Bio
Rachael is the National Head of Guardianship and Special Needs Trust Administration with BMO (Bank of Montreal), US Wealth Management. She is committed to working with people with disabilities and minors and their families, to ensure that her clients are living their best lives and that their resources are being safeguarded and expertly managed. Rachael works with clients nationwide, including a large number in the Chicagoland area and on the West Coast.
Before joining BMO, Rachael served as Illinois Trust Counsel and Senior Fiduciary Officer for Old National Bank, formerly First Midwest Bank in the Chicago market. There, she handled a range of fiduciary accounts including guardianships, special needs trusts, general trust administration, and estate settlement but she specialized in working with complex and contested matters.
Rachael is an attorney with a background in commercial litigation and real estate and has worked with an array of small- to medium-sized businesses and individuals. Before joining the financial sector doing fiduciary work, Rachael spent over a dozen years in private practice. She handled a variety of legal matters including residential and commercial real estate, commercial leasing, commercial development, construction and mechanics lien litigation, municipal prosecution, insurance coverage litigation and general commercial litigation (business disputes).
Rachael earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1997. There, Rachael majored in Communication and International Relations. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Rachael is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the DuPage County Bar Association (past Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee), the Will County Bar Association and other professional organizations specializing in Estate Planning and began serving on the board of the DuPage County Estate Planning Council in 2019. She is also active with the Joliet Metro YMCA, serving on the DE&I Committee and the C.W. Avery YMCA Advisory Council. Rachael resides in Plainfield with her husband and their two children.
