Jaclyn M. Vary
Jaclyn Vary is a Partner in Calfee's Estate and Succession Planning and Administration group. She counsels individuals, fiduciaries, families and businesses in the areas of estate planning and administration, probate litigation, business succession planning and nonprofit law.
Jaclyn develops customized estate plans to achieve her clients’ goals and assists families with planning for transitional periods including planning for new family members, business succession, sudden changes in wealth, and the worst-case scenarios, disability and death. She enjoys facilitating peace of mind for the individuals, families and businesses that she represents.
Jaclyn designs estate plans to minimize the potential for future creditors’ claims and maintaining client’s privacy while balancing the need for practical and appropriate solutions to complex matters. She utilizes sophisticated estate planning strategies to help minimize taxes or eliminate transfer taxes and facilitate smooth transitions of wealth. Jaclyn’s knowledge of technical details instills confidence in her clients and allows her to advise clients on variety of complex estate planning vehicles including spousal lifetime access trusts, self-settled asset protection trusts, sales to defective grantor trusts, insurance trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, family limited partnerships and charitable trusts.
Jaclyn is experienced in estate and trust administration and knows how to obtain the best results for her fiduciary clients. Her administration experience aids her planning clients as she knows how the documents will be administered. Jaclyn has extensive experience with drafting private settlement agreements and declaratory judgment actions. She works on practical solutions and ways to minimize the propensity for litigation in this highly sensitive and personal practice area. In addition to this pre-controversy work, she routinely works with Calfee’s probate and trust litigation practice. Jaclyn also counsels executors and trustees through all aspects of an estate and trust administration which includes complying with the client’s fiduciary duties and preparing Form 706 U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax) Return and Form 709 U.S. Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax) Return and more.
Jaclyn is well-versed on many different aspects of charitable planning through her work representing nonprofit organizations and individuals. She frequently negotiates gift agreements for her clients. She also manages regulatory matters for private foundations and public charities such as preparing applications for nonprofit status for new charitable organizations, complying with charitable registration and solicitation requirements in multiple states, and reviewing 990 tax returns. Jaclyn has counseled nonprofit organizations on fiscal sponsorships, charitable giving requirements, fundraising and restricted gifts.
Jaclyn has been recognized as an "Up and Coming" Leading Lawyer in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2021 for Ohio: Private Wealth Law. Chambers HNW is the only independent directory specifically aimed at the private wealth market that ranks law firms according to their private client disciplines. The "Up and Coming" designation recognizes those attorneys who are driving their firm's growth.
Chambers HNW describes Jaclyn as being "'highly skilled as a trusts and estates lawyer and responsive to her clients,' reports a source. She assists clients with estate administration and business succession planning matters. One interviewee comments that 'she is a dedicated professional – smart, funny and good-natured.'"
She has presented on a wide variety of topics including spendthrift trusts, handling artwork and collections in estate planning and charitable giving, estate planning with beneficiary designations, pay-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts and revocable trust planning.
Jaclyn joined Calfee in 2016, and she was elected Partner in 2020.
- Best Lawyers in Ohio for Nonprofit/Charities Law and Trusts and Estates Law (2023)
- Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars (2022)
Chambers High Net Worth, Private Wealth Law - Ohio, "Up and Coming" (2021-2022)
Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch" in Ohio for Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Trusts and Estates (2022)
Ohio State Bar Foundation, Community Service Award for Attorneys 40 and Under for District 12 (2020)
Cleveland, Ohio 44114-1607
