Note on firm name: Schafer Thomas Maez PC has rebranded as Carlisle Barnett PC, effective December 2025. All attorneys, staff, practice areas, and contact information remain unchanged. The firm’s new website is cblawcolorado.com/. This profile covers the firm as it operated under the Schafer Thomas Maez PC name; all substantive information applies to the continuing practice now operating as Carlisle Barnett PC.
Timothy J. Schafer founded this Broomfield, Colorado firm in 1989 after building a practice grounded in two disciplines not always combined at the attorney level: he holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Colorado-Boulder alongside his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. That financial foundation shaped a practice that has spent nearly four decades at the intersection of tax planning, estate design, and business succession for Colorado families and business owners.
Overview
Schafer Thomas Maez PC (now Carlisle Barnett PC) operates from Suite 200 at 4 Garden Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The firm has maintained a Colorado presence since its 1989 founding and also operates offices in California, with client service extending throughout the United States.
The firm’s client base spans a significant range: from young families establishing their first estate plans to high-net-worth individuals requiring sophisticated generation-skipping transfer tax strategies, and closely held business owners coordinating succession with estate and tax planning. That range is deliberate. The firm has built infrastructure to handle both fundamental estate planning documents and highly technical tax-reduction structures within the same practice.
The rebrand to Carlisle Barnett PC in December 2025 reflects internal evolution in firm leadership and structure. The transition brought no change in attorneys, staff, practice areas, location, or client service. Contact continues through 303-469-7367 and the new email routing at [email protected], which forwards to cblawcolorado.com.
Practice Areas
Estate Planning is the firm’s central practice. This encompasses the design and implementation of personal estate plans including all types of trusts, wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, family business and investment entities, property agreements, and property ownership alternatives. The firm works with clients at varying levels of complexity, from foundational documents to sophisticated multi-generational transfer strategies.
Tax Planning addresses income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The firm employs specialized trusts, family limited partnerships, and charitable gift planning as tools for minimizing or deferring tax exposure. High-net-worth families with estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax concerns constitute a distinct segment of the practice.
Business Law and Business Succession coordinates business, estate, and succession planning for closely held companies. This integration matters because for many business owners, the business is the estate. Planning that addresses both the operational succession and the tax consequences of ownership transfer requires attorneys who work at both levels simultaneously.
Estate Administration covers probate and private trust administration, representing personal representatives and trustees through the administration process.
Charitable Planning is included within both the estate planning and tax planning practices, including charitable gift vehicles and philanthropic structures.
Special Needs Planning addresses estate planning for beneficiaries with disabilities, including trust structures that preserve government benefit eligibility.
Wealth Preservation encompasses the broader goal of protecting and transferring family wealth across generations, employing the range of tax and trust tools available under Colorado and federal law.
Attorney Profiles
Timothy J. Schafer is the Founding Shareholder, now serving as Of Counsel.
Education: B.S. in Finance and Accounting, University of Colorado-Boulder; J.D., University of San Diego School of Law.
Bar admission: Colorado.
Schafer has counseled clients on tax, business, estate planning, estate administration, real estate, and charitable planning for nearly forty years. He founded the firm in 1989.
Karina M. Thomas is a Shareholder and Director.
Education: B.A. with honors, Colgate University, 1984; J.D. cum laude, Albany Law School at Union College, 1992.
Bar admissions: Colorado. Member of the Trust and Estate Section of the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, and the Rocky Mountain Estate Planning Council.
Thomas joined the firm in 1999 and was named Shareholder and Director in 2003. She has published in The Colorado Lawyer, Colorado Business Journal, and Environmental Technology Journal. She served as a board member of Ballet Nouveau Colorado/BNC (now Wonderbound) and volunteers with Reading Partners.
Clinton Carlisle is a Shareholder.
Education: B.S. in Business Administration with honors, Colorado State University; J.D. with emphasis in taxation, University of Colorado Law School.
Bar admissions: Colorado. Member of the Colorado Bar Association Trust and Estate Section, Boulder County Estate Planning Council, Boulder County Bar Association, and Adams/Broomfield County Bar Association.
Carlisle joined the firm as a law clerk in summer 2016 and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in October 2016. He was selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2020 and again for 2024-2026. His name appears in the firm’s new operating name, Carlisle Barnett PC.
Scott Dillon is an Associate Attorney.
Practice areas: estate planning, transfer tax planning, probate administration, business succession planning, and business formation.
Bar admissions: Colorado. Additional credential details are not publicly available.
Location and Service Area
Office: 4 Garden Center, Suite 200, Broomfield, CO 80020. Phone: 303-469-7367. Email: [email protected] (forwarding to cblawcolorado.com).
Original website (still in use during transition): stmlawfirm.com/
New website (as Carlisle Barnett PC): cblawcolorado.com/
The firm maintains offices in both Colorado and California and serves clients throughout the United States. The Broomfield Colorado location has been the firm’s base since its 1989 founding.
Parking and accessibility details for the Broomfield office are not publicly specified.
Client Focus
The firm serves individuals across the wealth spectrum with estate planning needs, closely held business owners requiring succession and tax planning, high-net-worth families with complex transfer tax exposure, and clients with special needs beneficiaries in their families.
The breadth of the client base reflects the firm’s staffing structure: Timothy Schafer’s founding-generation experience handles sophisticated matters; Karina Thomas and Clinton Carlisle carry Shareholder-level depth; Scott Dillon provides associate-level support across the same practice areas.
Whether initial consultations are provided without charge is not publicly specified. Fee structures are not publicly available.
Languages spoken beyond English are not publicly available.
FAQ
Has the firm changed names, and does that affect current clients?
Yes. Schafer Thomas Maez PC rebranded as Carlisle Barnett PC in December 2025. All attorneys, staff, practice areas, contact numbers, and the Broomfield office location remain unchanged. The new website is cblawcolorado.com/.
Does the firm handle complex tax-reduction strategies, or only basic estate planning?
The firm handles both. Practice areas include foundational estate planning documents as well as sophisticated techniques such as specialized trusts, family limited partnerships, generation-skipping transfer tax planning, and charitable gift vehicles.
Does the firm coordinate business succession planning with estate planning?
Yes. The firm specifically coordinates business, estate, and succession planning for closely held company owners. This integrated approach addresses both the operational and tax dimensions of ownership transitions.
Does the firm serve clients outside Colorado?
Yes. The firm operates offices in both Colorado and California and serves clients throughout the United States.
Who has published legal writing among the firm’s attorneys?
Karina M. Thomas has published in The Colorado Lawyer, Colorado Business Journal, and Environmental Technology Journal.
Closing
The transition from Schafer Thomas Maez PC to Carlisle Barnett PC marks a generational evolution in a firm that has practiced Colorado estate and tax law continuously since 1989. The attorneys who built its reputation remain involved, and the scope of the practice, spanning from first-time estate planning clients to high-net-worth transfer tax strategies, continues under the new name.