John M. Goralka

John M. Goralka is the founder of The Goralka Law Firm which helps successful families, business owners and real estate owners to minimize income tax, estate tax and property tax, to better protect assets and to transfer their legacy and family values to the next generation.John dedicates his time to helping individuals and families navigate the complexities and legal aspects of income tax, estate tax and property tax and estate planning. The Goralka law Firm helps avoid or minimize capital gains tax on the sale of businesses or other appreciated assets.   He has 30+ years of experience and deep knowledge in the areas of business tax planning, tax litigation, asset protection planning and implementation, business and corporate law, shareholder and business buy/sell agreements for estate planning and business continuation, sales of business and real property, estate planning, trusts, probate and trust administration.John is professionally licensed to practice law in the State of California and is one of few California attorneys certified as a Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization in both Taxation and Estate Planning, Trust and Probate. He received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from California State University, Sacramento and then went on to attend the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he obtained both his Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.) and his Juris Doctor (J.D.). As a member of the State Bar of California and the Sacramento County Bar Association, John is also actively involved with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Sacramento Estate Planning Council’s Board of Directors.In addition to be being named a Northern California Super Lawyer in estate planning and probate and tax every year since 2016, John's high ethical standards and long list of successful results earned him the highest possible peer rating of AV Preeminent* from Martindale-Hubbell. This is the highest possible rating for legal ability and ethics.   Martindale-Hubbell also awarded John its Distinguished Client Service Award every year since 2014. He is recognized in Sacramento Magazine's "Top Lawyer" list for business and corporate law in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.John is a former income tax auditor and hearing officer. He passed the California certified Public Accountants (CPA) exam. John is a nationally recognized author with articles appearing in Kiplinger Wealth Management, NASDAQ.com, CPA Practice Advisor, Kiplinger Tax Letter, Newsbreak, MSN (US), MSN(UK), Flipboard, Born2Invest and other publications.John is recognized as a top attorney in the United States by US News and World Reports for Taxation and Estate Planning and as a top taxation attorney in the United States.  Since 2020, John has been recognized by Best Lawyers as one of the best in the United States in the areas of tax law and trusts and estates.  Since 2022, because of his expertise and excellent reputation in the legal community, earned Tier 1 status in tax law with Best Lawyers.Over the course of his practice, John has represented many clients in cases with varying degrees of complexity and challenges, & because of his care and dedication to the needs of his clients, he now has many families that he's represented for over 25 years. John represents multiple generations including grandparents, children, and then grandchildren from the same family. He also helps administer their estates and businesses and continues to assist their future generations for years to come.As an estate planning, asset protection, tax, and business attorney, John's goal is to help his clients to make a transformative change in their lives for the better. By transformative, he means making a substantial improvement that will benefit the client family for generations into the future. At his firm, John Goralka seeks to identify and apply uncommon knowledge and unique solutions to the challenges, risks, and opportunities faced by his clients.* AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.