Real Estate and Estate Planning can be

but it doesn’t have to be

Our Services

If you have “stuff” and you have “people” you need a plan. Most people stay so busy with the details of daily life that planning for the future moves farther and farther down the priority list. Let us help bring you the peace of mind that comes with having a solid plan in place – we can custom tailor a plan for you and make the process as easy and stress-free as possible so that you can take this important step for yourself (and your people) – and then move on with life. We can prepare individual documents as needed, or can prepare a full estate plan. We are available to provide the following services:

Drafting simple and complex wills
Creating revocable, irrevocable and special needs trusts
Preparing General Durable Power of Attorney documents (to allow you to delegate banking, legal and other decisions in case of incapacity)
Preparing deeds to convey ownership in real estate to other individuals or to a trust
Medical Directives and Healthcare Powers of Attorney
Review and Updates to an existing estate plan
Probate assistance

Estate Planning

Real estate purchases and sales are generally the largest investments in life, which can make them the most stressful transactions to experience. These transactions also come with a mountain of paperwork and a unique vocabulary. Put us on your team and we will educate and navigate you through the paperwork, legal-speak and finer legal points. We are available to provide the following legal services:

Draft contracts and offers to purchase
Review contracts and offers to purchase
Review HOA/Condo documents
Review closing documents and attending closing with clients
Act as power of attorney on occasions that clients are unavailable to attend real estate closings

Real Estate for Individual Clients

Whether you are starting a business or running an established company, it is vital to understand business laws and ensure your company is compliant. Our goal is to help take care of all the legal intricacies so that you can focus on running your company. Our passion is providing our clients with the legal tools they need to build the company of their dreams. Our services include:

Business formation: We’ll help you decide whether your business should organize as a limited liability company (LLC), partnership, S corporation or C corporation. We will then prepare all the required documents to form your business, including partnership, shareholder, and operating agreements, and will register your company in all required jurisdictions.
Contracts: Once your business has been created, we will prepare and review any contracts you are considering and negotiate contract terms in your favor.
Employment and Partnerships: We ensure your relationships with partners, customers, employees and consultants are legally sound. We prepare and review employee offer letters, non-disclosure, confidentiality, non-compete, and lease agreements, and create employee handbooks to protect your company and keep you in compliance.
Legal Guidance: We also protect your company as it grows. We provide a legal check-up which includes a thorough review of company documents and policies, an assessment of where you may have exposure legally, and outline steps to protect your business.

Corporate and Small Business Services

Real Estate Brokerages are businesses with unique needs created by the regulatory environment you operate in. We are able to provide you comprehensive assistance to allow you to thrive while remaining in compliance. We provide the following legal and risk management services:

Brokerage Management: Review your procedures and manuals to ensure compliance with state and federal laws;
Draft Brokerage specific forms such a transactional forms, Independent contractor agreements, team agreements.
Franchise negotiations: we represent franchisees in their negotiations with the franchisor.
Representation: we represent brokers and agents before realtor associations and the Virginia and DC licensing authorities.

Real Estate Brokerages

Non-Profits and Associations have unique legal needs and we are uniquely positioned to help navigate the legal landscape so you can focus on what you do best: deliver outstanding programs and benefits to your membership. We offer a variety of services to meet your needs.

Legal Hotline
Assistance with Board of Directors and Committees
Training of Leadership;
For RE Associations: Professional Standards (either full service or on an as needed basis)
Corporate Services including, HR, Bylaws, Policy Manuals, Mergers and Consolidations, Core Standards Compliance, Corporate Filings and Benefits.
Contract Review, including acquisition of office space, vendor contracts; leases.

Non-Profits and Trade Associations

With our extensive experience in settlement and title legal services, we are uniquely qualified to provide legal services to area settlement and title companies, and to take great care with their referrals of clients. We have identified the “pain points” where settlement companies are frequently asked for time and resources on work that can be referred for our collaboration, freeing the company up to provide an increased volume of its core services to its clients and referral partners. We are available to provide the following services:.

Prepare deeds and powers of attorney for closing transactions
Prepare loan papers for private lenders/borrowers
Act as power of attorney on occasions that clients are unavailable to attend real estate closings
Prepare Trust and Commercial opinion letters
Prepare Easement documents to address/resolve title issues
Draft contracts and offers to purchase for individual clients
Review HOA/Condo documents for individual clients
Review closing documents for individual clients and attending closing as retained counsel
Prepare deeds and powers of attorney for individual clients as requested outside of closings

Legal Services for Title & Settlement Companies

Transparency in fees and easy billing is important to us as small business owners and we understand it is important to you. We believe that open communications make for good relationships and a more collaborative and efficient work environment. We will respond to brief questions, emails or texts without charging you and are always available to meet with you for coffee, drinks or to come to your office. We understand that businesses and individuals may have different needs and requirements so we offer flexible payment methods to match your situation. Certain services are billed as a flat fee, such as document review and preparations; others as an hourly fee. In any case, we will not exceed the cap we set together and we will always discuss the fees up front.

Pricing Our Services

Our Firm

Finding another person who understands your dedication and work ethic – it creates a magic environment. S&T Law Group is the brainchild of two friends, Sarah and Toula, who share a passion for hard work, problem solving, and extensive experience in the myriad of ways real estate and estate planning can touch your life. Sarah and Toula went to law school together and both ended up in the real estate legal world where they have thrived. They decided to join forces to give back to the communities which have supported them for so many years.

We are S&T

Our firm was formed by Sarah Louppe Petcher (the S) and Toula Dreifuss (the T) who are long-time friends from law school who came together to provide real estate and estate planning legal assistance to clients in Virginia and the District of Columbia. We are here to assist individuals and businesses sail through some of the difficulties we encounter in life and when we grow businesses. S&T Law Group has a mission to reduce stress with a high level of integrity and a low level of pretense. We are responsive and diligent – and we are here to help.

Our goal is to make our legal services accessible and friendly all the while getting the job done and lightening the load for our clients. We are problem solvers, work-horses and “doers” – and at the core of it we are helpers who are happy for every opportunity to assist a client.

Our Attorneys

Sarah Louppe Petcher

Sarah knew she wanted to become a lawyer when she was 10 years old. After a stint as a family law attorney in Fairfax, Sarah became General Counsel of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors where she fell in love with real estate. During her tenure at NVAR, she learned not only about running a real estate association but came to understand the full picture of the real estate industry in the US. With this unique perspective, she partnered up with Toula to form S & T Law Group with the goal to provide services to non-profits, trade associations, real estate brokerages, real estate agents, and members of the public involved in real estate transactions.

Sarah lives in Falls Church with her husband and two daughters. She joyfully embraces a slower pace of life and less wildlife at home than Toula… and enjoys cooking, theatre and to travel as often as possible.

If you are so inclined, you can find Sarah’s full resume on LinkedIn.

Toula Dreifuss

Toula has real estate in her blood (literally). She grew up in a family where her mother was a real estate agent and she has been helping her for as long as she can remember. When she went to law school, she knew she would end up back in the real estate field. And she did! Toula rocked the settlement world for a number of years (we won’t mention how many because you would not believe it anyways!) and then decided that she should take what she learned and provide assistance to relieve the pain points she had seen occur in real estate transactions, and to provide the additional help and peace of mind brought by having a solid estate plan.

During her years in the settlement world, Toula learned all about wills, trusts and estates (and the stress caused by not having a proper plan) and is now providing estate planning services to help individuals and families throughout our community.

On a personal note, Toula lives in Fairfax County with her husband and four sons (yep, four) along with several family pets. In her spare time… just joking. What spare time? Four sons, remember?… and so she loves and embraces the current level of “busy” and knows she will miss it someday!

If you are so inclined, you can find Toula’s full resume on LinkedIn.