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Marion L. Stern, J.D., is a principal and Director of Operations of Stockton & Stern, LLC.  Mrs. Stern has been engaged in the private practice of law in the Kansas City area for more than 5 years.  Marion L. Stern focuses her practice on asset protection strategies designed to shield and insulate assets from personal and business liability risks.  Marion L. Stern will analyze your unique situation and recommend sound and tested strategies designed to achieve your stated goals.  Mrs. Stern strives to safeguard your assets from the attack of creditors, litigants, taxation, and healthcare entities to preserve your wealth for you and your family.. Marion L. Stern also focuses on wealth transfer, to ensure your assets are transferred to your designated individuals under your terms and conditions.  Mrs. Stern personally oversees the drafting and implementation of your plan to ensure every stage is handled correctly and efficiently.. Marion L. Stern’s practice areas include Elder Law, Medicaid Planning and Medicaid Applications, Probate and Trust Administration, Estate Planning, Asset Protection, Special Needs Planning and Trusts, Guardianships, VA Benefits, and Bankruptcy.  Mrs. Stern strives to address legal issues in a friendly, effective, and supportive manner, making sure to explain the issues and the options in an easy to understand way.. Marion L. Stern is a member of WealthCounsel, a national alliance of estate planning attorneys, ElderCouncel, a national alliance of elder law attorneys, as well as the Probate Law Bench/ Bar Committee of the Johnson County Bar Association.  Mrs. Stern is also an accredited attorney with the Veterans Administration (VA).. Marion L. Stern is a graduate from the University Of Kansas School Of Law where she focused on Business Planning and obtained Certification in Business and Commercial Law.  Mrs. Stern was born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa.  She attended the University of Iowa, where she graduated with high honors in Russian and History, and then went on to obtain her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kansas.

I am a native of Wichita and graduated from Wichita High School East.  I attended Emporia State University and obtained my undergraduate degree in history.  After ESU, I returned home to Wichita, worked at Old Cowtown Museum as a blacksmith, was the District Circulation Manager for the Wichita Eagle and later wrote business development online education programs. I then decided to pursue law and attended Washburn University School of Law. Following law school, I worked for the Kansas Court of Appeals before returning home to Wichita in early 2008 to join Hinkle Law Firm. My practice focuses primarily on estate planning. I enjoy estate planning because it gives me the opportunity to help people solve problems and draft documents to carry out their final wishes.  My clients trust me to help them with the largest financial transaction of their lives.  My experience helps me to find solutions to my client’s problems, and practicing with the Estate Planning Group at Hinkle gives me the opportunity to leverage the experience of my partners, paralegals, and staff to find the best solutions to solve a client’s particular challenge in protecting their hard-earned assets and building their legacy.. Part of my responsibilities include educating the public on the need for estate planning, encouraging them to ‘Choose to Plan’, and helping to explain the estate planning process. I regularly present estate planning seminars to the Wichita Women’s Investment Education programs, church groups, and at other community programs.  I also serve an educational role for the firm, as the Director of Hinkle’s Associate Recruitment and Associate Development programs.. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my wife and four children, brewing my own beer, and volunteering at St. Francis of Assisi Parish as a member of the Parish’s Finance Council and as Chair of the Extraordinary Stewardship (Planned Giving) Committee.

Catherine Kardong joined Winston & Cashatt, Lawyers in 2019 and became a partner at the firm in 2022. She focuses her practice on estate planning, probate, and guardianships. She is passionate about supporting her clients and ensuring they fully understand their estate plans or the court proceedings they are involved in.. Catherine graduated first in her class from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2013 and began her legal career at the Washington State Supreme Court, where she clerked for the late Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary E. Fairhurst. She was then selected as an honors candidate at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and spent two years in Olympia representing areas within the Department of Social and Health Services that serve the aging and disabled populations of Washington. Catherine and her family relocated to Spokane where she continued on with the Attorney General’s Office and began representing various institutions of higher education, most recently acting as lead counsel for Eastern Washington University. Catherine is originally from Spokane, having graduated from Lewis and Clark High School before venturing to the east coast to earn her undergraduate degree from Boston College. During law school, she was a Thomas More Scholar and a member of the Gonzaga Law Review. She was admitted into practice in Washington in January of 2014 and Idaho in 2019.