Zachary J. Stackhouse

Zach works with families and individuals to integrate their legacy and estate planning goals with their business and investment activity, with an eye to the ever-shifting income and estate tax environment in which all business and estate planning occurs. Zach works with clients to understand what is most important to them and to create proactive, flexible estate plans – communicating and creating peace of mind for sudden events, business and investment opportunities and liquidations, and changes in the law.

Zach is experienced in estate and trust administration, including counseling trustees and executors on compliance with their fiduciary duties. He is knowledgeable in the preparation of gift and estate tax returns as well as in estate and trust income tax matters.

Zach negotiates and drafts private settlement agreements and declaratory judgments. In matters where probate litigation is possible, Zach develops, communicates, and implements pre-litigation strategies to avoid litigation, seeking to generate opportunity rather than conflict. He also regularly contributes to Calfee’s probate and trust litigation practice where genuine disputes develop.

Both in the context of estate planning and estate and trust administration, Zach advises closely held businesses and their owners on matters of valuation, titling, business succession, the use of voting trusts, and complex gifting strategies involving business interests. He also has experience assisting in the creation and operation of nonprofit entities and charitable organizations.

Zach works with athletes to establish, monetize, and protect their name, image, and likeness (NIL).  Zach draws on his experience as a former college athlete and coach to help athletes identify their goals, take ownership over their brand and intellectual property, and negotiate the terms of NIL sponsorships and partnerships, while navigating a shifting environment of school policies and state and federal law. From the digital revolution (cryptocurrency, NFTs), gifting and charitable goals, taxes and risk management, and planning for future projects, Zach helps to advise athletes seeking to benefit from their NIL in college and beyond.

Zach serves as a member of the firm's Associates Committee.

Prior to joining Calfee in January 2021, Zach was an Associate with a Columbus-based law firm, where he practiced in the Tax and Probate group. Zach also has worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of Ohio, where he conducted all facets of litigation before the Board of Tax Appeals, Ohio appellate courts, and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Zach earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame Law School where he served as the Managing Editor of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. He served as a Research Assistant in Jurisprudence and a Teaching Assistant in Property Law. Zach represented indigent and incarcerated defendants as a public defender extern. He served as a Summer Clerk/Intern to Judge Barbara Scheper at the Los Angeles Superior Court.

During law school, Zach served as the freshman coach for the men’s rowing team.

Prior to law school, Zach worked as an educator in mathematics and as a mental health counselor for teenagers.

Zach earned his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American and Academic All-American member of the men’s rowing team.

Honors & Recognitions

• The Best Lawyers in America^© "Ones to Watch," Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates (2023)
• Dean’s Award in Property Law and International Dispute Resolution, University of Notre Dame Law School
• Best Speaker in Legal Writing Award, University of Notre Dame Law School

Education

J.D., magna cum laude, University of Notre Dame Law School, 2018

• Managing Editor, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy Vol. 32

B.A., Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, 2012

• Notre Dame Men’s Rowing – All-American (x2), Academic All-American (x2)

Professional & Community

• Ohio State Bar Association, Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Section Committee Memberships:

• Pliskin Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Seminar Planning Committee, 2020, 2022
• Notary Law Committee
• Professional Organizations Committee
• Health Care Powers of Attorney for Minors Committee
• Purpose Trust Committee

• Ohio Association of Probate Judges, Best Practices Working Group Participant
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
• Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, Member
• Talespinner Children’s Theatre, Board Member
• Red Herring Theater Company in Columbus, Ohio, Chairman of the Board (October 2018-2021)

Presentations/Publications

• Tax and Legal Update, Estate Planning Council of Cleveland (January 2022, February 2022, May 2022)
• "Reconsidering the Non-Grantor Trust in a Decreasing Exemption Environment," Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Webinar (September 20, 2022)