Why do you think estate planning is a valuable practice area?
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Estate planning deals with important questions involving how one desires and intends to be cared for during their lifetime and the passing on of one’s possessions and legacy to their loved ones when they pass. Planning ahead and facing these questions before incapacity or death takes courage but provides peace of mind and perspective that can enhance quality of life overall. It is pre-planning—“fire insurance” rather than “firefighting.”

What’s unique about your state (legally) and why do you think it matters?
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I grew up in a military family, and Virginia—especially the Hampton Roads area—is home to the largest naval base in the world. With many military members moving from place to place throughout the years, ensuring that, when they are in Virginia, they have state-specific documents updated to protect them is very important.

What’s unique about clients in your area?
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I have many military members and retired clients in my area—people from all over the country who have either been stationed here and ended up retiring, or who have found peace in retirement in Williamsburg and its surrounding area.

Why is Oath right for your clients?
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Clients are looking for a firm that educates, listens, provides personalized care, and sets expectations. Oath meets all of these criteria—ensuring that clients fully understand the benefits of estate planning and the process of getting documents prepared, and providing a unique “small firm” personalized service experience to each client, despite having the resources of a larger firm to ensure their every need is met. Clients know who they will be meeting with and can rely on us to make sure we fully understand their needs.

What are the state-specific documents that you prepare for clients, and why?
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I prepare state-specific powers of attorney, advance directives, and living wills for my clients to plan in advance for incapacity and ensure my clients are in control of who will be taking care of financial affairs and medical decisions on their behalf (rather than being subjected to a much more expensive court process to appoint a guardian or conservator whom they may not have peace of mind knowing is the right choice). I also ensure that the trusts, wills, pour-over wills, deeds, and other ancillary documents are prepared in a Virginia state-specific manner.

What do you estimate the longest possible probate is in your state?
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There really isn’t a “longest possible probate” limit. I have personally been involved in probates that have lasted six years or more. Probates can last for an extended period of time due to contests or the complexity of the estate. If beneficiaries are displeased and determined to get “what’s theirs,” and the estate has a significant amount of resources, there is no knowing how long it may last if a contest arises.

What story do you tell at your workshops?
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I tell the story of being raised in a military family with the expectation that I would one day be an F-18 Top Gun fighter pilot and Naval Academy graduate like my father. However, life threw a curveball at me early on when I was diagnosed with Alport Syndrome at the age of 13. My kidneys failed, and my hearing degraded. I got hearing aids and was on dialysis for about a 6–9 month period before receiving a kidney transplant from a living donor we didn’t know, but who insisted that she was supposed to give me a kidney. This experience changed not only my career trajectory but my outlook on life. In estate planning, we are concerned with not only planning for the expected (death and taxes) but also the unexpected. I have worked multiple jobs in civil litigation, business law, estate planning, and estate litigation prior to joining Oath, but have found that the focus on providing people with peace of mind in regard to the expected and the unexpected, with a focus on estate planning, has been the most fulfilling for me.

What’s the most impactful story you’ve had from one of your clients?
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I had some clients who were younger and had just had their first child. They set up a trust plan to span generations, with a clear vision of what they hoped to instill in their future legacy.

What are your three favorite communities that you visit on your travel schedule?
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Williamsburg, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach.

Have you ever had a client you couldn’t help because they reached out too late?
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Yes. Some clients would like help to take care of an aging parent with advanced dementia or to receive Medicaid/nursing home planning in attempts to try to protect assets for their loved ones. However, they often do this too late (i.e., after the dementia has progressed to a point requiring expensive court intervention, or when the individual is already in a nursing home and pre-planning cannot be accomplished).

What do clients ask most at your workshops and how do you answer it?
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“What is the difference between a trust and a will?” I answer this question in depth by explaining the different processes of getting property to people through a will and a trust, and the risks and benefits associated with each.