Leslie Ruth Stallknecht, Esq.
Background
Leslie Ruth Stallknecht is a local attorney, having graduated first in her class from Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, Virginia in 1968. Leslie Ruth then obtained her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, her Virginia collegiate teaching certificate from James Madison University, her Master’s degree in English from Syracuse University, and in 1979, her law degree, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University. Leslie Ruth worked as a judicial law clerk in the Onondaga County Court System in Syracuse, New York, and joined the law firm of Westmoreland, Patterson & Moseley in Macon, Georgia in 1981 as an associate attorney. From 1982 to 1985, Leslie Ruth also taught legal writing and served as an Adjunct Professor in the law clinic of Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia. In 1985, Leslie Ruth and her husband, Karl M. Rice, moved to Woodbridge, Virginia, and opened the law firm now known as Rice & Stallknecht, P.C.
Leslie Ruth practices law mainly in the area of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate law, and estate administration, including business law and real estate law as they relate to the estate planning and estate administration process. She regularly drafts revocable living trusts, family trusts, irrevocable trusts, wills, general and special durable power of attorney documents, and living wills and healthcare power of attorney documents (advance medical directives). She also works in the area of special needs trusts, and assists clients with forming both third-party and self-settled special needs trusts. Leslie Ruth especially enjoys the work of being a probate attorney, assisting and advising clients regarding the complexities of being a court- appointed Executor or Trustee, including record-keeping responsibilities and preparing the estate Inventory and Annual Accountings to submit to the Commissioner of Accounts.
Some of her favorite work has been in the area of wills and trusts. She prides herself on making the process as simple as possible for the client. She stresses that not everyone needs a living trust, and a formal probate process might be avoided or minimized through more simple planning techniques depending upon the client’s individual and family situation. Although in recent years many do-it-yourself will and trust products have appeared on the market, Leslie Ruth feels very strongly that in many, if not most, cases, bringing an attorney into the process can help to avoid many pitfalls. She has lectured widely on the subject of estate planning.
Although Leslie Ruth is not currently practicing Social Security disability law, she has extensive experience in representing disabled clients at the application, hearing, appeals, and Federal Court appellate review levels. This experience has made her more sensitive to the challenges that many elder law clients may face as they age, and has given her a strong working knowledge of Medicare and Medicaid issues. That knowledge is particularly helpful in the estate planning process.
Leslie Ruth is admitted to practice in Virginia and New York.
Civic Activities
Leslie Ruth has represented the Dumfries Magisterial District of Prince William County on the Citizens Advisory Committee to review the water and sewer elements of the Comprehensive Plan, and she has served as Chairman of the Citizens Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and Chairman of the Citizens Disney Review Advisory Committee. Leslie Ruth was a member of the School Board of St. Francis of Assisi School in Triangle, Virginia, for many years and served as its Chairman for several of those years. Leslie Ruth particularly enjoyed her years as Secretary of the Finance Council of St. Francis of Assisi Parish and Secretary of the Principal’s Advisory Council of Forest Park High School.
