Monty L. Donohew

Practice

Monty L. Donohew concentrates his practice in estate planning and elder law, including aging-in-place planning, wills, trusts, probate, business and farm succession planning, real estate, and wealth advisory law. Monty has been admitted to practice in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, and currently practices in Ohio and Missouri. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Monty and his firm offer clients membership in, and assistance setting up, LegalVault® accounts: a virtual vault that gives health care professionals immediate and perpetual access to critical health care documents and information, and that provides secure storage of vital legal documents, protecting them from loss, destruction, tampering, and fraud.

Education

Monty received his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he served on the Washington University Law Quarterly, the school’s flagship law journal. He received his B.A. in political science from Eastern Illinois University, which he attended on a full academic scholarship. At Eastern, he was an annual award winner in the social sciences writing competition and received a coveted appointment to the Student Legal Services Board. An intercollegiate debater, Monty qualified three years for the National Debate Tournament and placed second at Novice Nationals as a freshman.

Honors and recognition

Draft for review: these are shown as written in your biography. Third-party ratings and awards should be current, attributed and dated under Ohio and Missouri advertising rules.

• Martindale-Hubbell®, the attorney peer review rating service: a 2014 award marking the fifteenth anniversary of Monty’s Peer Review Rating, representing a Very High Rating in Legal Ability and Ethical Standards; and a 2017 thirty-year anniversary award for “Proudly Serving the Community” since 1987.
• The Salvation Army, Northeast Ohio Division: the 2010 “Doing the Most Good” Award, “for supporting others in the creation of an unwavering legacy.”
• Strathmore’s Who’s Who: lifetime member, profiled in the Millennium Edition.

Professional affiliations and service

• National Care Planning Council, member. The Council promotes national planning for long-term and disability care.
• ARCH National Respite Network, member. A nonprofit supporting a national effort to make respite and crisis care available to all families caring for older adults.
• National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) Initiative, long-time state liaison. A collaborative effort of national, state, and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their health care decisions.
• National Aging in Place Council, former member. The Council encourages aging-in-place planning and preparation.
• Lifebanc, former ambassador with his wife, Christine, working to increase awareness of organ, eye, and tissue donation.

Teaching and speaking

Monty is widely published and a frequent speaker, conducting workshops and classes for both lay audiences and professionals. He has taught in-house estate planning classes for insurance agencies, brokers, senior service organizations, and faith-based and public service groups. The National Business Institute (NBI) has repeatedly selected Monty to present Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs for lawyers and paralegals. He has presented or contributed materials for the following programs:

• Estate Planning Summit Playbook (NBI, 2026) – free download
• Probate Assets: Top Mistakes and Problems Solved (NBI, 2026)
• Ohio Probate Process in 7 Simple Steps (NBI, 2025)
• Trusts 101 (NBI, 2020)
• Estate Administration Procedures: Why Each Step Is Important (NBI, 2018)
• Drafting IRA Trusts (NBI, 2016)
• Estate Planning for Farmers and Ranchers (NBI, 2014)
• Ohio Estate, Financial and Health Care Planning for Elder Clients: “Understanding Long-Term Care Options” (NBI, 2003)
• Paralegals, Planning, and the Mature Client in Ohio: “Creating Asset Protection Tools” (NBI, 2002)
• Estate Planning for Paralegals: “Drafting Revocable Living Trusts” (NBI, 2001)

Monty has also been selected to teach Continuing Education (CE) classes for the life, health, and title insurance industries, including hosting an annual 24-hour full compliance seminar for life and health insurance agents. Real estate and trade groups have invited him to speak on planning topics. Groups interested in a presentation are welcome to contact us.

Publications

Monty’s most enduring published works are his articles for the Aging in Place Planning and Elderlaw Blog on aging in place, estate planning, trusts, long-term care, institutional care, caregiving, Medicare, and Medicaid. He has published or contributed to articles and outlines on long-term care planning, retirement planning, non-qualified annuities, life insurance, reverse mortgages, drafting trusts and IRA trusts, and the use of long-term care insurance and modified endowment contracts in an estate plan. One such publication, “Understanding Long-Term Care Options,” helps professional advisers navigate the bewildering array of issues facing older adults and their caregivers when choosing among long-term care alternatives.

Personal

Monty is blessed with his wife, Christine, and their three children, Leah, Joshua, and Jeremy. Monty and Christine maintain a home in North Canton, Ohio, and reside in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

A note on VA accreditation: Monty was formerly a VA-accredited attorney. He allowed his accreditation to lapse effective 2021, because changes to the VA Aid and Attendance benefit created fewer opportunities to use it on clients’ behalf. Some third-party online sources incorrectly list Monty as currently accredited.

Our team

Paralegals Christine D. Donohew and Mandy Stahl help clients with worksheets, documents and everyday questions.

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