What Family Law Attorneys Want Elder Law Attorneys to Know, and Vice Versa (On Demand Seminar)

A pre-recorded streaming video replay of the November 2019 webcast, What Family Law Attorneys Want Elder Law Attorneys to Know, and Vice Versa.

By 2020, one in seven Virginians will be over age 65, according to the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Currently almost one in four persons divorcing in Virginia is over age 50. With an aging population, elder law and estate attorneys need to consider the possibility of their clients divorcing or marrying to avoid mistakes in planning. Without careful drafting, trusts and deeds can transmute separate property into marital or violate the terms of a premarital or property settlement agreement. Family law attorneys need to consider dissolution of marriage by death as well as divorce when clients enter into premarital agreements. During divorce, family law attorneys must structure marital settlement agreements to take into account the effect of retirement and the death of the client. Premarital agreements and marital settlement agreements sometimes fail to fully address issues arising from retirement, disability, and death.

At this seminar, we will discuss the issues at the intersection of family law and elder law to help elder, estate, and family law attorneys meet the needs of their clients.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Sharon Henderson, Culin Sharp Autry & Day, PLC / Fairfax

Sharon Henderson is a family law attorney who practices family law with an emphasis on elder law issues. When representing clients over fifty, she considers the long-term impact of the divorce on the client’s life.  Her familiarity with elder law is advantageous for clients who have a disability or whose children have special needs. Her articles on the intersection of estate and probate law with family law have appeared in Virginia State Bar Family Law and Trusts and Estates Section newsletters, and she has presented at Continuing Legal Education seminars of Virginia CLE^®, Fairfax Bar Association, and Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

Ms. Henderson is admitted to the bar in Virginia and since 2011 has practiced with Culin Sharp Autry & Day, PLC, in Fairfax.  She is a member of the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and the Fairfax Bar Association, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), and the Virginia chapter of NAELA. Her pro bono activities include the Fairfax Bar Association’s Circuit Court Motions Conciliation program and the FBA Wills on Wheels program.

Loretta Morris Williams, Hale Ball / Fairfax

Loretta Morris Williams is an elder law attorney with the law firm Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC in Fairfax, Virginia. She practices in the areas of estate planning, wills, trusts, probate, Medicaid, and guardianship proceedings. She works with adults of all ages and parents planning for children with special needs.

Ms. Williams is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and its Council of Advanced Practitioners, the Virginia chapter of NAELA, and the Academy of Special Needs Planners. Her pro bono activities include the Arc of Northern Virginia's Multidisciplinary Panel for the Guardianship of Last Resort program.

Originally from the Jersey Shore, Ms. Williams moved to Northern Virginia after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree at Duke University in 1985. Prior to attending law school, she worked on Medicaid, disability, and housing policy issues for nonprofit associations, including the National Association of State Units on Aging, the State Medicaid Directors' Association, and the March of Dimes. Ms. Williams graduated magna cum laude from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 2001 and is licensed to practice in Virginia.