Abby Leach Schumaker
Inspired Giving
As an attorney in Albert Lea, Abby expanded her client offerings by partnering with the Foundation.
Our team headed out to Albert Lea this past spring to spend some time with Abby Leach Schumaker, an attorney who is active in her community and works with many local farmers.
After a little coffee and conversation about life in southern Minnesota, Abby gave us a tour of her practice, Leach Law PLLC, and we sat down to talk about how she helps her clients meet their financial goals.
Give us a little background on your role and what you do.
Abby: I primarily practice in estate planning and real estate. From an estate planning standpoint, it’s great to draft documents to get everything in order, but when you hand the baton to your financial planner, sometimes it doesn’t get done 100% how it should. So we’re trying to take the boundaries out. I can do your financial planning, and I can also do your estate planning or refer you to estate planners.
Foundation: And what’s the benefit of working alongside the Foundation to meet your clients’ needs?
Abby: As a sole practitioner, I can’t do everything. My approach to estate planning is to get to know my clients. I know their family situations, I know what they want, so I can put them in contact with somebody who can ultimately make things easier for them. My clients build trust in me, so when I refer them to someone else they know they can also trust that person.
Our Personalized Approach
As a professional advisor, Abby often works closely with her gift planner at the Foundation. Having a single, personal contact means we get to know you and your clients so we can work together to meet everyone’s goals.
Abby: Lisa is such a great point of contact. I’ll say to her ‘I have a client, this is what we’re thinking, what do you think?’ and she’ll say ‘Give me three days, I’ll come up with options and how we can present them.’
Foundation: What would you tell another Professional Advisor about what it’s like working with us?
Abby: They should work with you. [It’s great to] know that you have support, even if it’s a client that’s not going to end up with the Foundation, you have always been willing to work with me. You respond and actually care.
Sometimes it’s good to bring in a gift planner to see if there’s something that we’re missing because we’re human and we don’t think of everything.
Why Give Through a Community FoundationWhy Advisors Partner with Us
Making Non-Cash Giving Simple
Abby works with lots of Minnesota farmers, so she knows the benefits of donating non-cash assets like farm equipment through the Foundation first hand.
What is your experience with non-cash donations?
Abby: I’ve dealt with some farmers and their crops. Being able to [give it to the Foundation to] sell the crops, then get the [proceeds to donate] without having capital gains is helpful for my clients.
Foundation: And farm equipment too, right? What’s the benefit to that?
Abby: We can just give the equipment and let the Foundation sell it. Because depending on what the economy is like, sometimes it’s not fun to sell equipment. If I sell a piece of equipment [on my own], I’ve depreciated it out to nothing, I’m going to have capital gains on the whole amount that was there. Whereas if we give it to [the Foundation], you get the full cash value of it. So especially farmers that don’t have a transition plan, or the ones that are running into major tax issues, it’s a really good benefit.
With You Every Step of the Way
We work with financial planners, wealth managers, accountants, insurance agents, attorneys and other professional advisors across Minnesota to maximize their clients’ philanthropic giving and to create the biggest possible impact for their favorite causes.
“ I feel like people don’t realize everything that you do. You’re not just about giving when you pass, you’re not just about creating endowments, you care about the community as a whole.”
Abby
Connect With Us
At the Foundation, we have deep ties with nonprofit organizations all across the state, so regardless of what your client’s charitable goals are, they can give back to their favorite causes with peace of mind.
Do you have a philanthropically minded client? Reach out today and let’s work together to craft your client’s personalized giving plan.