months or more. By combining TOD deeds, beneficiary designations, and trust funding, we let assets pass directly to heirs, no court dates, no public records, no extra fees.
Estate Tax and Wealth-Transfer Strategies
Federal estate tax kicks in above $13.61 million per person for 2025. We use marital-credit shelter trusts, lifetime gifting, and charitable tools to keep every possible dollar with your heirs.
Right now, oil, gas, and minerals are starting to pick back up, and for many families, this leads to large amounts of capital that didn’t previously exist. It is very important for them to be able to protect the rights to pass down in their family, along with protecting the income that they are getting from oil, gas, and mineral leases.
Business Succession Planning
Operating-agreement updates, buy-sell funding, and management continuity plans protect your LLC, farm, or family storefront so it survives the next generation and any unexpected partner exit.
Care Navigation & Resource Coordination
We connect families with Belmont County senior services, home-health partners, and skilled-nursing options, then align benefits (Medicaid, VA, long-term-care insurance) so care and finances stay in sync.
Areas We Proudly Serve From Our St. Clairsville Office
Most families can reach us in under 30 minutes. If you see your town listed, we already work with neighbors on your street.
- St. Clairsville 43950
- Bellaire
- Barnesville
- Belmont and Bethesda
- Bridgeport and Brookside
- Dillonvale
- Flushing and Morristown
- Martins Ferry
- Powhatan Point
- Shadyside
- Neffs and Lansing
- Yorkville and West Wheeling
- Other nearby communities in Belmont County and the Ohio Valley
If your hometown isn’t on the list, call anyway, we travel for signings when clients can’t make it to Main Street.
Our 5-Step Estate Planning Process
Every plan moves through the same four checkpoints, so you always know what happens next.
1. Free Discovery Call
A 15-minute phone chat sets goals, confirms basic asset info, and locks in your strategy session. No paperwork, no fee.
2. Vision Meeting
A meeting with a non-attorney to discuss and review your goals.
3. Strategy Session with the Attorney
A face-to-face session with the attorney to review a personalized recommendation for your estate plan.
- Map beneficiaries, review Belmont County probate costs, and choose the right mix of will, trust, and powers of attorney.
- Bring deeds, bank statements, and a list of account titles.
- Leave with a plain-language action plan and flat-fee quote.
4. Document Drafting and Asset Funding
Our team completes the legal drafts within two weeks. We also prepare deeds and transfer forms so your house, savings, and retirement accounts slide into the trust without new tax IDs.
- Average turnaround: 14 days for drafts, 30 days for final signed binder.
- You sign once, we file and record everything else.
5. Lifetime Support and Free Check-Ins
Call anytime, quick questions stay free. Every three years you can book a no-cost review to update trustees, beneficiaries, or new assets. Because laws and lives change, but your plan should always match both.
Client Results & Testimonials
Real words from real neighbors show what happens after a solid estate plan is in place.
- “He does an outstanding job of answering questions and making complicated issues easy to understand.” – Skip Dodson, Lancaster
- “They protected her money, gave her kids legal authority to help her make decisions, and she kept her independence.” – Katie H., healthcare worker, St. Clairsville
- “The binder of documents we were given was the most thorough they have seen.” – Joanne Vitek, after meeting with her bank’s advisor
- “They always get right back to you, and anytime I have had a question, they take the time to answer.” – Karen Cunningham, asset-protection client
- “Very positive experience … clear explanations, all questions answered, and left with peace of mind.” – R E Messick, estate-plan review
Each comment points to the same outcome: less stress, lower long-term costs, and families who feel confident about the future.
Meet Your Lead Attorney: Timothy Jarvis, JD
Tim Jarvis started out as a financial advisor after earning his BBA from Ohio University. When his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he saw first-hand how confusing long-term-care planning can be and decided to pivot into elder law.
He earned his law degree from Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law and, in 2003, founded Jarvis Law Office to help Ohio families handle the same challenges his own family faced. Today he oversees three offices and a team of more than thirty-five professionals, blending financial know-how with legal strategy to keep your estate intact.
Outside the office, Tim is a dad of three who recharges by hiking and cycling the Ohio Valley trails.
Local Resources & Community Connections
A solid estate plan reaches beyond legal documents. We stay in sync with trusted organizations so clients can tap every benefit available in Belmont County.
- Senior Services of Belmont County – 67650 Oakview Dr., St. Clairsville, 740-695-4142. Home-delivered meals, medical transportation, and six senior centers give many clients the support that lets them age in place.
- Trinity Health System Medical Plaza – 106 Plaza Dr., St. Clairsville. We share health-care directives directly with Trinity’s outpatient and therapy teams so treatment wishes match the legal paperwork.
- Belmont County Veterans Service Office – 400 Imperial Plaza, Bellaire, plus a satellite desk in St. Clairsville. Veterans and surviving spouses work with this office to secure benefits that mesh with asset-protection plans.
- Area Agency on Aging Region 9 – Local hub for PASSPORT waivers, caregiver support, and home-care referrals. We coordinate long-term-care strategies here before triggering any Medicaid spend-down.
By aligning legal strategy with these on-the-ground resources, clients get a full network ready to safeguard health, assets, and independence.
Ready to Protect Your Legacy? Book a Free Consultation
One quick step puts a plan in motion.
- Call 740-240-6393 to reach our St. Clairsville office at 121 E Main St., OH 43950
- Prefer online? Schedule now and pick a time that fits.
- The first meeting is free, lasts about fifteen minutes, and ends with a clear action plan, no surprise fees, no hard sell.
