About Jennifer Ballantyne
Please Call Me Jen
My mother called me Jen. When our family faced her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in early 2001 at the age of 71, there was no plan. The crisis was at that very moment. All kinds of loss loomed. Moreover, they do not teach this stuff in school. We figured it out, but it was not always pretty.
I would say my mother lived as successfully as possible with her progressive loss. When she passed away in 2006, I was inspired to leave my longtime business career and seek a new role providing legal protection and advocacy for elders and their families.
I was no longer a young person when I moved to Spokane and started law school at Gonzaga University. However, life experience as a daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother was the perfect preparation. I had the good fortune to hone my skills working for Gonzaga’s University Legal Assistance and a local elder law firm. I graduated in 2014, joined the Washington Bar in 2015 and founded Estates and Elders Law PLLC in 2016.
I was inspired to leave my longtime business career and seek a new role providing legal protection and advocacy for elders and their families.
I develop expertise through membership in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and its Washington chapter, as well as the Washington and Spokane County Bar Associations. To give back, I am currently involved in the following organizations:
- Board of Directors for Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington (SANEWA), Program Committee Chair and Member
- SNAP Planned Giving Advisory Committee Member – 2018 – Present
- Alzheimer Association Spokane Alzheimer’s & Dementia Conference Committee Member/Speaker – 2019, 2020
I could be such a better advocate for my mother now. But that is not the way life works. I am inspired to know that every day I get to help families like ours with the legal and social needs that often arise with aging. I consider this the ‘peace of mind’ business. It would be my pleasure to help your family find peace of mind and an easier way.