Meet Tonya VanBenschoten

Attorney

Tonya VanBenschoten, Attorney
Tonya VanBenschoten, Attorney

Biography

Experience

Tonya is the founding member of Shur Law Co LPA which she started immediately after passing the Ohio State Bar exam and being sworn in to practice law.

For the first several years in practice she focused on all aspects of family law including divorce, dissolution, separation, custody, and support. During those years she represented a broad range of clients with varying levels of difficulty in their case. She experienced each aspect of divorce from negotiations to trial.

Tonya had completed the training for and was formerly on the appointment list as a guardian ad litem in Hamilton and Clermont Counties. She has over sixty hours of training in mediation services, with an emphasis on family/divorce law. Tonya completed the training as a collaborative divorce attorney. She now exclusively handles collaborative divorces and does not represent clients in litigated divorces.

From the beginning of her legal career, Tonya has been providing estate planning services. While serving as a Judge Advocate with the Kentucky National Guard, she prepared hundreds of estate plans. In her civilian practice she expanded past basic estate planning and began offering advanced estate planning services in 2019.

In 2021, Tonya completed the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners Basic Course which awarded her a Certified Estate Planner designation. The following year she completed the advanced course which awarded the Master Certified Estate Planning designation. Tonya has also complete the course requirements from The American College of Financial Services for the Accredited Estate Planner designation.

Tonya and others at Shur Law provide a wide range of estate planning and estate administration services, including: Wills, Power of Attorney, Living Will (Heath Care Directives), Beneficiary Designations, Trusts, Business Planning and Structuring, Succession Planning, Elder Law, Nursing Home Planning, Medicaid Planning, Tax Advice and Planning, and Probate services including Trustee and Executor representation and appointment as Administrator of an estate.

Shur Law offers bankruptcy services. Tonya has represents debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies.

Military

Tonya joined the Kentucky National Guard in 2001. For the first seven years, she worked as a military police officer, including a deployment to Baghdad, Iraq where she was awarded several medals including a Purple Heart.
In 2008, she commissioned as a Signal Officer and spent the next seven years in service to the 149th Brigade as a platoon leader, executive officer, and company commander.

After completing her command time, Tonya was assessed as a Judge Advocate. As a Judge Advocate, she had appointments as trial counsel, Brigade counsel, Cyber Law Chief and Deputy State Judge Advocate until her retirement in 2021.

Personal

Tonya is married and lives in Northern Kentucky with five of their seven children. When not working, Tonya enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, reading and traveling.

Education

  • B.A., Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY), 2006.
  • J.D., Salmon P. Chase College of Law (Highland Heights, KY), 2011.

Admitted to Practice

  • State of Ohio
  • State of Kentucky
  • State of Tennessee (inactive as of 5/24/2024)
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
  • United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky

Memberships & Affiliations

Tonya was fabulous. She made our experience incredibly easy, very straight forward and as professional as possible. I am grateful for her expertise.
 
Anna Estate Planning Client

I made the mistake of thinking that, as an attorney myself, albeit out-of-state, I could handle getting my mother's very small estate settled long-distance. How very wrong I was and thank goodness the Shur Law firm was there to save me from myself! I found the firm through its excellent website, and my initial consultation with Tonya confirmed we were in good hands. After she and Brittany first fixed my mistakes, Brittany went above and beyond in keeping me updated both on our progress and any issues along the way. I cannot commend-and recommend-them enough.

Susan Probate Client

It was a great experience working with Tonya in the creation of Will and Trust. She guide us and explained all details so we could make the right decision.

Milton Estate Planning Client

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