Welcome to Renard Law Office!

We are your attorneys.  Linda R. Renard, founding partner and Kathryn Grace Kellow (“Gracie”), practicing partner, who was admitted to the practice of law in Wisconsin in February 2025.

We are both West Bend natives and our primary focus areas are in estate planning, probate and trust administration, probate avoidance, residential real estate, and elder law. Linda graduated from Marquette Law School in May 1988 and Gracie graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law of Saint Paul, Minnesota in July 2021. Prior to opening Renard Law Office, Linda worked as an Associate Attorney at Whyte, Hirschboeck, Dudek (now Husch Blackwell) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at Schloemer Law Firm in West Bend. Gracie previously worked as both a law clerk and paralegal at O’Meara Law Firm (now DahlbergO’Meara Law Group) specializing primarily in probate, trust administration, and post-death matters.

As Linda draws closer to retirement, she continues to specialize primarily in estate planning, probate avoidance, and residential real estate transactions whereas Gracie specializes in post-death matters, probate and trust administration, and is learning the very complex and ever-evolving field of elder law as it relates to Medicaid, Estate Recovery, and the like.

Linda’s father (and Gracie’s grandfather), Henry F. Renard, was a practicing attorney in West Bend for more than 40 years and served as the Washington County Court Commissioner during the 1970’s until his retirement in 1991. He was a guiding force in Linda’s decision to enter the practice of law, as she grew up surrounded by clients, other attorneys, and courthouse staff and judges. Gracie also fondly remembers going to the Register in Probate office as a young child and frequenting banks and going along with Linda to run errands, as Linda was a single mother when she opened Renard Law Office in 2000.  Gracie is now the fourth generation of practicing attorneys in the family.

Renard Law Office was established in 2000 from Linda’s residence while Linda was a single mother to young children and Renard Law Office (still located in Linda’s residence) continues to provide a down-to-earth and more informal approach with our clients. When Linda retires, Gracie will be taking over the practice.

Our philosophy to the practice of law is to educate and assist clients with achieving their goals. We believe that it is fundamentally important that clients read and understand, withassistance if required, the documents they sign, and understand how those documents fulfill their goals. We educate clients how to avoid the probate process after death and guide those who find themselves in the midst of a probate or post-death matter after losing a loved one. We provide zealous and sincere legal representation for reasonable rates, and meet with clients at the office or, if necessary, at hospitals, nursing homes, or residences.

We are straightforward and compassionate with our clients, many of whom are elderly and grieving after the loss of loved ones. We return calls and keep our promises. Renard Law Office is endorsed by and is a member of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. Both Linda and Gracie are members of the Wisconsin State Bar and the Washington County, Wisconsin Bar Associations.

Our website has been specifically designed to provide valuable information to our clients, including measures to avoid probate administration, a comparison of a Will-based versus a Trust-based estate plan, basic Medical Assistance (Title 19) information, what to bring to an initial office conference, and a client information sheet which we ask all clients to complete and bring with them to their first appointment.

We welcome the opportunity to work with you in the areas of estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Living Wills and Power of Attorney), Prenuptial Agreements, Probate and Trust Administrations, and residential real estate (buy and sell) transactions, and we sincerely thank you for your interest in our firm.