Experts In Estate Planning & Elder Law
Helping you plan your future
Get The Help You Deserve When Planning Your Future
Have you organized your estate plan yet?
Now is the perfect time to get your estate together and figure out how you can ensure that everybody will be alright once you’ve passed on. At Astle & Astle Law Firm we make sure your future is planned in full so you can enjoy your life in peace.
Our team will work closely with you to make sure your wishes are clearly set in your estate plan and will.
Get in touch with our team to start planning your future today.
Our Founders
William E. Astle: Of Counsel
William Astle was born and raised in Anaconda, Montana. He received his B.A. Degree from Carroll College, Helena, Montana in 1963, and his J.D. from Washington College of Law, American University, Washigton D.C. in 1967.
Following law school, William was an attorney for Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington D.C., Assistant County Attorney, in Fairfax County, Virginia, and a general practice Associate with Fitzgerald & Smith, Fairfax, Virginia.
William then moved to Montana, and in 1974 founded Astle & Astle Law Firm with his brother, David, in Kalispell, MT 1974.
His special areas of practice include: General Real Estate, Zoning, Subdivision, Annexation, Health Care Law, Corporate/Business Law, Probate & Estates, and Local Government Utility Law.
David L. Astle: 1944-2001
David Astle was born and raised in Anaconda, Montana. He received his B.A. Degree from Carroll College, Helena, Montana in 1967, and his J.D. Degree from the University of Montana in 1970.
Following law school, David was a law Clerk, for Justice Gene Daly, Supreme Court of Montana. He then served as an attorney for Montana Public Service Commission, general practice partner with White, Vadalla, Springer & Astle.
When his brother William wanted to move his law practice to Montana, David became Special Assistant Montana Attorney General, for a day, admitting his brother into the State Bar of Montana in 1974.
Then, in 1974, he founded Astle & Astle Law Firm with his brother William, in Kalispell, Montana. His special areas of practice included: Personal Injury, Workers Compensation, Family Law and Labor Law.
Meet Johanna PickEL
Johanna Pickel is the owner of Johanna Law Firm and is originally from Kalispell, Montana. Here she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Montana and worked with at-risk youth in Montana and the Bahamas.
Mrs. Pickel then attended the University of Washington for her Master of Arts in Education, specializing in Special Education. She went to New Mexico State University for her final semester to teach special education at Oñate High School in Las Cruces and received her MA degree from New Mexico State University.
After teaching for two years, she began law school at the University of New Mexico School of Law where she was selected to be a part of the Natural Resource Journal and was twice chosen to represent the school in the National Health Moot Court competition.
She graduated from UNMSOL in 2004 and decided to focus her career on Estate Planning and Elder Law by going back to law school to earn her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Western New England University School of Law.
After graduating from the University of New Mexico Law School, Mrs. Pickel joined the United States Air Force as an assistant Judge Advocate General (JAG), serving in Florida, Japan, and Colorado. She is a veteran of the Iraq conflict, deploying with the Law and Order Task Force (LAOTF) in 2008.
Mrs. Pickel served as a JAG for almost seven years. Throughout her time with the Air Force, she provided estate planning services to service members, including deploying members and retirees. Her last military assignment was in Colorado, where she taught law at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
After separating from the Air Force, she moved back to New Mexico in 2011. After having a second child, Mrs. Pickel and her family decided to move back to her hometown in Montana, but she travels back and forth between New Mexico and Montana on a regular basis.
Mrs. Pickel practices in the areas of:
- Estate planning (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare documents)
- Elder law (Medicaid planning, VA Aid and Attendance, and Special Needs Trusts)
- Special needs planning
- Probate
- Trust administration
- Guardianship and conservatorship
- Business succession planning and formation
Johanna Pickle is a:
- VA-accredited attorney
- Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
- Past Chair for the Elder Law Section of the New Mexico Bar
- Past division Chair for the Trust & Estate Division of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Section of the New Mexico Bar
- Past board member of the Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity.
If you’d like help from Johanna for your legal needs then get in touch with her today.
How Johanna Has Helped Her Clients
"Working with Johanna Pickel and her staff has been unexpectedly uneventful. Phone calls are returned promptly. Questions get
answered in a manner I can understand. And everything got done exactly the way she promised. I've never had such an
easy experience with an attorney and I hope it continues for many years. I highly recommend her office."
- Judith A.
Start planning your future today with help from our expert team of attorneys
