Keebler & Associates, LLP is a tax advisory and CPA firm located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We provide family wealth transfer and estate tax planning and retirement distribution planning. We also provide educational resources to the estate planning community including attorneys, financial advisors, trust officers, accountants and insurance professionals.
Our private practice clients are high net worth individuals from across the United States who come to us seeking advice and insight on preserving accumulated wealth. Our role is of a trusted advisor with knowledge that is nationally recognized in the areas of tax and estate planning. To effectively serve our clients, we take time to build a relationship with each one so that we understand their objectives, values and concerns. This allows us to develop customized, tax-minimizing strategies and solutions that deliver clarity and peace of mind.
Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA
Robert is a partner with Keebler & Associates, LLP and the current chairman of the AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference. In 2007 he was inducted into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame of National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. He has also been named by CPA Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners in the United States and one of the Top 40 Tax Advisors to Know During a Recession. His practice includes family wealth transfer and preservation planning, charitable giving, retirement distribution planning, and estate administration. Mr. Keebler frequently represents clients before the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the private letter ruling process and in estate, gift and income tax examinations and appeals, and he has received more than 200 favorable private letter rulings including several key rulings of “first impression”. He is the author of over 100 articles and columns and is the editor, author or co-author of many books and treatises on wealth transfer and taxation. Mr. Keebler has been a speaker at national estate planning and tax seminars for over 20 years including the AICPA’s: Estate Planning, High Income, Advanced Financial Planning Conferences, ABA Conferences, NAPEC Conferences, The Notre Dame Estate Planning Conference and the Heckerling Estate Planning Institute.
Stephen J. Bigge, CPA, CSEP
is a Partner with Keebler & Associates, LLP whose emphasis is in developing comprehensive financial, estate and income tax analyses and wealth transfer techniques including FLP, GRATS, CRTs, ILITs and IDGTs. He specializes in estate, gift and retirement planning, charitable gift planning, as well as trust and estate administration.
Stephen graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lakeland College in 2001 and achieved the third best CPA exam score in the state of Wisconsin. Stephen is experienced in providing tax planning for individuals, trusts and flow-through entities and prepares individual and fiduciary income tax returns. Stephen is a frequent writer for Taxes Magazine in his area of expertise. He also has been a frequent speaker at various local, regional and national conferences (including the AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference).
Prior to joining Keebler & Associates, LLP Stephen was a Tax Manager with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP.
Peter J. Melcher, JD, LL.M., MBA
is a Partner with Keebler & Associates, LLP. He specializes in tax planning for high net worth individuals. Peter has extensive experience in domestic and foreign estate planning, business succession planning and income tax planning for investors and corporate executives.
He also implements sophisticated tax strategies like FLPs, GRATs, IDGT sales and charitable trusts as well as prepares private letter ruling requests. Peter is a frequent author for national tax journals including Estate Planning, Trusts & Estates, TAXES, the Real Property Probate and Trust Report, the Practical Tax Lawyer, the Journal of Financial Planning, The Estate Planning Review, and the Marquette Elder’s Advisor.
Peter is a member of the State Bars of Wisconsin and Illinois. He received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Law School, his Masters of Law in Taxation from DePaul University and his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
Prior to joining Keebler & Associates, LLP Peter was a Senior Tax Manager with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP.
Michelle L. Ward, JD, LLM, CSEP
is a Partner with Keebler & Associates, LLP whose emphasis is in estate, gift and generation skipping transfer tax compliance and retirement distribution planning, including analyzing trusts for designated beneficiary status. She also prepares IRS private letter ruling requests for a variety of issues, including late portability, late QTIP and GST elections, late 754 elections and IRA rollovers.
Michelle received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, and her Master of Laws in estate planning from Western New England College of Law. Michelle is also a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning.
Michelle is co-author of Panel Publishing’s Roth IRA Answer Book, Quick Reference to IRAs and AICPA’s The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010: Tools, Tips, and Tactics. Michelle has also authored articles appearing in Trusts & Estates, Investments and Wealth Monitor, Journal of Retirement Planning and Leimberg’s Newsletter. Michelle is an associate editor of the Journal of Financial Service Professionals and is a past member of the editorial advisory board of Trusts and Estates magazine.
[email protected]
920.593.1703
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Grant M Keebler, JD
is an Associate with Keebler & Associates, LLP who specializes in income and transfer tax planning for high net worth individuals. Grant received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Marquette University and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining Keebler and Associates Grant worked for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and the US EPA.
Tyler J Schuelke, CPA/PFS, MST
is a Senior Manager with Keebler & Associates, LLP who specializes in complex fiduciary and individual income tax compliance, gift and estate compliance review, trust and estate administration, IRS examinations, and developing advanced financial, estate and income tax analyses for wealth transfer techniques. Tyler also has written and contributed to articles published in magazines such as CCH’s Taxes and was a co-creator of the Tax Rate Evaluator featured by the AICPA.
Tyler received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and his Masters of Science – Taxation from the University of Cincinnati.
In his free time, Tyler enjoys spending time with his wife and their son, as well as being an avid fan of golf and football.
Elijah Otterpohl, CPA, MT
is a senior associate at Keebler & Associates, LLP who specializes in estate and gift tax compliance work and transfer
planning for high net-worth individuals. Eli began his tax career as an intern at Keebler & Associates, LLP in the Fall of
2018 and became a full-time associate upon graduating in January, 2020.
Eli received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI graduating Cum Laude and
spent time studying at Florence University of Arts in Florence, Italy. Eli also received his Master of Taxation from
Villanova University along with a certificate in Estate Planning.
Elijah Otterpohl, CPA, MT
P: 920-593-1708
E-mail: [email protected]
Andrew Hooyman, CPA
is an Associate at Keebler & Associates. He Graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in May of 2021, majoring in Accounting. Andy specializes in income tax compliance, income and estate planning, wealth transfer techniques, and oversees the accounts receivables and account payables.
Andy is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at the University of Villanova
Laurie Krump
is the Executive Assistant/Office Manager at Keebler & Associates, LLP.
As Office Manager she manages the administrative and office management duties for the firm, handling client inquiries and coordinating initial consultations. She is also Executive Assistant to Robert Keebler coordinating his daily client meetings schedule and assists with client communications and document management. Laurie also assists Michelle Ward and Eli Otterpohl with estate and gift tax return processing, along with the final management of returns with clients.
Karen Mathews
is an Administrative Assistant at Keebler & Associates, LLP assisting with speaking engagements and webinars. Karen manages event schedules, communicates extensively with event and webinar staff to coordinate logistics and travel arrangements, and assists with presentation preparation.
E-mail: [email protected]
P: 920-593-1710
Karen Katers
has been with Keebler & Associates since 2014 as Bob Keebler’s Executive Assistant before semi-retiring. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Since retirement, Karen has continued on a part-time basis to provide administrative assistance and to help manage the office.
E-mail: [email protected]
Sylvia Ngo Mben
is a tax accounting intern at Keebler & Associates, currently developing her skills and gaining experience in the complexities of tax preparation and compliance. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay in the Summer of 2024, with a major in finance and a minor in management. Her goal is to continue her education and pursue her interest in law. Sylvia plans to pursue her law degree in the fall of 2025.
Sylvia NgoMben
E-mail: [email protected]