Attorney Jill M. Sauber, CELA®

I love what I do!  My entire professional career has focused on death, dying, and pre-planning.  I started out my professional career as a licensed mortician.  It is not all  as macabre as you may think!  I find peace in helping my clients and their family prepare for the "inevitable"​ (death and taxes), and make life's transitions easier.

I help clients navigate estate planning, as they focus on asset growth, to long-term care planning, where the focus shifts to asset preservation and care. After a death occurs, I help resolve contested Will or Trust issues (litigation), counsel on Medical Assistance claims, and guide families through the probate process.

I obtained my law degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and earned Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Minnesota in Biology, Physiology, and Mortuary Science. My background and experience as a licensed mortician provides me with a unique perspective in both estate planning and elder law. 

I enjoy a broad-based Estate and Elder Law practice, with emphasis on long-term care planning, asset protection, government benefits, estate planning, estate administration (probate), trusts, litigation, and mortuary law.

I am Certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA®) by the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF).

I enjoy the diversity of my practice which involves both planning and litigation-related issues. As a result, I have experience working with a broad spectrum of clientele, both business and personal.  Litigating matters to conclusion brings perspective in planning for my clients’ long-term care needs, and provides insight to ensuring that my clients’ wishes are carried out in their final estate planning documents. My litigation experience includes successfully litigating long-term care insurance disputes, probate and trust disputes, and financial exploitation cases.

I am a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), past president of the NAELA Minnesota Chapter, a current member of the NAELA Foundation Board of Trustees, and active member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Senior Lawyers Division (SLD). I am Group Director of the SLD Elder Law Group and Elder Law Committee Chair.

In August 2023, I was appointed as a Commissioner on the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging (COLA).

I am also a volunteer for the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Wills for Heroes Program, a volunteer with Minnesota Assistance  Council for Veterans (MAC-V), a Dementia Champion through the ACT on  Alzheimer’s Initiative, and am an active member of the Elder Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar  Association.

I enjoy educating my fellow attorneys through Continuing Legal Education seminars.  I also regularly present on long-term care planning, estate planning, and pre-planning for death to consumer groups, organizations, nursing staff, companies, and professional groups.

I am available for speaking engagements!

I appreciate connecting with clients from all walks of life.  A quote that describes my approach to life is: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

When not at work, I can be found hiking, practicing yoga, at the dog park with our corgis, or spending time with my husband Jamie at his brewpub.