Robert W. Ramsdell

I have recently retired from the active practice of law, but plan to continue speaking and writing on the topic of estate planning.

I will be presenting "Fundamentals of Estate Planning" at the Senior Resource Center for Douglas County (at 745 Vermont Street in Lawrence) on Thursday, July 27, at 2:00pm - 3:30pm.  Can't make it in July?  I will be giving another presentation on Thursday, October 26, at 2:00pm - 3:30pm.

Although held at the Senior Resource Center, this seminar is relevant to adults of all ages. It is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Call the SRC or register online at its website to reserve a space.

So, how did I get to where I am now?

After 18 years at a well-respected law firm in Lawrence, Kansas, I established the Ramsdell Law Office in 2017.  I was busy since Day One, and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to focus on estate planning and estate / trust administration in the way I wanted to practice.

And the quality of my work was recognized by selection as a Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer (top 5%) in the Estate Planning & Probate practice area three years running (2020, 2021 & 2022).

For four years (2016 - 2019), I taught Law 907 - Estate Planning: Practice as adjunct faculty at the University of Kansas School of Law. The final, capstone course in the sequence of tax and estate planning courses offered at KU Law, the course covered traditional Wills and the probate process; Revocable Living Trusts; incapacity planning via durable General and Healthcare Powers of Attorney, as well as the creation of Supplemental Needs Trusts; and planning for retirement assets.

Since 2010, I’ve given a free, public seminar titled Fundamentals of Estate Planning at the Douglas County Senior Center, various community libraries, and to a variety of groups.  I’ve distilled these insights into the book Estate Planning Overview (ISBN 978-1481864312) which is available from Amazon.  For four years (July 2013 - June 2017) I wrote the Estate Planning column that appeared in Kaw Valley Senior Monthly.  Copies of these columns can be viewed by accessing the back issues of Senior Monthly available at .

I brought a broad perspective to my practice, having served from 1975 to 1996 on active duty in the U.S. Army Field Artillery.  One notable assignment was duty as an Assistant Professor of Economics at West Point after earning an M.B.A. at Dartmouth College.  Following service in the First Gulf War as the operations officer of a MLRS rocket artillery battalion, my final assignment was as a Tactics Instructor at the Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. 

I used my GI Bill benefits to attend the University of Kansas School of Law, earning Order of the Coif (top 10% of my class) at graduation in 1999.  Within a week, I was working fulltime while preparing for the Bar exam.

For a number of years my practice emphasized civil litigation, and I successfully tried jury trials in Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, and Leavenworth counties.   On each occasion when the losing party appealed, I briefed, argued, and won before the Kansas Court of Appeals.

But estate planning and probate administration are what I enjoy, and so they are where I focused my practice until I decided to retire from the active practice of law.