Joleen Searles

As one of the firm’s founding partners, Joleen helps shape Searles & Gornitsky’s ongoing commitment to providing our clients with the best possible guidance, support, and knowledge to satisfy their legal needs.

Joleen utilizes her in-depth knowledge of the estate planning field to design plans for her clients that give them the peace of mind that they and their heirs will be taken care of in the best way possible. She believes that everyone should have some type of estate plan regardless of their situation and enjoys working with her clients to ensure that they all do, no matter how simple or complex that plan might be. She manages the firm’s Ultra High Net Worth practice that utilizes very complex planning solutions to help those clients navigate through the many unique estate complexities and estate tax challenges they face. She also oversees the firm’s Settlement and Probate practice.

Clients and advisors love working with Joleen because her breadth of knowledge is combined with a warm, friendly personality that makes everyone comfortable even when discussing topics that can sometimes be disconcerting. She attributes her personality to the fact that she grew up as an Army Brat, living all over the world – Texas, North Carolina, California, Japan, Alabama, Virginia, New York, Germany, and the list goes on. She believes all the moving around made a positive impact on her and taught her to relate to people no matter what their backgrounds may be.

Joleen also teaches continuing education seminars for financial advisors and attorneys about estate planning, wealth preservation, estate settlement, and relaying the latest changes in the law that impact estates and taxes.

Joleen has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, a Juris Doctorate from Hofstra University, and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Miami. She is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, and Tennessee.