James G. Blase

With 42 years of experience in the estate, tax, elder care and asset protection planning areas, Jim Blase is principal of the law firm.  Jim is a native of St. Louis, and graduated with honors from St. Louis University High School in 1975.  He owns a CPA Certificate from the State of Missouri, which he earned upon graduating with honors from John Carroll University in 1978, with B.S. degrees in Accounting and Finance.  Jim also graduated with honors from Notre Dame Law School in 1981, where he served as Managing Editor on the Notre Dame Law Review.  He then earned an LLM in Taxation degree from the New York University Graduate School of Law in 1982, where he served as Graduate Editor on the Tax Law Review. 

Jim is ranked as a 2017 top St. Louis estate planning attorney in the St. Louis Small Business Monthly and on Expertise.com.  In 2021 Jim was listed among America's Most Honored Lawyers  -  Top 1%.



Jim spent the first portion of his legal career as an associate and partner in the estate planning and administration department of what is now the downtown Thompson Coburn law firm, and as partner and chair of the trusts and estates department of what is now the Armstrong Teasdale law firm in Clayton.  In 1999, Jim formed his own law firm in St. Louis County, in an effort to bring the same or greater level of expertise and service to his clients, but at substantially lower billing rates.

Jim has also taught in the Villanova University School of Law Graduate Tax Program and as an adjunct professor at the St. Louis University School of Law, where he has taught courses in estate planning and wills and trusts.  He is a frequent author and lecturer on a wide variety of estate planning subjects, and has authored over 85 articles and chapters for various professional and Missouri continuing legal education publications. 

In 2024 Jim celebrated his 30th straight year of being rated "A.V. Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell® Law. A.V. Preeminent is the highest rating given for legal ability and ethics, and is awarded based on a perfect 5.0 out of 5.0 Martindale-Hubbell peer review score.

Jim is also the author of several books, including Optimum Estate Planning, Estate Planning for IRAs and 401Ks, Estate Planning After the SECURE Act, 6-7-8: Estate Planning with Section 678 of the Internal Revenue Code, Retirement Planning for Already Retired Married Couples, and Tax Planning for Retirement Savings:  15 Strategies for Saving Income and Estate Taxes.

Jim and his wife enjoy volunteering weekly with Aging Ahead's Meals on Wheels and monthly with the Saints Peter and Paul meal program.  Jim also has an avid interest in early 20th century history.  In 2004 he produced the 4-hour video, The 1904 World's Fair Reconstructed.  He is also the author of six books on Theodore Roosevelt, including his 2024 book, From Sea to Shining Sea:  A Daily Journal of Theodore Roosevelt's Train Travels Across America, as well as two short volumes titled Remembering the St. Louis World's Fair:  A 4-Mile Tour Via Forest Park's Walking Paths, and St. Jacinta of Fatima: The Good Shepherdess.

Jim has been married for 41 years to his wife, Donna, and has four children and two grandchildren.

Ryan Polley

Ryan is now of counsel with the firm, after spending the first 15-1/2 years as an associate and partner. He primarily assists clients on all stages of estate planning process and provides advice on tax planning, Medicaid planning and asset protection planning in a variety of factual scenarios. He also specializes in handling both simple and complex trust and probate administration matters for clients in the most efficient manner possible. Ryan is also well-versed in the preparation of fiduciary income tax returns, gift tax returns and estate tax returns. Ryan received his J.D. in 2008 from Saint Louis University School of Law with a Tax Concentration and is a member of the Missouri Bar. He graduated summa cum laude from Florida State University in 2005 with a dual major Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Psychology. He currently lives in St. Peters with his wife and three children.

PARALEGALS

Jaylene Tinerella

Jaylene is a paralegal with our affiliated mid-size, full-service law firm, Mickes O'Toole, located in Des Peres. Before joining Mickes O'Toole, Jaylene held the title of Senior Estate Planning Paralegal at The Kaiser Law Firm, located in Chesterfield. There she worked with revocable and irrevocable trust planning, and asset protection planning.

Prior to joining the The Kaiser Law Firm, Jaylene held the title of Paralegal and Drafting Supervisor with the Laiderman Law Firm, located in Creve Coeur. There Jaylene lead the drafting team in the preparation of estate planning documents, including trusts, wills, powers of attorney, affidavits, and deeds. She also assisted business clients with maintaining corporate records, filing annual and biennial reports, and drafting annual consents and corporate meeting minutes.

Angela Jorden

Angela is the lead paralegal with our affiliated law firm, The Frahm Law Firm, LLC., located in St. Charles.

Jim was one of five winners nationally of the 2014 Wealth Advisors with Heart Award, presented annually by Trusts & Estates magazine, New York, New York, for his service to the poor, sick and elderly in the St. Louis metropolitan area.  Click here to read the article announcing his award.