How to Start Planning Your Estate

media release: A solid estate plan is one of the best things you can have for yourself and your loved ones, but getting your estate in order can sound like a monumental and stressful task. It doesn't have to be! Attend this free workshop, presented by Michelle Behnke, principal of the firm Michelle Behnke & Associates, for a helpful overview on planning your estate, including covering many of the circumstances to be aware of when making legacy plans.

Anyone is welcome to join us for this free workshop. Registration is encouraged but not required, and drop-ins are welcome on the day of the event!

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2:30-3:30pm, Goodman Center Brassworks building

Questions? Contact Dani Luckett, Chief Development Officer, at dani@goodmancenter.org or 608-204-8059.

2024 will mark Goodman Community Center’s 70th anniversary of strengthening lives and securing futures. To celebrate this major milestone, Goodman is proud to launch our Love & Legacy Campaign to strengthen and secure the future of GCC, with the goal of inspiring and documenting 70 planned gifts by 2024 — just in time for our 70th birthday.

We also want to help you secure your legacy as you envision the future you want for you r family and community. How to Start Planning Your Estate is the fourth in a series of free community workshops, which will provide tools and ideas for you to create your own legacy planning and charitable gift making. We're offering these workshops as a resource to our community with no planned giving intentions required — anyone is welcome and invited to join us!

Learn more about Love & Legacy, and our upcoming workshops here.

About the Presenter

Michelle is the principal of the firm Michelle Behnke & Associates, where her practice is focused in the areas of business advising, real estate, and estate planning. She is active in her community. She is currently serving on the board of Capitol Bank, the University of Wisconsin Law School Board of Visitors and the University Foundation and Alumni Association Board. Previously she has served on a number of the boards of Dean Health Plan, Inc., Navitus Health Solutions, and SSM Healthcare of Wisconsin.

Michelle is involved in the American Bar Association, currently serving as the Chair of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. She is a past Treasurer of the ABA and she has also served on the ABA Board of Governors. Michelle served as the President of the State Bar of Wisconsin 2004-05 and as the Treasurer 1997-98.

Michelle received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Economics and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Michelle was elected to membership in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers in 2005 and the American Law Institute in 2017.

She is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Dane County Bar Association, and the Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers.