About Us

Donna Pagano, CFP©

President, Family Love Letter
Donna Pagano, co-author of the Family Love Letter, is a highly sought-after speaker and champion of helping families “to get their houses in order.”  Donna brings passion, wisdom and experience to her work with professional associations, public interest groups and individuals. Her message recognizes the value of the "living legacy" of the Family Love Letter. She provides guidance, training and certification of the Family Love Letter Program to professional advisors who use the Family Love Letter in their practices. From her Westlake Village offices, Donna helps individuals and families complete the Family Love Letter and create their own living legacy.  Donna's expertise has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Kiplinger Retirement Report, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Post Intelligencer, and other local media.

With over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Donna has balanced an impressive professional career with raising a loving family. Professionally, Donna served as vice president of a Women’s Markets program at a national financial company. Prior to pursuing her passion in the women’s markets, Donna was vice president of Business Development for a leading financial services company where she served as a business coach to the company’s top advisors helping them to design and implement strategic business plans. She also had a successful, personal practice as a financial planner in Southern California. Committed to professional education, she earned and holds the industry’s prestigious Certified Financial Planner® professional designation. Donna resides in Westlake Village, California with her husband, Joe, of 47 years. They have three children and six grandchildren.

John J. (“Jeff”) Scroggin,

 EP (Distinguished), J.D., LL.M. 
Mr. Scroggin has been married for 39 years to Lynn Geiger Scroggin and has three children. His oldest son is a professional blacksmith, his daughter has worked as a charitable event planner & fundraiser (and is now a stay-at-home mother) and his youngest son is an Iraq war veteran.  

In November 2017 Jeff was inducted into the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Estate Planning Hall of Fame, becoming the 105th inductee to receive this prestigious award. US News and World Report named Jeff as one of the 2018 Best Attorneys in America.  

Jeff has practiced as a business, tax and estate planning attorney in Atlanta for 39 years. His practice is devoted to tax planning, estate planning, business representations, business succession and sales of businesses and properties. He is co-creator of the “Family Incentive Trust” and creator of the “The Family Love Letter.” Jeff practices out of an 1889 house in the historic district of Roswell, Georgia. The building contains one of the largest collections of tax memorabilia in the US. The tax collection was featured in a front page article in the Wall Street Journal on April 15, 2015. Jeff is known for his ability to convert complex, echnical information into practical, useable forms. He also hopes he is not as pompous as this bio might indicate.

Jeff serves as a Member of the University of Florida Levin College of Law Board of Trustees from 2011 to present. He serves as a member of the Florida Advisory Tax Committee of the University of Florida Levin College of Law Board of Trustees. Jeff received the following degrees from the University of Florida: B.S.B.A. (Accounting), 1974; Juris Doctorate, 1977; Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.), 1979. Jeff has taught tax law classes at the University of Florida College of Law and was an adjunct Tax Professor at the College of Business.
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